Shloka 16
कālacakra-वर्णनम् तथा āśrama-धarma-निरूपणम्
The Wheel of Time and the Norms of the Āśramas
स्वदारनिरतो नित्यं शिष्टाचारो जितेन्द्रिय: । पज्चभिश्न महायज्ञै: श्रद्दधानो यजेदिह
svadāra-nirato nityaṁ śiṣṭācāro jitendriyaḥ | pañcabhir mahāyajñaiḥ śraddadhāno yajed iha ||
Dijo Vāyu: «El cabeza de familia debe estar siempre entregado a su propia esposa legítima, seguir la conducta de los cultos y justos, y tener los sentidos bajo dominio. En esta etapa de la vida, con fe, ha de cumplir la adoración y los deberes sagrados mediante los cinco grandes sacrificios, honrando así a los dioses y a todos los seres, y sosteniendo el orden del dharma».
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines key duties of a householder: fidelity to one’s spouse, adherence to the conduct of the virtuous, mastery over the senses, and faithful performance of the pañca-mahāyajñas—daily obligations that sustain gods, ancestors, beings, humans, and sacred knowledge.
Vāyudeva is speaking as a moral instructor, laying down normative guidance for gṛhastha life. Rather than describing an action scene, the passage functions as a dharma-teaching within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s broader post-war ethical and restorative discourse.