Text 19
nānāraṇya-mṛga-vrātair
anābādhe muni-vrataiḥ
āhūtaṁ manyate pāntho
yatra kokila-kūjitaiḥ
nānā — various; araṇya — forest; mṛga — animals; vrātaiḥ — with groups; anābādhe — in the matter of nonviolence; muni-vrataiḥ — like the great sages; āhūtam — as if invited; manyate — thinks; pānthaḥ — passenger; yatra — where; kokila — of cuckoos; kūjitaiḥ — by the cooing.
In such an atmosphere even the animals of the forest became nonviolent and nonenvious like great sages. Consequently, the animals did not attack anyone. Over and above everything was the cooing of the cuckoos. Any passenger passing along that path was invited by that atmosphere to take rest in that nice garden.
A peaceful family with wife and children is compared to the peaceful atmosphere of the forest. Children are compared to nonviolent animals. Sometimes, however, wives and children are called svajanākhya-dasyu, burglars in the name of kinsmen. A man earns his livelihood with hard labor, but the result is that he is plundered by his wife and children exactly as a person in a forest is attacked by some thieves and burglars who take his money. Nonetheless, in family life the turmoil of wife and children appears to be like the cooing of the cuckoos in the garden of family life. Being invited by such an atmosphere, the person who is passing through such a blissful family life desires to have his family with him at all costs.