Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अहोरात्रमये लोके जरारूपेण संसरन्‌ । मृत्युग्रसति भूतानि पवन पन्नगो यथा,दिन और रात्रिमय संसारमें बुढ़ापाका रूप धारण करके घूमती हुई मृत्यु समस्त प्राणियोंको उसी प्रकार खाती रहती है, जैसे सर्प हवा पीया करता है

Transliteration

ahorātramaye loke jarārūpeṇa saṃsaran | mṛtyugrasati bhūtāni pavanaḥ pannago yathā ||

Translation

قال باراشارا: في هذا العالم المنسوج من الليل والنهار، تجولُ المنيّةُ متقمّصةً هيئةَ الشيخوخة، وتلتهمُ على الدوام جميعَ الكائنات الحيّة—كما يُقال إنّ الحيّة تشربُ الريح.

Word by Word

अहोरात्रमयेin the day-and-night-made (i.e., consisting of day and night)

लोकेin the world

जरारूपेणin/with the form of old age

संसरन्wandering, moving about

मृत्युःdeath

ग्रसतिdevours, swallows

भूतानिbeings, creatures

पवनम्wind, air

पन्नगःa serpent

यथाas, just as

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Mṛtyu (Death)

Jarā (Old age)

Pavana (Wind)

Pannaga (Serpent)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Mortality is constant and universal: Death operates through the visible process of aging and consumes all beings without exception. Therefore one should cultivate detachment, right conduct (dharma), and urgency in spiritual and ethical life rather than relying on worldly permanence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s reflective instruction, the sage Parāśara speaks about the nature of worldly existence. He uses a vivid simile—Death roaming as old age and devouring beings like a serpent ‘drinking’ wind—to impress upon the listener the inevitability of decline and death.