Shloka 13

Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

स्मृत्वा कालपरीमाण् प्रवृत्ति ये समास्थिता: । दोष: कालपरीमाणे महानेष क्रियावताम्‌

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca: smṛtvā kālaparimāṇaṁ pravṛtti ye samāsthitāḥ | doṣaḥ kālaparimāṇe mahān eṣa kriyāvatām ||

Translation

قال جاناميچايا: إنّ الذين يستحضرون في أذهانهم مقدارًا ثابتًا للزمن، ثم يقفون على طريق الفعل الظاهر (pravṛtti) قاصدين ثمراتٍ مقيّدة بالوقت كالجنة—فهؤلاء تعتريهم آفةٌ عظيمة؛ إذ إن ثمرة أعمال أهل العمل تبقى محصورةً في حدود الزمان، فهي محدودةٌ قابلةٌ للنفاد.

Word by Word

• स्मृत्वा: having remembered
• स्मृत्वा: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• कालपरिमाणम्: the measure/limit of time
• कालपरिमाणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-परिमाण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• प्रवृत्तिम्: activity; the path of action
• प्रवृत्तिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रवृत्ति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• समास्थिताः: have taken refuge in; are established in
• समास्थिताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle, used actively), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दोषः: fault; defect
• दोषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दोष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कालपरिमाणे: in the time-limit/measure
• कालपरिमाणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-परिमाण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• महान्: great
• महान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्रियावताम्: of those engaged in action; of doers
• क्रियावताम्: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रियावत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• kāla (time)
• pravṛtti (path of action)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Actions pursued for time-limited rewards (like heaven) yield results that are themselves limited by time; this finitude is presented as a major flaw for those devoted to result-oriented activity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya raises a reflective point about the limitation inherent in the pravṛtti-oriented pursuit of ritual and worldly merit: its fruits are enjoyed only within temporal bounds and therefore do not constitute an ultimate good.