Shloka 17
कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च
Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation
पृथिवी ज्योतिराकाशमापो वायुश्च॒ पठचम: । एतद्योनीनि भूतानि तत्र का परिदेवना,पृथ्वी, जल, अग्नि, वायु और आकाश--ये ही सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंके शरीरोंके कारण हैं; अतः उनके लिये शोक और विलापकी क्या आवश्यकता है?
śakra uvāca | pṛthivī jyotir ākāśam āpo vāyuś ca pañcamaḥ | etad-yonīni bhūtāni tatra kā paridevanā ||
Śakra said: “Earth, fire (light), space, water, and wind as the fifth—these are the wombs (material sources) from which embodied beings arise. When all creatures are constituted from these elements and return to them, what ground is there for lamentation and wailing?”
श॒क्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief is weakened by seeing embodied life as a temporary composition of the five elements; since beings arise from and dissolve back into these material sources, excessive lamentation is portrayed as lacking a stable basis.
Śakra (Indra) instructs the listener by pointing to the elemental constitution of all creatures, using this analysis to argue against sorrow and to encourage steadiness of mind.