नैवाविदन् क्षीयमाणं जलं गाधजलेचरा: । यथायुरन्वहं क्षय्यं नरा मूढा: कुटुम्बिन: ॥ ३७ ॥
naivāvidan kṣīyamāṇaṁ jalaṁ gādha-jale-carāḥ yathāyur anv-ahaṁ kṣayyaṁ narā mūḍhāḥ kuṭumbinaḥ
- na
- not
- eva
- indeed
- avidan
- appreciated
- kṣīyamāṇam
- diminishing
- jalam
- the water
- gādha-jale
- in shallow water
- carāḥ
- those who move
- yathā
- as
- āyuḥ
- their life span
- anu-aham
- every day
- kṣayyam
- diminishing
- narāḥ
- men
- mūḍhāḥ
- foolish
- kuṭumbinaḥ
- living with family members
The fish swimming in the increasingly shallow water did not at all understand that the water was diminishing, just as foolish family men cannot see how the time they have left to live is diminishing with every passing day.