Shloka 39
Atithi’s Direction to the Nāga-sage Padma at Naimiṣa (अतिथ्युपदेशः—नैमिषे पद्मनागोपाख्यानप्रस्तावः)
ते तमब्रुवन् शरीरपरित्यागं लोकहितार्थ भगवान् कर्तुमरहतीति,देवता बोले--'भगवन्! आप लोकहितके लिये अपने शरीरका परित्याग कर दें!
te tam abruvan—śarīra-parityāgaṃ loka-hitārthaṃ bhagavan kartum arhati iti.
They said to him: “O Blessed One, for the welfare of the world you ought to relinquish your body.”
तास्त्वाष्ट उवाच क्व गमिष्यथास्यतां तावन्मया सह श्रेयो भविष्यन्तीति
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights loka-hita (the welfare of the many) as a decisive ethical criterion: even the extreme act of relinquishing one’s body is presented as dharmically meaningful when undertaken for the protection and benefit of the world.
A group of speakers (understood as deities) address a revered figure as “Bhagavan” and urge him to perform śarīra-parityāga—voluntarily giving up the body—explicitly stating that it should be done for the sake of the world’s welfare.