Shloka 396
Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
य इमां पृथिवीं सर्वा चर्मवत्समवेष्टयत् । सृंजय! जिन्होंने इस सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वीको चमड़ेकी भाँति लपेट लिया था (सर्वथा अपने अधीन कर लिया था), वे उशीनरपुत्र राजा शिबि भी मरे थे, यह हमने सुना है
ya imāṃ pṛthivīṃ sarvāṃ carmavatsamaveṣṭayat | sṛñjaya! uśīnaraputraḥ rājā śibi api mṛtaḥ, iti vayaṃ śrutavantaḥ ||
Vāyu said: “O Sṛñjaya, we have heard that even King Śibi, the son of Uśīnara—who encompassed and held the whole earth as though wrapping it in leather, bringing it entirely under his control—also met death. Thus, even the mightiest sovereigns are not exempt from mortality.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the greatest rulers who subdue the entire earth cannot escape death; therefore one should cultivate detachment and orient life toward dharma rather than pride in power or possession.
Vāyudeva addresses Sṛñjaya and cites the example of King Śibi—renowned and powerful enough to ‘encompass the earth’—to emphasize that mortality overtakes all, including exemplary and world-conquering kings.