Shloka 21
Nāmānirukta of Nārāyaṇa (Keśava–Viṣṇu–Vāsudeva) and the Rudra–Nārāyaṇa Unity Theme
नारदजीने कहा--व्यासजी! वेद पढ़कर उसका अभ्यास ([पुनरावृत्ति) न करना वेदाध्ययनका दूषण है। व्रतका पालन न करना ब्राह्मणका दूषण है। वाहीक देशके लोग पृथ्वीके दूषण हैं और नये-नये खेल-तमाशा देखनेकी लालसा स्त्रीके लिये दोषकी बात है ।।
nārada uvāca—vyāsajī! vedaṁ paṭhitvā tasya abhyāsaḥ (punarāvṛttiḥ) na kartavya iti vedādhyayanasya dūṣaṇam. vratapālanaṁ na kartavya iti brāhmaṇasya dūṣaṇam. vāhīkadeśasya lokāḥ pṛthivyā dūṣaṇam. nava-nava-khela-tamāśā-darśana-lālasā striyāḥ doṣa-bhūtā. adhīyatāṁ bhavān vedān sārdhaṁ putreṇa dhīmatā, vidhunvan brahma-ghoṣeṇa rakṣo-bhaya-kṛtaṁ tamaḥ.
那罗陀说道：“噢，毗耶娑！研习吠陀而不复诵不勤修（自习、温习），乃吠陀学之瑕疵；不守誓戒，乃婆罗门之瑕疵。瓦希迦国之民被称为大地之瑕疵；而女子贪恋观赏层出不穷的新奇戏乐与景象，也被计为过失。故愿你与智慧之子同修吠陀诵习；以梵音圣声之雷霆，震荡并驱散那因惧怕罗刹而生的黑暗。”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses disciplined continuity: learning is incomplete without repeated practice (svādhyāya/abhyāsa), vows must be upheld as a mark of Brahminical integrity, and sacred recitation is portrayed as a force that dispels fear and darkness—both literal and moral.
Nārada addresses Vyāsa, offering moral observations about faults (dūṣaṇas) and then urges him to continue Vedic recitation with his wise son Śuka, describing the Vedic sound (brahma-ghoṣa) as driving away the darkness born of fear of rākṣasas.