Shloka 21
Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)
अप्लवो हि महादोषं मुहामानो नियच्छति । कामग्राहगृहीतस्य ज्ञानमप्यस्य न प्लव:,जिसके पास ज्ञानमयी नौका नहीं है, वह मोहितचित्त मूढ़ मानव महान् दोषको प्राप्त होता है। कामरूपी ग्राहसे पीड़ित होनेके कारण ज्ञान भी उसके लिये नौका नहीं बन पाता
aplāvo hi mahādoṣaṃ muhāmāno niyacchati | kāmagrāhagṛhītasya jñānam apy asya na plavaḥ ||
One who lacks a raft is carried into great fault, his mind deluded and unsteady. For a person seized by the crocodile of desire, even knowledge itself cannot become a saving boat.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire can overpower a person so completely that even genuine knowledge fails to protect or guide them; without a practical means of crossing—self-restraint, disciplined practice, and steady discernment—one is led into serious moral error.
Vyāsa states a moral principle using a vivid metaphor: a person without a raft is swept into danger, and one caught by the ‘crocodile’ of desire cannot use knowledge as a boat. The verse functions as ethical instruction within the reflective teachings of the Śānti Parva.