Shloka 15
Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)
निमेषोन्मेषफेनेन अहोरात्रजलेन च । कामग्राहेण घोरेण वेदयज्ञप्लवेन च
vyāsa uvāca | nimeṣonmeṣaphenena ahorātrajalenaca | kāmagrāheṇa ghoreṇa vedayajñaplavena ca ||
قال فياسا: إن الزمن، وقد اتخذ هيئة نهرٍ عظيم، يمضي جارياً. زَبَدُه من رمش العين وفتحها، وتيّاره مجرى الليل والنهار. وفيه يكمن تمساح الشهوة المخيف، أمّا الفيدا والطقوس القربانية فهما كطوفٍ للعبور.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Life is irresistibly carried forward by Time; desire is a peril that drags beings down, while Vedic wisdom and disciplined righteous practice (yajña as duty/offering) function as a ‘raft’—a means to cross the dangerous current toward liberation-oriented ends.
Vyāsa delivers an allegorical description: Time is imagined as a mighty river whose foam is the rapid succession of moments (blinks), whose water is day and night, and within which desire lurks like a crocodile; the Vedas and sacrifices are presented as the boat/raft enabling beings to navigate this flow.