Shloka 42
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
अक्षरक्षरयोरेतदुक्त तव निदर्शनम् । मयेह ज्ञानसम्पन्नं यथाश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्,राजन! वेदमें जैसा वर्णन किया गया है, उसके अनुरूप यह क्षर-अक्षरका विवेक करानेवाला ज्ञान मैंने तुम्हें सुनाया है
akṣarakṣarayor etad uktaṁ tava nidarśanam | mayeha jñānasampannaṁ yathāśruti-nidarśanāt, rājan! vedaṁ me yathā varṇitaṁ, tasya anurūpaṁ idaṁ kṣara-akṣara-viveka-kārakaṁ jñānaṁ mayā tubhyaṁ śrāvitam ||
Vasiṣṭha sprach: „Dieses Gleichnis über das Unvergängliche (akṣara) und das Vergängliche (kṣara) ist nun zu deinem Verständnis dargelegt. Hier habe ich dir eine Lehre übermittelt, erfüllt von wahrer Erkenntnis, gegründet auf die Hinweise der Śruti. O König, so wie es im Veda beschrieben ist, habe ich dir dieses Wissen vorgetragen, das zwischen Wandelbarem und Unwandelbarem zu unterscheiden vermag.“
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes viveka—clear discernment between kṣara (the changing, perishable realm) and akṣara (the unchanging, imperishable principle)—and asserts that this teaching is aligned with Śruti/Vedic testimony, presenting scriptural authority as the basis for right understanding.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and concludes or summarizes an instruction: he has provided an illustrative explanation of the imperishable and perishable, claiming it is faithful to Vedic description, and that he has now recited this discriminative knowledge to the listener.