Shloka 17
Manoḥ Carita
The Account of Manu Vaivasvata and the Mātsyaka Flood Narrative
श्रोतुमिच्छामहे विप्र यदि श्रोतव्यमित्युत । स तानुवाच नास्माकं मृत्यु: प्रभवते नूपा:,“ब्रह्म! हम यह सब रहस्य सुनना चाहते हैं। यदि सुननेयोग्य हो तो कहिये'। तब महर्षिने उन क्षत्रियोंसे कहा--“राजाओ! हम लोगोंपर मृत्युका वश नहीं चलता”
śrotum icchāmahe vipra yadi śrotavyam ity uta | sa tān uvāca nāsmākaṃ mṛtyuḥ prabhavate nṛpāḥ ||
“O brāhmaṇa, we wish to hear it—if indeed it is fit to be heard,” they said. Markandeya then replied to those kings: “O rulers, death holds no dominion over us.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
That spiritual attainment grounded in tapas (austerity) and truth brings fearlessness: death is not a tyrant over one who is inwardly established and disciplined.
The listeners (addressed as kings) request permission to hear a secret or significant matter; Markandeya responds by asserting the extraordinary spiritual condition of sages like himself—death does not exercise power over them.