Shloka 21

Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)

Devanagari script

अप्लवो हि महादोषं मुहामानो नियच्छति । कामग्राहगृहीतस्य ज्ञानमप्यस्य न प्लव:

Transliteration

aplāvo hi mahādoṣaṃ muhāmāno niyacchati | kāmagrāhagṛhītasya jñānam apy asya na plavaḥ ||

Translation

படகு (ஞானநாவு) இல்லாதவன் மயக்கத்தில் சிக்கி பெரும் குற்றத்தில் விழுகிறான். ஆசை என்னும் முதலைப் பிடித்தவனுக்கு அறிவே கூட காப்புப் படகாக ஆகாது.

Word by Word

• अप्लवः: without a raft/boat (i.e., lacking a means of crossing)
• अप्लवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-प्लव (प्लव)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• महादोषम्: great fault/serious defect
• महादोषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादोष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मुह्यमानः: being deluded/confused
• मुह्यमानः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुह्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नियच्छति: incurs/comes to (lit. reaches, obtains)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-यम्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कामग्राहगृहीतस्य: of one seized by the crocodile of desire
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम-ग्राह-गृहीत
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अस्य: of him/of this person
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम् (अस्मद्-प्रत्ययवत् सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• प्लवः: a raft/boat (means of crossing)
• प्लवः: Predicate
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्लव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• kāma (desire) as metaphorical grāha (crocodile)
• plava (raft/boat) as metaphor

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Desire can overpower a person so completely that even genuine knowledge fails to protect or guide them; without a practical means of crossing—self-restraint, disciplined practice, and steady discernment—one is led into serious moral error.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa states a moral principle using a vivid metaphor: a person without a raft is swept into danger, and one caught by the ‘crocodile’ of desire cannot use knowledge as a boat. The verse functions as ethical instruction within the reflective teachings of the Śānti Parva.