In the Eleventh Canto it is stated that
there was a pair of pigeons who had many babies. One day the pigeon
parents went to the forest to collect some food for their children
and themselves. While in the forest they sat on a branch of a tree,
under which there was very green grass. They were remembering
their marriage ceremony and other amorous pastimes, and they were
very happily kissing each other with their beaks.
Just then, the she-pigeon saw several grains of pearl-like rice on
the grass, and she said, “O my beloved, let us go and pick up these
grains of rice.” The male pigeon replied, “There is no businessman
or farmer around. From where has this rice come? Don’t go. It is
someone’s trap. A hunter may capture you in his trap.” The she pigeon
said, “I think you are wrong,” and flew down to pick up the
grains of rice.
At that moment, lurking behind a tree, was a black hunter,
very tall and fearsome. The hunter pulled a string, and the female
pigeon became entrapped in a net that fell down upon her. The
female pigeon now began to weep bitterly. The male pigeon saw this
and exclaimed, “My wife has been caught in the hunter’s trap! He
will kill her!” Overwhelmed with worry, he flew near to that trap,
weeping. He considered, “God is very cruel. Why am I not dead in
that trap, with my wife outside? My wife can support our children,
but I cannot.”
While the father pigeon was fully absorbed in weeping, the
hunter, from behind the tree, took up his bow and arrow, and shot
and killed him. Clapping, that hunter came and took the dead body
of the male pigeon, pulled the she-pigeon out from under the net,
tied their legs together, and carried them to his home. And what did
he do there? He cooked them with some vegetables, and then ate
them.
The male pigeon was very attached to his wife, and he considered that
he could not survive without her. Children also came, and then he
became still more attached. Death was waiting for him, but he could
not see it. What became of them? Due to their ‘love’ for each other, both
were killed by the hunter. So, if you are attached to ladies, your
bhakti will be spoiled. You will be worse than dead. Death is not
bad. Worse than death, you will undergo spiritual death, meaning
diversion from bhakti. Always think about this.
If you are telling this story and not realizing it, and instead
marrying again and again and maintaining a sense of strong relations
with children and wives, then your bhakti comes to nothing.
— Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja