Shloka 25
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
ये च दम्पतिधर्माण: स्वदारनियतेन्द्रिया: । चरन्ति विधिवद् दृष्टं तदनुकालाभिगामिन:
ye ca dampatidharmāṇaḥ svadāraniyatendriyāḥ | caranti vidhivad dṛṣṭaṃ tad-anukālābhigāminaḥ ||
Mahādeva dit : «Ceux qui observent les devoirs de la vie conjugale, qui tiennent leurs sens en bride à l’égard de leur épouse légitime, qui pratiquent selon le rite la conduite védique prescrite, et ne s’unissent à leur femme qu’au temps opportun—ces justes chefs de maison obtiennent le fruit de l’observance des dharmas enseignés par les ṛṣi. L’homme à la vision du dharma ne doit pas s’adonner aux jouissances par simple désir.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Householders should uphold marital dharma with strict self-restraint: remain faithful to one’s lawful spouse, follow scriptural/Vedic prescriptions, and regulate sexual union to the ritually appropriate time rather than acting under mere desire. Such disciplined conduct yields the spiritual merit praised by the seers.
Śrī Mahēśvara is instructing about gṛhastha (householder) conduct within a dharma-teaching context, describing the ideal married couple’s discipline and the resulting merit, while warning against indulgence driven by kāma (desire).