Shloka 12
Night Vigil and Kṛṣṇa’s Instructions to Dāruka (निशि प्रजागरः—दारुकानुशासनम्)
पुत्रात् पुण्यतरस्तुभ्यं मा पुत्रमनुतप्यथा: । अयज्वानमदाक्षिण्यमश्रि श्वैत्येत्युदाहरत्,राजाने नित्य, नैमित्तिक तथा काम्य यज्ञोंके निरन्तर अनुष्ठानसे मनोवांछित गति प्राप्त कर ली। श्वैत्य सूंजय! वे भी तुमसे धर्म, ज्ञान, वैराग्य और ऐश्वर्य--इन चारों कल्याणकारी विषयोंमें बहुत बढ़े-चढ़े थे। तुम्हारे पुत्रसे भी वे अधिक पुण्यात्मा थे। जब वे भी मर गये, तब तुम्हें अपने पुत्रके लिये अनुताप नहीं करना चाहिये; क्योंकि तुम्हारे पुत्रने न तो कोई यज्ञ किया था और न उसमें दाक्षिण्य (उदारताका गुण) ही था। नारदजीने राजा सूंजयसे यही बात कही
putrāt puṇyataras tubhyaṃ mā putram anutapyathāḥ | ayajvān amadākṣiṇyam aśriśvaitīty udāharat ||
Nārada said: “Do not grieve for your son. There was one named Aśriśvaiti, who was even more meritorious than you. Though he too has died, you should not lament for your son—because your son neither performed sacrifices (yajña) nor possessed the virtue of dakṣiṇā, the generous gift that brings a rite to completion. Therefore, let your sorrow subside.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nārada teaches restraint in grief by placing personal loss within a moral frame: lamentation is unhelpful, and one should measure a life by dharmic conduct—especially sacrificial duty and generosity (dakṣiṇā/dāna). The verse uses comparison to redirect sorrow toward ethical reflection.
Nārada addresses King Sūñjaya, advising him not to mourn his son. He cites Aśriśvaiti as an example of someone even more meritorious who also died, and argues that Sūñjaya’s son is not a fit object of excessive lament because he lacked yajña-performance and the liberality of giving.