Shloka 38
शरभङ्गाश्रमगमनम् तथा इन्द्रदर्शनम्
Approach to Sarabhanga’s Hermitage and the Vision of Indra
एष पन्था नरव्याघ्र मुहूर्तं पश्य तात माम्।यावज्जहामि गात्राणि जीर्णां त्वचमिवोरगः।।3.5.38।।
eṣa panthā naravyāghra muhūrtaṃ paśya tāta mām | yāvaj jahāmi gātrāṇi jīrṇāṃ tvacam ivoragaḥ || 3.5.38 ||
Dies ist der Pfad, o Tiger unter den Menschen; sieh mich noch einen kurzen Augenblick, liebes Kind, bis ich diese Glieder abstreife—wie eine Schlange ihre abgetragene Haut abwirft.
O Rama, the best among men, this is the way. Look at me for a while, my dear, until I shed my limbs just as a snake sheds its withered slough.
FAQs
Dharma is framed as vairāgya (detachment): the sage demonstrates that the body is shed, while spiritual attainment is pursued without clinging.
Śarabhaṅga asks Rāma to wait briefly and witness his impending act of leaving the body, described metaphorically as a serpent’s sloughing.
Śarabhaṅga’s vairāgya and spiritual mastery—calm, intentional departure rather than fear of death.