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

Celui qui n’a point de radeau est entraîné vers une grande faute, l’esprit abusé et vacillant. Car pour l’homme saisi par le crocodile du désir, même la connaissance ne peut devenir une barque de salut.

Word by Word

• अप्लवः: without a raft/boat (i.e., lacking a means of crossing)
• अप्लवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-प्लव (प्लव)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• महादोषम्: great fault/serious defect
• महादोषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादोष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मुह्यमानः: being deluded/confused
• मुह्यमानः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुह्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नियच्छति: incurs/comes to (lit. reaches, obtains)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-यम्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कामग्राहगृहीतस्य: of one seized by the crocodile of desire
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम-ग्राह-गृहीत
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अस्य: of him/of this person
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम् (अस्मद्-प्रत्ययवत् सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• प्लवः: a raft/boat (means of crossing)
• प्लवः: Predicate
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्लव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• kāma (desire) as metaphorical grāha (crocodile)
• plava (raft/boat) as metaphor

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.