Shloka 14
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
शवगन्धमुपाघ्राति सुरभिं प्राप्पय यो नर:
śavagandham upāghrāti surabhiṁ prāpya yo naraḥ
قال ياجْنَفَلْكْيَا: «رجلٌ إذا بلغ موضعَ الطِّيب ظلّ يستنشق نتنَ الجيفة—فذلك يدلّ على ذوقٍ منكوس وعقلٍ مُدرَّبٍ على الدَّنَس. والعبرة أن يُعرض المرء عمّا هو قبيحٌ فاسد، وأن يُنمّي التمييز لما هو صالحٌ طاهرٌ ورافعٌ للروح.»
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a stark contrast—corpse-stench versus fragrance—to teach ethical discernment: a well-trained mind turns away from the foul and chooses what is pure and beneficial; clinging to impurity even when the good is available indicates distorted values and lack of self-mastery.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Yājñavalkya delivers a moral illustration. He describes a person who, despite encountering something fragrant, prefers to smell a corpse-stench—an example meant to critique misguided attachment and to encourage cultivation of purity and right preference.