Shloka 38
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
मृत्योर्ये ते व्याधय श्चाश्रुपाता मनुष्याणां रुज्यते यैः शरीरम् | सर्वेषां वै प्राणिनां प्राणनान्ते तस्माच्छोक॑ मा कृथा बुद्धय बुद्धया
mṛtyor ye te vyādhayaś cāśrupātā manuṣyāṇāṁ rujyate yaiḥ śarīram | sarveṣāṁ vai prāṇināṁ prāṇanānte tasmāc chokaṁ mā kṛthā budhya budhyā ||
Bhīṣma said: “Those tears that first fell at the coming of Death became the diseases—fevers and the like—by which human bodies are afflicted. Death approaches every living being when its allotted life-breath reaches its end. Therefore, O king, do not grieve for your son; understand this matter through clear discernment.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief should be restrained through discernment: death is inevitable and comes to all beings only when their allotted lifespan ends; understanding this reduces attachment-driven sorrow.
Bhīṣma instructs and consoles a grieving king, explaining the universality of death and the origin of bodily afflictions, urging him not to mourn his son but to reflect wisely.