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 bersabda: “Mereka yang menegakkan dharma rumah tangga, yang mengekang indra terhadap istri sahnya sendiri, yang menjalankan laku Veda sesuai tata cara, dan yang mendatangi istrinya hanya pada masa yang semestinya—para dharmika demikian memperoleh buah dari mengikuti dharma yang diajarkan para resi. Seorang yang berpandangan dharma tidak patut mengecap kenikmatan semata-mata karena nafsu.”
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).