Shloka 19

Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)

Devanagari script

नवे कपाले सलिल संन्यस्तं हीयते यथा । नवेतरे तथाभावं प्राप्नोति सुखभावितम्‌,जैसे नये बने हुए कच्चे घड़ेमें रखा हुआ जल नष्ट हो जाता है, परंतु पके-पकाये घड़ेमें रखा हुआ ज्यों-का-त्यों बना रहता है, उसी प्रकार परिपक्व विशुद्ध अन्तःकरणमें सम्पादित सुखदायक शुभकर्म निश्चल रहते हैं

Transliteration

nave kapāle salila-saṃnyastaṃ hīyate yathā | navetare tathābhāvaṃ prāpnoti sukha-bhāvitam ||

Translation

Disse Parāśara: “Assim como a água derramada num vaso de barro recém-feito e ainda não cozido se infiltra e se perde, enquanto a água guardada num vaso bem cozido permanece intacta, do mesmo modo o mérito portador de felicidade, produzido por boas ações, só perdura firmemente quando está estabelecido no instrumento interior (mente e coração) já maduro e purificado.”

Word by Word

नवेin a new (one)

कपालेin a pot/earthen vessel

सलिलम्water

संन्यस्तम्placed/kept (having been put)

हीयतेdiminishes/is lost

यथाas/just as

नवेतरेin the other than new (i.e., in the well-baked/old one)

तथाso/likewise

अभावम्non-existence/cessation (loss)

प्राप्नोतिattains/reaches

सुखभावितम्made/imbued with happiness; well-cultivated as happiness

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

earthen pot (kapāla)

water (salila)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Merit and happiness gained from good actions become stable only when supported by a mature, purified mind; otherwise they ‘leak away’ due to inner impurity, instability, or lack of self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara instructs through a household metaphor: an unbaked clay pot cannot retain water, but a fired pot can. Likewise, spiritual or ethical gains remain only in a well-formed inner character.