Shloka 32
द्रोणेन दुर्योधनस्य कवचबन्धनम् — Drona’s Mantra-Bound Armor for Duryodhana
स चेन्ममार सृज्जय चतुर्भद्रतरस्त्वया । पुत्रात् पुण्यतरस्तुभ्यं मा पुत्रमनुतप्यथा: । अयज्वानमदाक्षिण्य- म्ति श्वेत्येत्युदाहरत्,वैत्य संजय! चारों कल्याणकारी गुणोंमें वे तुमसे बहुत बढ़े-चढ़े थे और तुम्हारे पुत्रसे भी अधिक पुण्यात्मा थे। जब वे भी मर गये तब दूसरोंकी क्या गिनती है? अतः तुम यज्ञानुष्ठान और दान-दक्षिणासे रहित अपने पुत्रके लिये शोक न करो। ऐसा नारदजीने कहा
sa cen mamāra sṛñjaya caturbhadrataras tvayā | putrāt puṇyataras tubhyaṃ mā putram anutapyathāḥ | ayajvān amadākṣiṇyam iti śvetety udāharat | vaitī sañjaya |
Nārada said: “O Sṛñjaya, even those endowed with fourfold auspicious excellence—far superior to you—and more meritorious than your own son, have still met with death. If such men have perished, what then is to be said of others? Therefore do not grieve for your son, who was without sacrificial observance and without the giving of gifts and priestly fees.” Thus did Nārada instruct (you), O Sañjaya.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nārada teaches detachment grounded in the universality of death: even the most auspicious and meritorious persons perish, so excessive grief is misplaced. He also frames ethical evaluation through Vedic norms—sacrifice and generosity (dakṣiṇā)—implying that lament should not override discernment about a person’s dharmic conduct.
Nārada addresses Sṛñjaya to console him over the death of his son. He argues by comparison: if even superior, highly blessed men have died, then death is inevitable for all; therefore Sṛñjaya should not continue mourning, especially for a son described as lacking yajña and dakṣiṇā.