Shloka 14
Adhyāya 249 — Mṛtyu-prādurbhāvaḥ (The Manifestation of Death) / Restraint of Tejas and Ordered Saṃhāra
अव्यक्तप्रभवां शीघ्रां दुस्तरामकृतात्मभि: । प्रतरस्व नदीं बुद्धया कामग्राहसमाकुलाम्
avyaktaprabhavāṁ śīghrāṁ dustarām akṛtātmabhiḥ | pratarasva nadīṁ buddhyā kāmagrāhasamākulām ||
व्यास ने कहा—अव्यक्त (प्रकृति) से उत्पन्न यह संसार-नदी तीव्र वेग से बहती है और जिसने आत्मसंयम नहीं साधा, उसके लिए दुस्तर है। कामरूपी ग्राहों से भरी इस नदी को तुम विवेक-बुद्धि से पार करो।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly life (saṁsāra) is portrayed as a swift, perilous river originating in the Unmanifest (Prakṛti). Those lacking self-control find it hard to cross, but one can cross by buddhi—discriminative understanding—while guarding against desire, depicted as crocodiles that seize and drag one down.
Vyāsa instructs the listener through a vivid metaphor: saṁsāra is a dangerous river. He urges the hearer to ‘cross’ it using disciplined discernment, warning that desire is the chief threat within it.