Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 48
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
(दारसंग्रहणात् पूर्व नाचरेन्मैथुनं बुध: । अन्यथा त्ववकीर्ण: स्यात् प्रायश्षित्तं समाचरेत् ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
dārasaṅgrahaṇāt pūrvaṁ nācaren maithunaṁ budhaḥ |
anyathā tv avakīrṇaḥ syāt prāyaścittaṁ samācaret ||
na udīkṣeta paradārānś ca rahasya ekāsano bhavet |
indriyāṇi sadā yacchet svapne śuddhamanā bhavet ||
udakśirā na svapeta tathā pratyakśirā na ca |
prākśirās tu svaped vidvān athavā dakṣiṇāśirāḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“未娶妻之前，智者不应行男女之事；否则便成‘泄失’之人（破坏梵行之誓），当依礼行赎罪（prāyaścitta）。他连他人之妻也不可凝视，更不可在隐密之处与她同坐一席。应恒常摄持诸根，使心清净，即在梦中亦然。不可北首而卧，亦不可西首而卧；有学之士当东首或南首而眠。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma lays down a discipline of continence and sensory restraint before marriage, strict avoidance of another man’s wife in gaze and private proximity, purity of mind even in dreams, and a traditional rule about sleeping orientation (east or south) as part of regulated dharmic living.
Within Bhishma’s extended instruction on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, he gives prescriptive rules for personal conduct—especially sexual restraint and social boundaries—framing violations as ritual-ethical faults requiring prāyaścitta (expiation).