Shloka 28

Devanagari script

मा भवन्तोअत्र तप्यन्तां सौहदान्निधनेन मे । यदि वेदा: प्रमाणं वो जिता लोका मयाक्षया:,“आपलोगोंका मुझपर स्वाभाविक स्नेह है, इसलिये मेरी मृत्युसे यहाँ आपलोगोंको जो दुःख और संताप हो रहा है, वह नहीं होना चाहिये। यदि आपकी दृष्टिमें वेदशास्त्र प्रामाणिक हैं तो मैंने अक्षय लोकोंपर अधिकार प्राप्त कर लिया

Transliteration

mā bhavanto ’tra tapyantāṃ sauhṛdān nidhanen me | yadi vedāḥ pramāṇaṃ vo jitā lokā mayākṣayāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Let none of you grieve here on account of affection for me because of my death. If, in your view, the Vedas are authoritative, then know that by my passing I have attained victory over imperishable worlds.”

Word by Word

• {'mā': 'do not (prohibitive particle)', 'bhavantaḥ': 'you (honorific plural)', 'atra': 'here, in this place', 'tapyantām': 'should suffer, grieve, be tormented (3rd pl. imperative/benedictive sense)', 'sauhṛdāt': 'from friendship/affection, out of goodwill', 'nidhanena': 'by death, through demise (instrumental)', 'me': 'of me / for me', 'yadi': 'if', 'vedāḥ': 'the Vedas', 'pramāṇam': 'authoritative means of knowledge, valid proof', 'vaḥ': 'for you, in your view', 'jitāḥ': 'conquered, won', 'lokāḥ': 'worlds, realms (often posthumous/heavenly realms)', 'mayā': 'by me', 'akṣayāḥ': 'imperishable, undecaying (worlds/realms)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vedas
• lokāḥ (worlds/realms)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not be overwhelmed by grief for the dead when one accepts Vedic testimony about posthumous destiny; the verse frames death as a transition toward imperishable realms, encouraging steadiness and detachment grounded in śāstra-pramāṇa.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shalya Parva’s war context, Sañjaya reports a consolatory statement: those present are urged not to lament his death out of affection, and the authority of the Vedas is invoked to affirm attainment of akṣaya (imperishable) worlds.