Shloka 13
द्वितीयं कारणं तत्र नान्यत् किंचन विद्यते । तद् देहं देहिनां युक्त पज्चभूतेषु वर्तते,इनकी उस अवस्थाके प्राप्त होनेमें आत्महत्यारूप पापके सिवा दूसरा कोई कारण नहीं है। उन प्राणियोंको उस शरीरका मिलना उचित ही है, जो कि पंचभूतमय है
dvitīyaṃ kāraṇaṃ tatra nānyat kiṃcana vidyate | tad dehaṃ dehināṃ yukta pañcabhūteṣu vartate ||
Parāśara said: “In that matter, there is no second cause at all—nothing else exists as the reason. It is fitting that embodied beings obtain that body which abides in the five great elements.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Parāśara emphasizes strict causal clarity: for the stated outcome, no alternative cause should be imagined. He then grounds embodiment in a metaphysical frame—bodies are constituted by and operate within the five great elements, and it is ‘fitting’ (yukta) that embodied beings receive such elemental bodies in accordance with their condition.
Within Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse, Parāśara is instructing on causes and consequences connected with embodiment. He asserts that the relevant result has no ‘second cause’ and then explains the nature of the body as pañcabhūta-based, situating the discussion in ethical-metaphysical reasoning about why beings obtain particular bodies.