Shloka 31
कर्मनाशाभावः, गर्भे जीवप्रवेशः, आचारधर्मोपदेशः
Karma’s Non-Extinction, Jīva’s Entry into the Embryo, and Instruction on Conduct-Dharma
सुखदु:खे यथा सम्यगनित्ये य: प्रपश्यति । कायं चामेध्यसंघातं विनाशं कर्मसंहितम्,जो मनुष्य सुख और दु:ख दोनोंको अनित्य समझता है, शरीरको अपवित्र वस्तुओंका समूह समझता है और मृत्युको कर्मका फल समझता है तथा सुखके रूपमें प्रतीत होनेवाला जो कुछ भी है वह सब दुःख-ही-दुःख है, ऐसा मानता है, वह घोर एवं दुस्तर संसार-सागरसे पार हो जायगा
sukhaduḥkhe yathā samyag anitye yaḥ prapaśyati | kāyaṃ cāmedhyasaṅghātaṃ vināśaṃ karmasaṃhitam ||
The brāhmaṇa said: Whoever clearly sees pleasure and pain as truly impermanent, regards the body as a heap of impure constituents, and understands death as the outcome shaped by one’s deeds—such a person loosens attachment to worldly appearances and becomes capable of crossing the dreadful, hard-to-cross ocean of saṃsāra.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Right discernment (samyag-darśana) is emphasized: seeing pleasure and pain as impermanent, recognizing the body’s impure and composite nature, and understanding death as conditioned by karma. This insight weakens attachment and supports liberation from saṃsāra.
A brāhmaṇa is instructing the listener in a reflective, renunciatory teaching within the Ashvamedhika Parva, presenting a contemplative view of embodied life—its transience, impurity, and karmic causality—as a means to transcend worldly bondage.