Shloka 14
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
शवगन्धमुपाघ्राति सुरभिं प्राप्पय यो नर:
śavagandham upāghrāti surabhiṁ prāpya yo naraḥ
Yājñavalkya sprach: „Ein Mann, der, obwohl er zu Wohlgeruch gelangt ist, dennoch den Gestank eines Leichnams einatmet, zeigt einen verkehrten Geschmack und einen Geist, der zur Unreinheit abgerichtet ist. Die Lehre lautet: Wende dich vom Faulen ab und pflege das Unterscheidungsvermögen für das Heilsame, Gute und Erhebende.“
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a stark contrast—corpse-stench versus fragrance—to teach ethical discernment: a well-trained mind turns away from the foul and chooses what is pure and beneficial; clinging to impurity even when the good is available indicates distorted values and lack of self-mastery.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Yājñavalkya delivers a moral illustration. He describes a person who, despite encountering something fragrant, prefers to smell a corpse-stench—an example meant to critique misguided attachment and to encourage cultivation of purity and right preference.