कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च
Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा भूतानां च सुराधिप । तेन शक्र न शोचामि नापराधादिदं मम,देवेश्वर! प्राणियोंके ये सारे शरीर अन्तवान् हैं; इसलिये मैं कभी शोक नहीं करता हूँ। यह गर्दभका शरीर भी मुझे किसी अपराधसे नहीं प्राप्त हुआ है (मैंने इसे स्वेच्छासे ग्रहण किया है)
antavanta ime dehā bhūtānāṁ ca surādhipa | tena śakra na śocāmi nāparādhād idaṁ mama, deveśvara ||
“O lord of the gods, the bodies of all living beings are perishable. Therefore, O Śakra, I do not grieve. Nor has this donkey’s body come to me through any wrongdoing of mine; I have assumed it of my own will.”
श॒क्र उवाच
All embodied forms are impermanent; recognizing the perishability of the body, one should not fall into grief. The verse also distinguishes between suffering that arises from one’s wrongdoing and a condition assumed deliberately, underscoring ethical clarity and inner detachment.
Śakra (Indra) explains to the addressed divine lord that he does not lament his present embodiment—even as a donkey—because bodies inevitably end, and because this particular form was not imposed as punishment for a fault but was taken up by his own choice.