Mahabharata 1.196.2 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 196, Shloka 2
Adhyāya 196: Droṇa’s Conciliatory Counsel and Karṇa’s Suspicion of Counsel (मन्त्र-नय-विवादः)
ततो यमो दीक्षितस्तत्र राजन् नामारयत् कंचिदपि प्रजानाम् | ततः प्रजास्ता बहुला बभूवु: कालातिपातान्मरणप्रहीणा:
tato yamo dīkṣitas tatra rājan nāmarayat kañcid api prajānām | tataḥ prajāstā bahulā babhūvuḥ kālātipātān maraṇaprahīṇāḥ ||
Daraufhin, o König, ließ Yama, der für jenes Opfer die Weihe auf sich genommen hatte, keinen der Menschen sterben. Als die festgesetzte Zeit des Todes wirkungslos verstrich, wurde das Volk der Sterblichkeit ledig und vermehrte sich von Tag zu Tag in großer Zahl.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that even a temporary suspension of a cosmic function (death), when tied to ritual consecration and dharmic constraints, disrupts balance: without mortality, population swells unchecked. It implies that dharma includes maintaining cosmic order, not merely individual benefit.
Vyāsa tells the king that Yama, while under dīkṣā for a sacrificial context, refrained from taking any lives. As the destined times of death passed unused, people effectively became deathless and their numbers increased greatly.
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