Shloka 10

Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama

Devanagari script

अभ्यगच्छन्नृतौ नारीं न कामान्नानृतो तथा । तथैवान्यानि भूतानि तिर्यग्योनिगतान्यपि,उस समय सब लोग ऋतुकालमें ही पत्नीसमागम करते थे; केवल कामनावश या ऋतुकालके बिना नहीं करते थे। इसी प्रकार पशु-पक्षी आदिकी योनिमें पड़े हुए जीव भी ऋतुकालमें ही अपनी स्त्रियोंसे संयोग करते थे। भरतश्रेष्ठ] उस समय धर्मका आश्रय लेनेसे सब लोग सहस्र एवं शत वर्षोतक जीवित रहते थे और उत्तरोत्तर उन्नति करते थे

Transliteration

abhyagacchann ṛtau nārīṃ na kāmān nānṛto tathā | tathaivānyāni bhūtāni tiryagyonigatāny api ||

Translation

ఆ యుగంలో ప్రజలు స్త్రీని కేవలం ఋతుకాలంలోనే సమీపించేవారు; కామవశంగా కాదు, ఋతువుకు విరుద్ధంగా కూడా కాదు. అలాగే ఇతర జీవులు కూడా—తిర్యగ్యోనిలో (పశు-पక్షి) పుట్టినవారైనా—తమ మాదలతో ఋతుకాలంలోనే సంయోగం చేసేవారు.

Word by Word

अभ्यगच्छन्they approached / went to

ऋतौin the season (of fertility)

नारीम्a woman

नnot

कामात्from desire / out of lust

नnot

अनृतःunseasonable / improper (one)

तथाthus / likewise

तथाin the same way

एवindeed / only

अन्यानिother

भूतानिcreatures / beings

तिर्यक्-योनिगतानिgone into animal wombs (born as animals)

अपिalso / even

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that dharma includes restraint and right timing: marital union is portrayed as regulated by ṛtu (the proper season) rather than driven by mere kāma (impulse), suggesting an ethical order extending even to non-human life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the conduct of people in an earlier age, emphasizing that they approached their wives only during the appropriate fertile period; he adds that even animals and birds followed this seasonal propriety, highlighting a world governed by disciplined norms.