Shloka 11
Āśramadharma and the Marks of the Muni
Yayāti–Aṣṭaka Saṃvāda
यथाकामं यथोत्साहं यथाकालमरिंदम । सेविता विषया: पुत्र यौवनेन मया तव,शत्रुदमन पुत्र! मैंने तुम्हारी जवानीके द्वारा अपनी रुचि, उत्साह और समयके अनुसार विषयोंका सेवन किया है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yathākāmaṃ yathotsāhaṃ yathākālam ariṃdama | sevitā viṣayāḥ putra yauvanena mayā tava ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O subduer of foes, my son, in accordance with my desire, my energy, and the proper time, I have enjoyed the objects of sense through your youth.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames enjoyment (kāma/viṣaya) as something regulated by three constraints—desire, capacity (utsāha), and proper timing (kāla). Ethically, it implies that even legitimate pleasures should be pursued with self-awareness and situational appropriateness rather than impulsively.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, reports a speaker addressing a ‘son’ praised as a foe-tamer. The speaker reflects on having enjoyed worldly pleasures in a measured way, emphasizing that such enjoyment occurred in youth and in accordance with desire, strength, and the right time.