Shanti Parva Adhyaya 235 Shloka 21 - Mahabharata | Spanish | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 21

Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)

Devanagari script

अप्लवो हि महादोषं मुहामानो नियच्छति । कामग्राहगृहीतस्य ज्ञानमप्यस्य न प्लव:

Transliteration

aplāvo hi mahādoṣaṃ muhāmāno niyacchati | kāmagrāhagṛhītasya jñānam apy asya na plavaḥ ||

Translation

Quien carece de balsa es arrastrado a una gran falta, con la mente engañada e inconstante. Pues para el que ha sido apresado por el cocodrilo del deseo, ni siquiera el conocimiento puede volverse una barca salvadora.

Word by Word

अप्लवःwithout a raft/boat (i.e., lacking a means of crossing)

हिindeed/for

महादोषम्great fault/serious defect

मुह्यमानःbeing deluded/confused

नियच्छतिincurs/comes to (lit. reaches, obtains)

कामग्राहगृहीतस्यof one seized by the crocodile of desire

ज्ञानम्knowledge

अपिeven/also

अस्यof him/of this person

नnot

प्लवःa raft/boat (means of crossing)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

kāma (desire) as metaphorical grāha (crocodile)

plava (raft/boat) as metaphor

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.