Shloka 17

ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्

Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds

Devanagari script

एतेषां सहवासं च निवासं चैव नित्यश: । याथातथ्येन पश्यन्ति न नित्यं प्राकृता जना:

Transliteration

eteṣāṃ sahavāsaṃ ca nivāsaṃ caiva nityaśaḥ | yāthātathyena paśyanti na nityaṃ prākṛtā janāḥ ||

Translation

Gewöhnliche Menschen erkennen die Dinge nicht immer so, wie sie in Wahrheit sind. Selbst wenn sie Tag für Tag in ständiger Gemeinschaft verkehren und zusammen wohnen, vermögen sie das wirkliche Wesen jener Personen und jener Zustände nicht der Wirklichkeit gemäß zu schauen.

Word by Word

एतेषाम्of these (people/things)

सहवासम्living together, association

चand

निवासम्dwelling, residence

चand

एवindeed, just

नित्यशःalways, constantly

याथातथ्येनby/with truth as it is, in accordance with reality

पश्यन्तिthey see

नnot

नित्यम्the eternal (as such)

प्राकृताःordinary, unrefined

जनाःpeople

Speaker

याज़्वल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yājñavalkya

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?

Mere proximity or long familiarity does not guarantee true understanding; without discernment, worldly people often fail to perceive the real nature of persons and situations as they actually are.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yājñavalkya is instructing his listener on the limits of ordinary perception, emphasizing that even constant companionship and shared residence do not ensure accurate insight into reality.