Shloka 17

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

Devanagari script

युगहदौघमध्येन ब्रह्मप्रायभवेन च । धात्रा सृष्टानि भूतानि कृष्यन्ते यमसादनम्‌

Transliteration

yugahradau ghamadhyena brahmaprāyabhavena ca | dhātrā sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni kṛṣyante yamasādanam ||

Translation

毗耶娑说：在那浩大洪流之中，诸劫为其界岸，梵（Brahman）为其源起；造物主所造的一切众生，都被拖曳着向前，趋向阎摩的居所。

Word by Word

• युगहदौघमध्येन: by/through the midstream of the flood whose banks are the yugas
• युगहदौघमध्येन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग-हद-ओघ-मध्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• ब्रह्मप्रायभवेन: by the mountain/source that is (as it were) Brahman
• ब्रह्मप्रायभवेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-प्राय-भव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• धात्रा: by the Creator/Ordainer (Dhātṛ)
• धात्रा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धातृ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• सृष्टानि: created
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

• भूतानि: beings/creatures
• भूतानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• कृष्यन्ते: are dragged/are drawn
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृष्
• Form: Present, Ātmanepada (passive sense), 3rd, Plural

• यमसादनम्: to the abode of Yama (Yamaloka)
• यमसादनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम-सादन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Brahman (Brahma)
• Dhātṛ (the Ordainer/Creator)
• Yama
• Yamasādana (abode of Yama)
• Yuga (cosmic ages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Time is portrayed as a vast, unstoppable flood originating in the cosmic principle (Brahman), carrying all created beings toward death (Yama’s realm). The ethical implication is to prioritize dharma and the pursuit of mokṣa, since worldly aims cannot resist the current of kāla.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa is instructing the listener within the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse. He uses a compressed image—beings being pulled through a cosmic torrent—to emphasize the inevitability of mortality and the need for spiritual and moral grounding.