Shloka 11
Adhyaya 43 — Portents of Death (Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇas) and the Yogin’s Response; Alarka Renounces Kingship
घृते तैले तथादर्शे तोये वा नात्मनस्तनुम् ।
यः पश्येदशिरस्कां वा मासादूर्ध्वं न जीवति ॥
ghṛte taile tathādarśe toye vā nātmanastanum / yaḥ paśyedaśiraskāṃ vā māsādūrdhvaṃ na jīvati
إذا نظر المرء إلى جسده في السمن المصفّى (ghee) أو الزيت أو المرآة أو الماء، فرآه كأنه بلا رأس—فإنه لا يعيش أكثر من شهر.
{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The ‘headless’ vision dramatizes the fragility of embodied identity; ethically it urges immediate completion of vows, settling debts, and cultivating remembrance of the Self beyond the body.
Ancillary omen-literature; not part of sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita.
The head symbolizes prajñā and life-principle; its absence in reflection suggests withdrawal of prāṇa/tejas. Reflective media (water, oil) are liminal surfaces—metaphors for the boundary between worlds.