Shloka 64

देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship

Devanagari script

पुरा करोति सो5न्तक: प्रमादगोमुखां चमूम्‌ । यथागृहीतमुत्थितस्त्वरस्व धर्मपालने

Transliteration

purā karoti so ’ntakaḥ pramāda-gomukhāṃ camūm | yathā-gṛhītam utthitas tvarasva dharma-pālane ||

Translation

Vyāsa disse: «Desde tempos antigos, o Aniquilador—Kāla, o Tempo/a Morte—por causa da negligência torna o exército dos sentidos “de face bovina”, como se não tivesse boca, privado do poder de fruir e agir. Portanto, antes que essas faculdades se tornem impotentes, ergue-te como estás e apressa-te em sustentar o dharma com este próprio corpo.»

Word by Word

• {'purā': 'formerly

• from of old', 'karoti': 'does

• brings about', 'saḥ': 'he

• that (referring to Time/Death)', 'antakaḥ': 'the Ender

• Time that brings all to an end', 'pramāda': 'negligence

• moral and spiritual carelessness', 'gomukhā': 'cow-faced

• metaphorically ‘mouthless/ineffective’ (incapable of tasting/enjoying/acting)', 'camūm': 'army

• host (here: the host of the senses)', 'yathā-gṛhītam': 'as you are

• just as obtained', 'utthitaḥ': 'having risen

• bestirred', 'tvarasva': 'hurry

• make haste', 'dharma-pālane': 'in the protection/observance of dharma

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Antaka (Death/Time)
• pramāda (negligence)
• camū (host/army of the senses)
• dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Negligence allows Time/Death to weaken the senses and capacities; therefore one should promptly rise from heedlessness and practice dharma while the body and faculties still permit effective action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa admonishes the listener with a vivid metaphor: Time (Antaka) turns the ‘army’ of the senses ineffective through pramāda, so the hearer is urged to act immediately—standing up and engaging the body in dharmic conduct before decline sets in.