Shloka 49
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
अद्य शोकं विजानामि मानुषाणां महीतले । स्नेहं हि कारणं कृत्वा ममाप्यश्रूण्यथापतन्
adya śokaṁ vijānāmi mānuṣāṇāṁ mahītale | snehaṁ hi kāraṇaṁ kṛtvā mamāpy aśrūṇy athāpatan ||
Jambuka said: “Today I truly understand the sorrow that human beings experience upon the earth. For it is attachment—taking affection as the cause—that has made even my own tears fall.”
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief is rooted in sneha—attachment and possessive affection. When one takes attachment as the basis of one’s happiness, sorrow naturally follows when circumstances change; recognizing this is a step toward detachment and steadiness in dharma.
Jambuka speaks from personal experience: he has just come to understand the human condition of sorrow on earth, and admits that even he has been moved to tears because attachment has arisen as the cause.