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:,चन्द्रमा भी आलस्य त्यागकर (कर्मके द्वारा ही) मास, पक्ष तथा नक्षत्रोंका योग प्राप्त करते हैं; इसी प्रकार जातवेदा (अग्निदेव) भी आलस्यरहित होकर प्रजाके लिये कर्म करते हुए ही प्रज्वलित होकर दाह-क्रिया सम्पन्न करते हैं
māsārdhamāsān atha nakṣatrayogān atandritaś candramā cābhyupaiti | atandrito dahate jātavedāḥ samidhyamānaḥ karma kurvan prajābhyaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva said: “Without indolence the Moon attains the conjunctions that mark the months, half-months, and the courses of the constellations. In the same way, Jātavedas (Fire), free from sloth, blazes when kindled and, performing his appointed work for the sake of creatures, carries out the act of burning. Thus even the cosmic order is upheld through tireless performance of duty.”
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.