Shloka 10
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
अभ्यगच्छन्नृतौ नारीं न कामान्नानृतो तथा । तथैवान्यानि भूतानि तिर्यग्योनिगतान्यपि,उस समय सब लोग ऋतुकालमें ही पत्नीसमागम करते थे; केवल कामनावश या ऋतुकालके बिना नहीं करते थे। इसी प्रकार पशु-पक्षी आदिकी योनिमें पड़े हुए जीव भी ऋतुकालमें ही अपनी स्त्रियोंसे संयोग करते थे। भरतश्रेष्ठ] उस समय धर्मका आश्रय लेनेसे सब लोग सहस्र एवं शत वर्षोतक जीवित रहते थे और उत्तरोत्तर उन्नति करते थे
abhyagacchann ṛtau nārīṃ na kāmān nānṛto tathā | tathaivānyāni bhūtāni tiryagyonigatāny api ||
Vaiśampāyana said: In that earlier age, people approached their wives only during the proper season for conception; they did not do so merely out of desire, nor at an improper time. In the same way, other living beings as well—even those born in animal and bird wombs—also united with their females only in the proper season.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma includes restraint and right timing: marital union is portrayed as regulated by ṛtu (the proper season) rather than driven by mere kāma (impulse), suggesting an ethical order extending even to non-human life.
Vaiśampāyana describes the conduct of people in an earlier age, emphasizing that they approached their wives only during the appropriate fertile period; he adds that even animals and birds followed this seasonal propriety, highlighting a world governed by disciplined norms.