Prose Explanation Under a Word Limit: The Farmer’s Seed
During a timed revision test, a candidate has 18 minutes left and must answer an explanation question on a prescribed gadya passage. The passage describes a farmer who tells his son that he sows seeds, not fruits, and that time will give the fruit. The printed sentence is: “बीजं वपामि, न फलं; फलं कालः दास्यति।” The candidate writes: “I sow the seed, not the fruit; time will give the fruit.” The teacher marks the translation correct but says the explanation is weak because it misses the implied idea of patient effort. The candidate has already used 6 of 10 lines and has a 60-word limit. There is also a second sentence, “कर्म कुरु, फलं मा काङ्क्ष”, which the candidate confuses with the first. The candidate asks whether to add a general moral or quote the passage.
1. The candidate has 60 words. Write the explanation she should produce, and state the reasoning that keeps it from becoming a mere translation.
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The explanation should move from the literal image to the implied duty. A workable 58-word answer is: ‘The farmer’s words imply that effort is the present duty and the result belongs to time. He does not reject the fruit; he says the seed must be sown first. “फलं कालः दास्यति” makes time the giver, so the moral is patient, persistent action rather than anxiety about results. This prepares for “कर्म कुरु, फलं मा काङ्क्ष”.’ The reasoning: it names the contrast (seed/fruit), turns it into an abstract idea (effort/result), uses the future tense dāsyati as evidence that the fruit is expected, and links to the second sentence without pretending the two sentences say exactly the same thing.
2. The candidate wants to add: ‘Therefore we should never desire the fruit.’ Is that a fair explanation of the passage? Answer with a correction she can write in 25 words.
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No. The passage does not say that desire for a good result is forbidden; it says the result should not be the condition of present action. A 25-word correction is: ‘Work diligently now; do not be anxious about the result, because time will give it when it is ripe.’ The prohibitive mā kāṅkṣa means ‘do not hanker/crave’, not ‘do not desire at all’. The first sentence explicitly promises that time will give the fruit, so ‘never desire the fruit’ contradicts the passage’s own expectation. A good explanation keeps both halves: effort is mine, timing is not.