Canto 23

Procreation and longing to extend and continue the family line are a primary motivation even in today’s world.  The desire for raising a family, is a natural instinct in women.  It is not a not a natural phenomenon in todays world,  where women are inclined to pursue a career partly due to ambition and partly due to necessity. 

Kings in yesteryears had the compulsion to continue the lineage because that was the tradition and accepted practice.  In the modern world,  children inherit the family fortune.  So a  father would rather leave his wealth to his children so they get a head start in the journey of life and if possible, are assured of basic necessities for the rest of their lives.  Given the uncertainties and high inflation in the modern world,  not many parents can do this for their children.

The other factor which is compulsive is the care of the self in old age, when it is likely that there will be no support, economically or physically,  or more importantly, emotionally.

The preference has traditionally been for male children, since women had the duty of bringing up children and upkeep of household.

It is often described in the Puranas that kings of yesteryear had hundreds, if not thousands of sons.  This implies that they had that many wives,  because a king was allowed to marry as many women as he desired. Families were always willing to give their daughter in marriage to the king, regardless of whether he had many other wives.

The second set of slokams in the Canto touch upon the characteristics of the devotees of the Paramathma,  with the slokams providing some very deep insight into the process of imparting knowledge and wisdom.