Shloka 33

Devanagari script

कथं न विप्रणश्येम योनितो<स्या इति प्रभो । कुर्वन्ति धर्म मनुजा: श्रुतिप्रामाण्यदर्शनात्‌,'प्रभो! हम कौन ऐसा उपाय करें, जिससे हमें इस मनुष्य-योनिसे नीचे न गिरना पड़े' यह सोचकर और वैदिक प्रमाणोंपर विचार करके मनुष्य धर्मका अनुष्ठान करते हैं

Transliteration

kathaṁ na vipraṇaśyema yonito ’syā iti prabho | kurvanti dharma manuṣyāḥ śrutiprāmāṇyadarśanāt ||

Translation

Parāśara sprach: „O Herr, in dem Gedanken: ‚Wie können wir nicht zugrunde gehen—wie können wir nicht aus dieser menschlichen Geburt in niedrigere Zustände hinabfallen?‘, und indem sie die maßgebliche Gültigkeit der vedischen Offenbarung (śruti) erwägen, nehmen die Menschen die Ausübung des Dharma auf.“

Word by Word

कथम्how?

नnot

विप्रणश्येमmight we perish / fall away

योनितःfrom the womb/species (state of birth)

अस्याःof this (human) [yoni]

इतिthus (quoting)

प्रभोO lord

कुर्वन्तिthey do / perform

धर्मम्dharma, righteous duty

मनुजाःmen, human beings

श्रुति-प्रामाण्य-दर्शनात्from/through considering the authority of śruti (Veda)

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

prabhu (addressed lord/master)

manuṣyāḥ (human beings)

śruti (Vedic revelation)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Humans practice dharma with the aim of not degenerating from the precious human condition, grounding their conduct in the recognized authority of śruti (Vedic revelation) as a reliable guide for right living.

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara addresses a ‘lord’ and explains the motivation behind human religious-ethical practice: people, fearing downfall into lower births and trusting śruti as authoritative, undertake dharma as a deliberate discipline.