Shloka 41
होमकाले यथा वदह्नलि: कालमेव प्रतीक्षते । ऋतुकाले तथा नारी ऋतुमेव प्रतीक्षते,जैसे होमकालमें अग्निदेव होमकी ही प्रतीक्षा करते हैं, उसी प्रकार ऋतुकालमें स्त्री ऋतुकी ही प्रतीक्षा करती है
homakāle yathā vahniḥ kālam eva pratīkṣate | ṛtukāle tathā nārī ṛtum eva pratīkṣate ||
Bhishma said: “Just as, at the time appointed for the fire-offering, the sacred fire waits only for that proper moment, so too, in her season, a woman waits only for her season.” The saying places desire and union under the discipline of right time and right order, treating restraint and propriety as part of dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That dharma includes acting according to the proper time (kāla): ritual acts like homa are done at their appointed time, and likewise sexual union and conception are framed as appropriate within the woman’s ṛtu (fertile season), emphasizing restraint and order.
Bhishma is instructing on norms of conduct (ācāra) and household ethics in Anushasana Parva, using a ritual analogy—Agni awaiting the homa-time—to illustrate the principle of waiting for the proper season in matters of procreation.