Shloka 3

कālacakra-वर्णनम् तथा āśrama-धarma-निरूपणम्

The Wheel of Time and the Norms of the Āśramas

Devanagari script

अहोरात्रपरिक्षेपं शीतोष्णपरिमण्डलम्‌ | सुखदु:खान्तसंश्लेषं क्षुत्पिपासावकीलकम्‌

Transliteration

ahorātraparikṣepaṃ śītoṣṇaparimaṇḍalam | sukhaduḥkhāntasaṃśleṣaṃ kṣutpipāsāvakīlakam ||

Translation

वायु बोले— यह देहधारी जीवन दिन-रात के चक्र से घिरा है, शीत-उष्ण के फेर से आवृत है, सुख-दुःख के संयोग-वियोग से बँधा है, और क्षुधा-पिपासा की बाधा से रुका रहता है।

Word by Word

• अहोरात्रपरिक्षेपम्: the alternation/cycle of day and night
• अहोरात्रपरिक्षेपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहोरात्र-परिक्षेप
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• शीतोष्णपरिमण्डलम्: the circle/round of cold and heat
• शीतोष्णपरिमण्डलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीत-उष्ण-परिमण्डल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सुखदुःखान्तसंश्लेषम्: the interlinking/connection of the ends of pleasure and pain
• सुखदुःखान्तसंश्लेषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख-दुःख-अन्त-संश्लेष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• क्षुत्पिपासावकीलकम्: the obstruction/impediment of hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्पिपासावकीलकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुत्-पिपासा-अवकीलक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Wind-god)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vāyu frames embodied life as conditioned by recurring dualities (day/night, cold/heat, pleasure/pain) and by bodily drives (hunger/thirst). The ethical thrust is toward vairāgya (detachment) and discipline: recognizing these constraints helps one seek steadiness, restraint, and a higher aim beyond sensory compulsion.

What is happening in the narrative?

In this passage Vāyu-deva speaks as an instructor, characterizing the human condition in concise images of cyclical time and physical necessity. The verse functions as a reflective teaching within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s broader post-war moral and spiritual discourse.