Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, 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 ||
ব্যাস বললেন—কালরূপ মহা নদী প্রবাহিত। নিমেষ-উন্মেষ তার ফেন, দিন-রাত্রি তার জলধারা। তাতে কামরূপ ভয়ংকর গ্রাহ লুকিয়ে থাকে; আর বেদ ও যজ্ঞ তার পারাপারের নৌকার মতো।
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.