Shloka 18
Manoḥ Carita
The Account of Manu Vaivasvata and the Mātsyaka Flood Narrative
कारणं व: प्रवक्ष्यामि हेतुयोगसमासत: । (मृत्यु: प्रभवने येन नास्माकं नृपसत्तमा: । शुद्धाचारा अनलसा: संध्योपासनतत्परा: ।। शुद्धान्ना: शुद्धसुधना ब्रह्म॒चर्यव्रतान्विता: ।) सत्यमेवाभिजानीमो नानृते कुर्महे मन: । स्वधर्ममनुतिष्ठामस्तस्मान्मृत्युभयं न न:,“इसका क्या कारण है? यह मैं तर्क और युक्तिके साथ संक्षेपसे बता रहा हूँ। श्रेष्ठ नूपतिगण! हमलोगोंपर मृत्युका प्रभाव क्यों नहीं पड़ता--यह बताते हैं, सुनिये--हम शुद्ध आचार-विचारसे रहते हैं, आलस्यसे रहित हैं, प्रतिदिन संध्योपासनके परायण रहते हैं, शुद्ध अन्न खाते हैं और शुद्ध रीतिसे न्यायपूर्वक धनोपार्जन करते हैं; यही नहीं हमलोग सदा ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतके पालनमें लगे रहते हैं। हमलोग केवल सत्यको ही जानते हैं। कभी झूठमें मन नहीं लगाते और सदा अपने धर्मका पालन करते रहते हैं। इसलिये हमें मृत्युसे भय नहीं है
kāraṇaṃ vaḥ pravakṣyāmi hetuyogasamāsataḥ | (mṛtyuḥ prabhavane yena nāsmākaṃ nṛpasattamāḥ | śuddhācārā analasāḥ saṃdhyopāsanatātparāḥ || śuddhānnāḥ śuddhasudhanā brahmacaryavratānvitāḥ |) satyam evābhijānīmo nānṛte kurmahe manaḥ | svadharmam anutiṣṭhāmas tasmān mṛtyubhayaṃ na naḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “I shall tell you the reason, briefly, with its logic and supporting grounds. O best of kings, hear why death does not gain mastery over us: our conduct is pure; we are free from sloth; we are devoted to the daily worship at the twilight rites; we eat pure food and acquire wealth by clean and righteous means; moreover, we are steadfast in the vow of brahmacarya. We recognize only truth; we do not set our minds upon falsehood. We continually uphold our own dharma—therefore we have no fear of death.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Death’s power is weakened by a life grounded in dharma: purity of conduct, disciplined effort, daily ritual devotion, pure food and righteous livelihood, brahmacarya, unwavering truthfulness, and steady observance of one’s own duty—these cultivate fearlessness toward death.
Mārkaṇḍeya addresses the kings and explains, in a reasoned summary, why death does not prevail over his group: he lists their ethical and ritual disciplines as the cause of their freedom from fear and from death’s dominance.