अध्याय २८६ — पराशर-उपदेशः
Ethical Restraint, Mortality, and Karma
अगाधाश्षाप्रतिष्ठाक्ष॒ गतिमन्तश्ष नारद । अन्धा जडाशक्ष जीवन्ति पश्यास्मानपि जीवत:,नारदजी! देखिये, जैसे जगतमें गम्भीर, अप्रतिष्ठित, प्रगतिशील, अन्धे और जड मनुष्य भी जीवित रहते हैं, उसी प्रकार हम भी जी रहे हैं
agādhāḥ apratiṣṭhāś ca gatimantaś ca nārada | andhā jaḍāś ca jīvanti paśyāsmān api jīvataḥ ||
“O Nārada, even those who are plunged in unfathomable confusion, without any firm footing, yet driven onward—though blind and dull-witted—still manage to live in this world. Look at us too: in the same way, we are also living on.”
समड़ उवाच
Mere survival is not proof of wisdom or righteousness: even the blind and dull live on. The verse implicitly urges discernment—one should not take continued life or worldly momentum as a sign of true stability, understanding, or dharmic success.
The speaker addresses the sage Nārada and points to a common worldly fact: people lacking clarity, firm grounding, or insight still continue living. Using this as a comparison, the speaker says, 'Look at us too—we are living in the same way,' conveying a tone of humility, resignation, or critique of merely mechanical existence.