Shloka 31

अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः

Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind

Devanagari script

आचक्षेडहं मनुष्येभ्यो देवेभ्य: प्रतिसंचरन्‌ । सत्यं स्वर्गस्थ सोपानं पारावारस्य नौरिव

Transliteration

ācakṣed ahaṃ manuṣyebhyo devebhyaḥ pratisaṃcaran | satyaṃ svargastha-sopānaṃ pārāvārasya naur iva ||

Translation

天鹅（Haṃsa）说道：“我往来于人间，甚至在诸天之间行走时，也宣告过这一点：正如船是渡越大海的凭藉，真实（诚实）便是登上天界的阶梯。”

Word by Word

• आचक्षे: I say / I declare
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-चक्ष्
• Form: Lat, Parasmaipada, 1, Singular, Active

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: Common, Nominative, Singular

• मनुष्येभ्यः: to men / to human beings
• मनुष्येभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• देवेभ्यः: to the gods
• देवेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• प्रतिसंचरन्: moving about / roaming around
• प्रतिसंचरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-सम्-चर्
• Form: Shatr (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• स्वर्गस्थ: situated in heaven
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्ग-स्थ
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• सोपानम्: stair/ladder/step
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोपान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पारावारस्य: of the ocean (the far-and-near shore; i.e., sea)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारावार
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• नौः: a boat/ship
• नौः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नौ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like / as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

• हंस (Haṃsa)
• मनुष्य (humans)
• देव (gods)
• स्वर्ग (heaven)
• नौ (ship/boat)
• पारावार (ocean/sea)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truthfulness (satya) is presented as the sure means of spiritual ascent: it functions like a ladder to heaven, just as a ship is the practical means to cross a vast ocean.

What is happening in the narrative?

The Haṃsa, speaking as a moral instructor, describes how he has wandered among humans and gods proclaiming a universal ethical principle—truth is the reliable vehicle for crossing the difficult expanse of worldly existence and attaining heavenly realms.