Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct Citraketu: Impermanence, Ātma-Tattva, and Mantra-Upadeśa
श्रीशुक उवाच ऊचतुर्मृतकोपान्ते पतितं मृतकोपमम् । शोकाभिभूतं राजानं बोधयन्तौ सदुक्तिभि: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca ūcatur mṛtakopānte patitaṁ mṛtakopamam śokābhibhūtaṁ rājānaṁ bodhayantau sad-uktibhiḥ
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: While King Citraketu, overcome by lamentation, lay like a dead body at the side of the dead body of his son, the two great sages Nārada and Aṅgirā instructed him about spiritual consciousness as follows.
This verse shows saintly teachers approaching a grief-stricken person and awakening him with truthful, wise instruction—pointing to spiritual understanding as the remedy for overwhelming lamentation.
The king was so overcome by sorrow that he appeared like a dead man himself; the sages therefore spoke to revive his higher understanding and guide him beyond bodily identification.
In intense loss, seek guidance from spiritually grounded counsel and re-center on enduring truths rather than being consumed by despair.