Shloka 5
अस्मिन् हि लोकसम्भारे परं पारमभीप्सत: । उत्पन्ना मे मतिरियं कुतो धर्ममय: प्लव:
asmin hi lokasambhāre paraṃ pāram abhīpsataḥ | utpannā me matir iyaṃ kuto dharmamayaḥ plavaḥ ||
婆罗门说道：“在这世间生存的喧腾激流中，我渴望抵达遥远的彼岸。因此我心中生起此问：我当从何处得一艘由达摩铸成的舟，以载我渡越？”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly life is portrayed as a difficult passage; liberation is the “far shore.” The verse frames dharma—not merely ritual, but ethical truth and right conduct—as the reliable ‘boat’ or means to cross saṃsāra, and it emphasizes sincere inquiry into the proper means.
A brāhmaṇa speaker, reflecting on the burdens and turbulence of worldly existence, expresses a desire to transcend it and asks where the dharma-constituted means of crossing (a ‘raft/boat’) can be found—setting up instruction on dharma as a path toward peace and release.