Shloka 11
Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)
ज्ञानागमेन कर्माणि कुर्वन् कर्मसु सिध्यति | पज्चेन्द्रियजलां घोरां लोभकूलां सुदुस्तराम्
jñānāgamena karmāṇi kurvan karmasu sidhyati | pañcendriyajalāṃ ghorāṃ lobhakūlāṃ sudustarām | krodhapaṅkāṃ durākrāntāṃ vegāṃ durniyamāṃ nadīm | buddhimān tarati tāṃ nityaṃ kālaṃ paśyann upasthitam ||
毗耶娑说：“以真实之智为光而行诸业者，必能于业中得成就。此世间生存如同一条可怖的大河：其水为五根之欲，其岸为贪，河中之泥为嗔。渡之极难，其奔流几不可遏；然而智者终能越渡。恒常警觉之人，当念‘时’——常伺机而击——正蓄势以深重迷妄覆没众生。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions become truly successful when guided by knowledge and discernment. The senses, greed, and anger create a powerful current that drags one into delusion, but wisdom and vigilance—especially awareness of Time’s inevitability—enable one to cross beyond worldly entanglement.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and liberation, Vyāsa delivers a moral-psychological teaching using a river metaphor: saṃsāra is perilous, driven by the senses and passions, and only the wise who remain alert to the approach of Time can overcome it.