Shloka 32

Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)

Devanagari script

पिष्टस्य चेक्षुशाकानां विकारा: पयसस्तथा

Transliteration

piṣṭasya cekṣuśākānāṃ vikārāḥ payasas tathā

Translation

Vyāsa dit : «De même que la farine et les préparations de canne à sucre se transforment, et que le lait devient lui aussi divers produits, ainsi les choses du monde revêtent des formes différentes tout en demeurant enracinées dans leur substance première.»

Word by Word

• पिष्टस्य: of the ground/pounded (substance)
• पिष्टस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिष्ट
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• इक्षुशाकानाम्: of sugarcane-vegetables/greens (i.e., preparations involving sugarcane and greens)
• इक्षुशाकानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: इक्षुशाक
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• विकाराः: modifications; preparations; products
• विकाराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विकार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पयसः: of milk
• पयसः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तथा: likewise; similarly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• flour (piṣṭa)
• milk (payas)
• sugarcane (ikṣu)
• vegetables/greens (śāka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses everyday examples—flour, sugarcane/vegetable produce, and milk—to illustrate vikāra (transformation): many forms arise from one underlying basis. Ethically, it supports a reflective view that external changes should not obscure the deeper reality behind appearances.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vyāsa is explaining a philosophical point through homely analogies, guiding the listener to understand how worldly diversity can be seen as modifications of a more fundamental substance or principle.