Shloka 47

नरनारायण-नारदसंवादः

Nara-Nārāyaṇa–Nārada Discourse on Vision, Elements, and Entry into Vāsudeva

Devanagari script

पुत्रदारैर्महान्‌ क्लेशो विद्याम्नाये महान्‌ श्रम: । कि नु स्याच्छाश्व॒तं स्थानमल्पक्लेशं महोदयम्‌

Transliteration

putradārair mahān kleśo vidyāmnāye mahān śramaḥ | ki nu syāc chāśvataṃ sthānam alpakleśaṃ mahodayam ||

Translation

Nārada dit : «Grande est la détresse qui naît de l’enchevêtrement avec épouse et enfants ; et grand aussi est le labeur qu’exigent la quête et la transmission du savoir. Quel est donc le moyen d’atteindre l’état éternel—où la peine est légère, mais l’élévation spirituelle et la vraie prospérité sont immenses ?»

Word by Word

• {'putra-dāraiḥ': 'by/through sons and wife

• family ties (instrumental plural)', 'mahān': 'great, intense', 'kleśaḥ': 'affliction, distress, suffering, trouble', 'vidyā-āmnāye': 'in the tradition/recitation and disciplined study of knowledge

• the received corpus of learning', 'śramaḥ': 'labor, exertion, strenuous effort', 'kim nu': 'what indeed?, how then?', 'syāt': 'might be, could be (optative of √as)', 'śāśvatam': 'eternal, everlasting', 'sthānam': 'state, station, abode, goal', 'alpa-kleśam': 'with little hardship

• minimally painful', 'mahā-udayam': 'having great rise/prosperity

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a classic ethical-spiritual inquiry: worldly responsibilities and even scholarly pursuits can be burdensome; therefore one should seek a path that leads to the eternal good (śāśvataṃ sthānam) with minimal suffering and maximal true uplift—pointing toward inner discipline, detachment, and liberation-oriented dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada, speaking in the Śānti Parva’s reflective setting, articulates a seeker’s dilemma: family entanglements bring heavy anxiety, and rigorous learning demands great effort. He asks what practical means exists to reach the everlasting goal with comparatively little hardship and great benefit.