Shloka 11
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
ऋतौ दारांश्ष गच्छन्ति तत् तथा भरतर्षभ | ततो<वर्धन्त धर्मेण सहस्र्शतजीविन:,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
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: ṛtau dārānś ca gacchanti tat tathā bharatarṣabha | tato ’vardhanta dharmeṇa sahasraśata-jīvinaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O bull among the Bharatas, in that age people approached their wives only in the proper season; so it was. Living in accordance with dharma, they prospered, and their lives extended to a thousand or a hundred years, advancing steadily in well-being.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links self-restraint and adherence to dharma—especially regulated conjugal conduct (approaching one’s spouse only in the proper season)—with social flourishing and longevity.
Vaiśampāyana describes an earlier ideal age to Janamejaya (addressed as ‘bharatarṣabha’), noting that people followed seasonal propriety in marital relations and, as a consequence of dharmic living, enjoyed long life and steady prosperity.