Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततस्त्रेतायुगे काले संस्पर्शाज्जायते प्रजा । न हाभून्मैथुनो धर्मस्तेषामपि जनाधिप,तदनन्तर त्रेतायुगका समय आनेपर स्पर्श करनेमात्रसे संतानकी उत्पत्ति होने लगी। नरेश्वर! उस समयके लोगोंमें भी मैथुन-धर्मका प्रचार नहीं हुआ था

Transliteration

tatas tretāyuge kāle saṁsparśāj jāyate prajā | na hābhūn maithuno dharmas teṣām api janādhipa ||

Translation

ພີສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: «ຕໍ່ມາ ເມື່ອຍຸກເຕຣຕາມາຮອດ ປະຊາກໍເກີດຂຶ້ນແຕ່ການສຳຜັດພຽງຢ່າງດຽວ. ໂອ ຈອມເຈົ້າແຫ່ງມະນຸດ, ແມ່ນແຕ່ໃນເວລານັ້ນ ການຮ່ວມເພດ (ໄມຖຸນະ) ເປັນທຳນຽມຂອງສັງຄົມ ກໍຍັງບໍ່ທັນແຜ່ຫຼາຍ»។

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

त्रेता-युगेin the Tretā age

कालेat the time

संस्पर्शात्from (mere) touch

जायतेis born, arises

प्रजाoffspring; progeny

नnot

हindeed (emphatic particle)

अभूत्was, existed

मैथुनःsexual (pertaining to intercourse)

धर्मःpractice; custom; dharma

तेषाम्of them

अपिalso, even

जन-अधिपO lord of people (king)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

janādhipa (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tretā-yuga

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights that dharma and social customs vary by yuga: in earlier ages, procreation was portrayed as occurring through subtler means (mere touch), and sexual union was not yet an established social practice—implying a progressive coarsening of human conduct across ages.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s discourse to the king, he describes conditions in the Tretā-yuga: beings begin to produce offspring through touch alone, and the institution or widespread practice of maithuna (sexual intercourse) is said not to have arisen among people at that time.