Shloka 15
Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)
निमेषोन्मेषफेनेन अहोरात्रजलेन च । कामग्राहेण घोरेण वेदयज्ञप्लवेन च
vyāsa uvāca | nimeṣonmeṣaphenena ahorātrajalenaca | kāmagrāheṇa ghoreṇa vedayajñaplavena ca ||
વ્યાસે કહ્યું—કાલરૂપ મહાન નદી વહેતી જાય છે. નિમેષ-ઉન્મેષ તેનો ફેન છે અને દિવસ-રાત તેનો જળપ્રવાહ. તેમાં કામરૂપ ઘોર ગ્રાહ છુપાયેલો છે; અને વેદ તથા યજ્ઞ તેને પાર કરવા માટે નૌકાસમાન છે.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Life is irresistibly carried forward by Time; desire is a peril that drags beings down, while Vedic wisdom and disciplined righteous practice (yajña as duty/offering) function as a ‘raft’—a means to cross the dangerous current toward liberation-oriented ends.
Vyāsa delivers an allegorical description: Time is imagined as a mighty river whose foam is the rapid succession of moments (blinks), whose water is day and night, and within which desire lurks like a crocodile; the Vedas and sacrifices are presented as the boat/raft enabling beings to navigate this flow.