शब्दब्रह्मणि निष्णातो न निष्णायात् परे यदि । श्रमस्तस्य श्रमफलो ह्यधेनुमिव रक्षत: ॥ १८ ॥
śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇāto na niṣṇāyāt pare yadi śramas tasya śrama-phalo hy adhenum iva rakṣataḥ
- śabda-brahmaṇi
- in the Vedic literature
- niṣṇātaḥ
- expert through complete study
- na niṣṇāyāt
- does not absorb the mind
- pare
- in the Supreme
- yadi
- if
- śramaḥ
- labor
- tasya
- his
- śrama
- of great endeavor
- phalaḥ
- the fruit
- hi
- certainly
- adhenum
- a cow that gives no milk
- iva
- like
- rakṣataḥ
- of one who is taking care of
If through meticulous study one becomes expert in reading Vedic literature but makes no endeavor to fix one’s mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then one’s endeavor is certainly like that of a man who works very hard to take care of a cow that gives no milk. In other words, the fruit of one’s laborious study of Vedic knowledge will simply be the labor itself. There will be no other tangible result.