Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 6
Purañjana Goes Hunting — The Chariot of the Body, Violence of Passion, and Return to Conjugal Bondage
तीर्थेषु प्रतिदृष्टेषु राजा मेध्यान् पशून् वने । यावदर्थमलं लुब्धो हन्यादिति नियम्यते ॥ ६ ॥
tīrtheṣu pratidṛṣṭeṣu rājā medhyān paśūn vane yāvad-artham alaṁ lubdho hanyād iti niyamyate
聖典の定めはこうである。王が肉食に強く惹かれるなら、啓示された祭祀の規定に従い、聖地を拝してのち森へ赴き、必要な分だけ「メーディヤ（供犠に適う）」の獣を狩ることが許される。しかし無用に、また無制限に殺すことは許されない。ヴェーダが殺生を規制するのは、ラジャスとタマス（激情と無明）に支配された愚者の放縦を止めるためである。
The question may be raised why a living being should be restricted in sense gratification. If a king, to learn how to kill, may go to the forest and kill animals, why should a living entity, who has been given senses, not be allowed unrestricted sense gratification? At the present moment this argument is put forward even by so-called svāmīs and yogīs who publicly say that because we have senses we must satisfy them by sense gratification. These foolish svāmīs and yogīs, however, do not know the injunctions of the śāstras. Indeed, sometimes these rascals come out to defy the śāstras. They even publicly announce that there should be no more śāstras, no more books. “Just come to me,” they say, “and I shall touch you, and you will become immediately spiritually advanced.”
FAQs
This verse implies that merely visiting tīrthas is not enough; if greed remains, one may still act harmfully, and only external rules restrain such behavior.
To show that material greed can persist despite religious exposure, and that dharma therefore prescribes strict limits—actions must be only for necessity, not for indulgence.
Spiritual practices should reduce greed; also, even necessary consumption should be limited to genuine need, avoiding excess driven by desire.