Shloka 25

अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः

The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise

Devanagari script

प्राप्तुंन शक्‍यो यो विद्वन्‌ नरैर्दुष्कृतकर्मभि: । लोभाभिभूतै: कृपणैरनार्यरकृतात्मभि:,विद्वन्‌! पापकर्मा, लोभी, कृपण, अनार्य और अजितात्मा मनुष्य जिसे कभी नहीं पा सकते वह महान्‌ फल मुझे ही समझो। मैं ही शुद्ध अन्तःकरणवाले मानवोंको सुलभ होनेवाला योगसेवित मार्ग हूँ। मूढ़ मनुष्योंके लिये मैं सर्वथा दुर्लभ हूँ

Transliteration

prāptuṃ na śakyo yo vidvan narair duṣkṛta-karmabhiḥ | lobhābhibhūtaiḥ kṛpaṇair anāryair akṛtātmabhiḥ || vidvan! pāpa-karmā lobhī kṛpaṇa anārya ajitātmā manuṣyaṃ yāṃ gatiṃ kadācid api na prāpnuvanti tat mahān phalaṃ mām eva jānīhi | aham eva śuddhāntaḥkaraṇavāle mānavebhyaḥ sulabho yogasevita-mārgaḥ | mūḍha-manuṣyebhyaḥ aham sarvathā durlabhaḥ ||

Translation

Die Gottheit sprach: „O Weiser, jene Erlangung, die Menschen böser Taten—von Gier überwältigt, geizig, unedel und ohne Selbstzucht—nicht erreichen können, wisse: Diese höchste Frucht bin niemand anders als Ich. Ich bin der durch Yoga gepflegte Pfad, leicht zugänglich für die, deren Inneres gereinigt ist; doch für die Verblendeten bleibe Ich gänzlich schwer zu erlangen.“

Word by Word

• {'prāptum': 'to attain, to reach', 'na śakyaḥ': 'not possible', 'vidvan': 'O wise one

• learned person (vocative)', 'naraiḥ': 'by men, by people', 'duṣkṛta-karmabhiḥ': 'by those whose actions are wicked/meritless', 'lobhābhibhūtaiḥ': 'overcome/overpowered by greed', 'kṛpaṇaiḥ': 'miserly, petty-minded, mean-spirited', 'anāryaiḥ': 'ignoble

• not noble in conduct', 'akṛtātmabhiḥ': 'by the unrefined/undisciplined

• those without self-mastery', 'pāpa-karmā': 'one whose deeds are sinful', 'lobhī': 'greedy person', 'ajitātmā': 'one who has not conquered the self', 'mahān phalaḥ': 'the great/supreme fruit (highest result)', 'mām': 'Me (the divine speaker)', 'śuddha-antaḥkaraṇa': 'one with a purified inner instrument (mind/heart/conscience)', 'sulabhaḥ': 'easily obtainable, accessible', 'yoga-sevita-mārgaḥ': 'the path served/cultivated by yoga practice', 'mūḍha': 'deluded, foolish', 'durlabhaḥ': 'hard to obtain, rare'}

Speaker

देव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Deva (the divine speaker)
• vidvān (the addressed wise interlocutor)
• māṃ (the Supreme/Deity as the goal)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts two inner conditions: greed, miserliness, ignoble conduct, and lack of self-mastery make the highest good unattainable; purification of the inner faculty and disciplined yoga-practice make the divine goal accessible. Ethical character is presented as the necessary gateway to spiritual realization.

What is happening in the narrative?

A divine figure addresses a learned listener, explaining why certain people fail to reach the supreme fruit and identifying that fruit with the Deity Himself. The speech frames spiritual attainment as dependent on moral disposition and inner purification rather than mere status or intellect.