Shloka 64

देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship

Devanagari script

पुरा करोति सो5न्तक: प्रमादगोमुखां चमूम्‌ । यथागृहीतमुत्थितस्त्वरस्व धर्मपालने,देखो, तुम्हारा जो प्रमाद है, उसमें निवास करनेवाला काल तुम्हारी इन्द्रियोंके समुदायको मुखरहित (भोगशक्तिसे हीन) कर रहा है। इनके असमर्थ हो जानेके पहले ही तुम खड़े हो जाओ और अपने शरीरसे धर्मका पालन करनेके लिये जल्दी करो

Transliteration

purā karoti so ’ntakaḥ pramāda-gomukhāṃ camūm | yathā-gṛhītam utthitas tvarasva dharma-pālane ||

Translation

Vyāsa sprach: „Seit uralter Zeit macht der Vollender—Kāla, Zeit/Tod—durch Nachlässigkeit das Heer der Sinne ‘kuhgesichtig’: als wäre es ohne Mund, der Kraft beraubt zu genießen und zu handeln. Darum, ehe diese Fähigkeiten hilflos werden, steh auf, wie du bist, und eile, das Dharma mit eben diesem Körper zu wahren.“

Word by Word

• {'purā': 'formerly

• from of old', 'karoti': 'does

• brings about', 'saḥ': 'he

• that (referring to Time/Death)', 'antakaḥ': 'the Ender

• Time that brings all to an end', 'pramāda': 'negligence

• moral and spiritual carelessness', 'gomukhā': 'cow-faced

• metaphorically ‘mouthless/ineffective’ (incapable of tasting/enjoying/acting)', 'camūm': 'army

• host (here: the host of the senses)', 'yathā-gṛhītam': 'as you are

• just as obtained', 'utthitaḥ': 'having risen

• bestirred', 'tvarasva': 'hurry

• make haste', 'dharma-pālane': 'in the protection/observance of dharma

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Antaka (Death/Time)
• pramāda (negligence)
• camū (host/army of the senses)
• dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Negligence allows Time/Death to weaken the senses and capacities; therefore one should promptly rise from heedlessness and practice dharma while the body and faculties still permit effective action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa admonishes the listener with a vivid metaphor: Time (Antaka) turns the ‘army’ of the senses ineffective through pramāda, so the hearer is urged to act immediately—standing up and engaging the body in dharmic conduct before decline sets in.