Shloka 17
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
मूर्थतश्नोत्पतेद् धूम: सद्यो मृत्युनिदर्शनम् नरेश्वरर जिसके नाक और कान टेढ़े हो जाय
mūrdhataḥ śnotpated dhūmaḥ sadyo mṛtyu-nidarśanam | nareśvara yasya nāsā-karṇau vakrī-bhavataḥ, dantāś ca netrayoś ca varṇaḥ vikriyate, mūrcchā ca jāyate, śarīraṃ ca śītaṃ bhavati, vāma-netrāt sahasā aśru pravartate, mūrdhataś ca dhūmaḥ utpadyate—tasya tatkṣaṇād eva mṛtyur bhavati | uparyuktāni lakṣaṇāni sadyo-mṛtyu-sūcakāni || etāvanti tvaritāni viditvā mānavo ’tmavān rātriṃ-divaṃ paramātmānaṃ dhyāyet, mṛtyu-kālaṃ ca pratīkṣeta ||
Yājñavalkya said: “When smoke seems to rise from the head, it is an immediate sign of death. O king, if a man’s nose and ears become distorted, if the color of his teeth and eyes becomes abnormal, if fainting begins, if the body turns cold, and if tears suddenly flow from the left eye while smoke appears to rise from the crown of the head—then his death occurs at once. These are the marks that foretell imminent death. Knowing such swift signs, a self-controlled seeker should meditate day and night on the Supreme Self, and calmly await the appointed time of death.”
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when confronted with the body’s ominous signs of imminent death, the recommended response is inner mastery: maintain self-control and keep the mind fixed on the Paramātman through continuous meditation, meeting death with awareness rather than panic.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king by listing specific bodily symptoms regarded as immediate portents of death, and then turns the discussion toward the ethical-spiritual practice appropriate for a seeker—steady meditation and calm readiness for the end.