Shloka 29
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
जिनके पास कुछ नहीं है, ऐसे दरिद्र भी दीर्घजीवी देखे जाते हैं और धनवान् कुलमें उत्पन्न हुए मनुष्य भी कीट-पतंगोंके समान नष्ट होते रहते हैं ।। प्रायेण श्रीमतां लोके भोक्तुं शक्तिर्न विद्यते । काष्ठान्यपि हि जीर्यन्ते दरिद्राणां च सर्वश:,जगतमें प्रायः धनवानोंको खाने और पचानेकी शक्ति ही नहीं रहती है और दरिद्रोंके पेटमें काठ भी पच जाते हैं
janaka uvāca | yeṣāṁ kiñcid api nāsti te 'pi daridrā dīrghajīvinaḥ dṛśyante, śrīmat-kule jātaś ca naro 'pi kīṭa-pataṅgavat praṇaśyati | prāyeṇa śrīmatāṁ loke bhoktuṁ śaktir na vidyate; kāṣṭhāny api hi jīryante daridrāṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ ||
Janaka said: Even those who possess nothing—poor as they are—are seen to live long, while men born in wealthy families perish like insects. In this world, the rich often lack the strength to truly enjoy and digest what they consume; whereas for the poor, even wood seems to be digested in every way. Thus, prosperity does not guarantee vitality, and hardship does not always prevent endurance.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
External wealth is not a reliable measure of well-being or longevity. The verse highlights the irony that the rich may lack the capacity to enjoy what they have, while the poor often develop endurance; it encourages detachment from prosperity as a false guarantee of happiness.
King Janaka is speaking in a reflective, didactic context within Śānti Parva, using everyday observations about rich and poor to make a moral point about the limits of material prosperity and the unpredictability of life.