Shloka 3
Kāma–Mamatā–Upadeśa
Discourse on Desire, Possessiveness, and Ritual Duty
द्वयक्षरस्तु भवेन्मृत्युस्त्रयक्षरं ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् । ममेति च भवेन्मृत्युर्न ममेति च शाश्वतम्,“मम” (मेरा) ये दो अक्षर ही मृत्युरूप हैं और “न मम” (मेरा नहीं है) यह तीन अक्षरोंका पद सनातन ब्रह्मकी प्राप्तिका कारण है। ममता मृत्यु है और उसका त्याग सनातन अमृतत्व है
dvayakṣaras tu bhaven mṛtyus trayakṣaraṃ brahma śāśvatam | mameti ca bhaven mṛtyur na mameti ca śāśvatam ||
Vāyu said: “The two-syllabled notion ‘mine’ becomes death, while the three-syllabled ‘not mine’ is the eternal Brahman. The sense of possessiveness is death; the abandonment of ‘mine-ness’ is the timeless path to immortality.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts possessiveness (‘mama’, “mine”) with non-possessiveness (‘na mama’, “not mine”). Clinging to ownership and egoic appropriation binds one to mortality and suffering, whereas relinquishing the sense of ‘mine’ aligns the mind with the eternal (Brahman), pointing toward liberation and immortality.
In Ashvamedhika Parva, Vāyudeva speaks a concise, aphoristic instruction. He frames an ethical-spiritual lesson through wordplay on syllable-count: ‘mama’ (two syllables) is identified with death-like bondage, while ‘na mama’ (three syllables) is praised as the way to the eternal, urging detachment amid worldly duties.