Vamana Purana — Vishnu's Sleep (Ashunya-Shayana), Shloka 18
The Caturmasya Observances and the Rite of Vishnu’s Sleep (Aśūnya-Śayana) and Shiva’s Monthly Vows
कङ्काः समं बलाकाभिरारोहन्ति नगोत्तमान् वायसाश्चापि सुर्वन्ति नीडानि ऋषिपुङ्गव वायसाश्च स्वपन्त्येते ऋतौ गर्भभरालसाः
kaṅkāḥ samaṃ balākābhirārohanti nagottamān vāyasāścāpi survanti nīḍāni ṛṣipuṅgava vāyasāśca svapantyete ṛtau garbhabharālasāḥ
„Reiher steigen zusammen mit Kranichen auf die besten Berge. Auch die Krähen bauen ihre Nester, o Bester der Weisen; und diese Krähen schlafen in jener Jahreszeit, träge geworden durch die Last der Schwangerschaft.“
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FAQs
Dharma is taught through observation of ṛtu-lakṣaṇa (seasonal characteristics): nature’s cycles—nesting, migration, gestation—become cues for human restraint, timing, and appropriate observance.
This is calendrical/ritual-auxiliary material (ācāra and kāla-nirṇaya style), not directly sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita, though Purāṇas often embed such instruction alongside them.
Birds nesting and ‘sleeping’ in season symbolize withdrawal and consolidation—an inward turn appropriate to rains—supporting the Purāṇic idea that correct practice follows the tempo of the cosmos.