Shloka 17

Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)

Devanagari script

पूर्वे वयसि मध्ये वाप्युत्तरे वा नराधिप । अवर्जनीयास्ते<र्था वै कांक्षिता ये ततो5न्यथा,नरेश्वर! पूर्वावस्था, मध्यावस्था अथवा उत्तरावस्थामें कभी-न-कभी वे क्लेश अनिवार्यरूपसे प्राप्त होते ही हैं, जिन्हें मनुष्य उनके विपरीतरूपमें चाहता है (अर्थात्‌ सुख- ही-सुखकी इच्छा करता है; परंतु उसे कष्ट भी प्राप्त होते ही हैं)

Transliteration

janaka uvāca | pūrve vayasi madhye vāpy uttare vā narādhipa | avarjanīyās te 'rthā vai kāṅkṣitā ye tato 'nyathā nareśvara ||

Translation

Janaka sagte: „O Herrscher der Menschen, ob in der Jugend, im mittleren Alter oder im Greisenalter — gewisse Folgen sind unvermeidlich. Gerade das, was man sich anders wünscht, da man nur Bequemlichkeit begehrt, kommt dennoch als Mühsal; denn auch Leiden ist ein unausweichlicher Teil des Menschenlebens.“

Word by Word

{'janaka uvāca''Janaka said', 'pūrve vayasi': 'in the earlier stage of life

in youth', 'madhye''in the middle (stage)

in midlife', 'uttare''in the later (stage)

in old age', 'narādhipa''O king

ruler of men', 'avarjanīyāḥ''unavoidable

not to be warded off', 'te''those', 'arthāḥ': 'things

circumstances', 'vai''indeed

surely', 'kāṅkṣitāḥ''desired

longed for', 'anyathā''otherwise

in a different way (than they actually occur)', 'nareśvara''O lord of men

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janaka

narādhipa (a king addressed)

nareśvara (a king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Janaka teaches realism and detachment: across all stages of life, some hardships are inevitable, even when one wishes for only pleasure. Wisdom lies in accepting the unavoidable and not grounding one’s peace in the demand that life be only सुख (comfort).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, King Janaka addresses a king, offering counsel about life’s inescapable difficulties and the ethical need for steadiness of mind amid changing circumstances.