Shloka 10
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
मासार्धमासानथ नक्षत्रयोगा- नतन्द्रितश्रन्द्रमा श्चा भ्युपैति । अतन्द्रितो दहते जातवेदा: समिध्यमान: कर्म कुर्वन् प्रजाभ्य:
māsārdhamāsān atha nakṣatrayogān atandritaś candramā cābhyupaiti | atandrito dahate jātavedāḥ samidhyamānaḥ karma kurvan prajābhyaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva sprach: „Ohne Trägheit erreicht der Mond die Konjunktionen, die Monate, Halbmonate und die Bahnen der Sternbilder kennzeichnen. Ebenso lodert Jātavedas (das Feuer), frei von Faulheit, wenn er entzündet wird, und vollbringt, indem er sein zugewiesenes Werk zum Wohl der Geschöpfe verrichtet, den Akt des Verbrennens. So wird selbst die kosmische Ordnung durch unermüdliche Pflichterfüllung getragen.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the world’s order is sustained by tireless performance of one’s appointed function: just as the Moon keeps its regular course and Fire burns when kindled, so should a person—especially one responsible for others—abandon laziness and do their duty for the welfare of beings.
Vāyu-deva is instructing through natural exemplars. He points to the Moon’s steady movement and Agni’s active burning as models of ‘atandritā’ (unwearied diligence), reinforcing a moral argument that rightful action and responsibility must be carried out without sloth.