Shloka 17
महर्षिलोग उनके ऊपर प्रसन्न होकर उनके कार्योका अनुमोदन करते हुए कहते थे कि असंख्य दक्षिणा देनेवाले राजा अम्बरीष जैसा यज्ञ कर रहे हैं, वैसा न तो पहलेके राजाओंने किया और न आगे कोई करेंगे ।। स चेन्ममार सृञ्जय चतुर्भद्रतरस्त्वया । पुत्रात् पुण्यतरस्तुभ्यं मा पुत्रमनुतप्यथा: । अयज्वानमदाक्षिण्यमश्रि श्रैत्येत्युदाहरत्,वैत्य सृंजय! वे पूर्वोक्त चारों कल्याणकारी गुणोंमें तुमसे बढ़-चढ़कर थे और तुम्हारे पुत्रकी अपेक्षा भी अधिक पुण्यात्मा थे। जब वे भी जीवित न रह सके, तब दूसरोंकी तो बात ही क्या है? अतः तुम यज्ञ और दान-दक्षिणासे रहित अपने पुत्रके लिये शोक न करो। ऐसा नारदजीने कहा
nārada uvāca | sa cen mamāra sṛñjaya caturbhadrataras tvayā | putrāt puṇyataras tubhyaṃ mā putram anutapyathāḥ || ayajvān amadākṣiṇyam aśrī śraity ety udāharat, vaitya sṛñjaya! ve pūrvokta cāro kalyāṇakārī guṇeṣuṃ tvayā vardhamānāḥ, putrāt api puṇyātmatarāḥ | yadā te ’pi jīvituṃ na śekuḥ, anyeṣāṃ tu kathāiva kā | ataḥ putraṃ prati śokaṃ mā kṛthāḥ, yajña-dāna-dakṣiṇā-rahitam iti ||
Narada said: “O Sṛñjaya, if even those four men—more blessed than you and more meritorious even than your son—have died, then what need is there to speak of others? Therefore do not grieve for your son, who was without sacrifice and without gifts and priestly fees.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Narada teaches that death is universal and unavoidable; therefore grief should be moderated by dharmic understanding. He also underscores the moral significance of yajña (sacrificial duty) and dāna/dakṣiṇā (generosity), implying that a life lacking these supports fewer grounds for prideful attachment and should not lead to consuming lamentation.
Narada addresses King Sṛñjaya, who is grieving for his son. To console and instruct him, Narada argues from comparison: even exceptionally virtuous and ‘more auspicious’ persons have died; hence Sṛñjaya should not be overwhelmed by sorrow for a son described as lacking sacrificial and charitable conduct.