Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 25

Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)

Devanagari script

ये च दम्पतिधर्माण: स्वदारनियतेन्द्रिया: । चरन्ति विधिवद्‌ दृष्टं तदनुकालाभिगामिन:

Transliteration

ye ca dampatidharmāṇaḥ svadāraniyatendriyāḥ | caranti vidhivad dṛṣṭaṃ tad-anukālābhigāminaḥ ||

Translation

大天（Mahādeva）说道：“凡守持夫妇之法者，于自家正妻之前能摄诸根，依吠陀所制之仪轨如法而行，并唯于适当之时亲近其妻——如此正直的居士，得随顺诸仙所教之法的果报。具法眼之人，不应仅因欲望而沉溺享乐。”

Word by Word

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दम्पति-धर्मान्: duties of husband-and-wife (marital duties)
• दम्पति-धर्मान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दम्पतिधर्म
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• स्वदार-नियत-इन्द्रियाः: whose senses are restrained with regard to their own wife
• स्वदार-नियत-इन्द्रियाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वदारनियतइन्द्रिय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चरन्ति: practice / conduct (themselves)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• विधिवत्: according to rule; duly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत्

• दृष्टम्: what is prescribed/seen (in scripture); the ordained (practice)
• दृष्टम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृष्ट
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनुकाल-अभिगामिनः: approaching (the wife) only at the proper time (season)
• अनुकाल-अभिगामिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुकालाभिगामिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahēśvara (Śiva)
• ṛṣis (seers/sages)
• svadāra (one’s lawful wife)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Householders should uphold marital dharma with strict self-restraint: remain faithful to one’s lawful spouse, follow scriptural/Vedic prescriptions, and regulate sexual union to the ritually appropriate time rather than acting under mere desire. Such disciplined conduct yields the spiritual merit praised by the seers.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Mahēśvara is instructing about gṛhastha (householder) conduct within a dharma-teaching context, describing the ideal married couple’s discipline and the resulting merit, while warning against indulgence driven by kāma (desire).