Shloka 26
Jaratkāru’s Conditional Marriage Vow and Vāsuki’s Offer (जरत्कारु-विवाह-नियमः)
न हि मृत्युं तथा राजा श्रुत्वा वै सोडन्वतप्यत । अशोचदमरप्रख्यो यथा कृत्वेह कर्म तत्,देवतुल्य राजा परीक्षित्को अपनी मृत्युका शाप सुनकर वैसा संताप नहीं हुआ जैसा कि मुनिके प्रति किये हुए अपने उस बर्तावको याद करके वे शोकमग्न हो रहे थे
na hi mṛtyuṃ tathā rājā śrutvā vai so 'nvatapyata | aśocad amaraprakhyo yathā kṛtveha karma tat ||
Der König — obgleich gottgleich — grämte sich beim Hören des Fluches über seinen nahen Tod nicht so sehr; vielmehr versank er in tieferen Kummer, wenn er sich der Tat erinnerte, die er hier begangen hatte: seines Unrechts gegenüber dem Weisen.
गौरयुख उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral accountability can weigh more heavily than personal danger: the king’s deeper suffering arises not from the prospect of death but from remorse over an unethical act toward a sage, highlighting dharma as an inner conscience and the gravity of misconduct.
After learning of a death-related curse, King Parīkṣit is described as not being as distressed by the news of death as he is by the recollection of his own prior wrongful behavior toward a muni; his grief centers on his fault rather than his fate.