Shloka 3
Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra
Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability
सर्वमुच्छेदनिष्ठं स्थात् पश्य चैतद् द्विजोत्तम | अप्रमत्त: प्रमत्तो वा कि विशेषं करिष्यति,द्विजश्रेष्ठ) देखिये, मनुष्यकी मृत्युके साथ-साथ उसका सारा साधन नष्ट हो जाता है; फिर वह पहलेसे सावधान हो या असावधान, क्या विशेष लाभ उठा सकेगा?
sarvam uccheda-niṣṭhaṃ sthāt paśya caitad dvijottama | apramattaḥ pramatto vā ki viśeṣaṃ kariṣyati ||
Janaka said: “O best of Brahmins, consider this: everything ends in destruction. At the moment of death, all a person’s means and acquisitions are cut off. Then what special advantage can one gain—whether one lived carefully and alert, or carelessly and distracted?”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka highlights the inevitability of death and the cutting-off of all worldly supports, questioning what lasting ‘special gain’ comes merely from careful versus careless worldly living; the verse pushes the listener toward reflection on what endures beyond possessions—inner discipline, knowledge, and dharma.
In a philosophical exchange within the Śānti Parva, King Janaka addresses a Brahmin sage, using the certainty of death to challenge conventional ideas of advantage and security, steering the discussion toward renunciation and the proper basis of a meaningful life.