Shloka 49

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

Devanagari script

न यावदेव पच्यते महाजनस्य यावकम्‌ | अपक्व एव यावके पुरा प्रलीयसे त्वर,बेटा! घरपर आये हुए किसी समादरणीय अतिथिके लिये जितनी देरमें यावक (घृत और खाँड़ मिलाकर तैयार किया हुआ जौके आटेका पूआ) पकाया जाता है, उसके पकनेसे भी पहले तुम्हारी मृत्यु हो सकती है; अतः तुम ज्ञानरूपी धनके उपार्जनके लिये शीघ्रता करो

Transliteration

na yāvadeva pacyate mahājanasya yāvakam | apakva eva yāvake purā pralīyase tvara, beṭā! gharapara āye hue kisī samādaraṇīya atithike liye jitnī derameṃ yāvaka (ghṛta aura khāṇḍa milākara taiyāra kiyā huā jauke āṭekā pūā) pakāyā jātā hai, uske paknese bhī pahle tumhārī mṛtyu ho saktī hai; ataḥ tum jñānarūpī dhanake upārjanake liye śīghratā karo

Translation

Vyāsa said: “Before the barley-cake prepared for a respected guest can even finish cooking, you may perish while it is still uncooked. Therefore, my son, hasten to acquire the wealth of knowledge.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'yāvat', 'definition': 'as long as

• by the time'}, {'term': 'eva', 'definition': 'indeed

• only (emphatic particle)'}, {'term': 'pacyate', 'definition': 'is cooked

• ripens (passive of √pac)'}, {'term': 'mahājana', 'definition': 'a respected person

• ‘great folk’'}, {'term': 'yāvaka / yāvakam', 'definition': 'a barley preparation

• here, a barley-cake/pūā-like offering (contextual gloss: with ghee and sugar)'}, {'term': 'apakva', 'definition': 'uncooked

• unripe'}, {'term': 'purā', 'definition': 'before

• earlier'}, {'term': 'pralīyase', 'definition': 'you may dissolve/perish

• meet destruction (from pra-√lī)'}, {'term': 'tvara', 'definition': 'haste

• hurry'}, {'term': 'atithi', 'definition': 'guest (especially one deserving honor)'}, {'term': 'jñāna', 'definition': 'knowledge

• discriminative insight'}, {'term': 'dhana', 'definition': 'wealth

• treasure'}, {'term': 'upārjana', 'definition': 'acquisition

• accumulation'}, {'term': 'śīghratā', 'definition': 'quickness

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• atithi (honored guest)
• yāvaka (barley-cake/food offering)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Life is uncertain and can end before even small, ordinary tasks are completed; therefore one should urgently pursue lasting wealth—wisdom and right knowledge—rather than postponing it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa addresses a ‘son’ (disciple/recipient of counsel) and uses a homely example—cooking a barley-cake for an honored guest—to stress how quickly death may intervene, urging immediate effort toward spiritual-intellectual attainment.