Shloka 59

Devanagari script

त्यज्यतामेष निस्तेजा: शून्य: काछ्ठत्वमागत: । अन्यदेहविषक्त हि शावं काषछठत्वमागतम्‌,यह मृत बालक तेजोहीन होकर थोथे काठके समान हो गया है। इसे छोड़ दो। इसका जीव दूसरे शरीरमें आसक्त है। इस निष्प्राण बालकका यह शव काठके समान हो गया है तुमलोग इसे छोड़कर चले क्‍यों नहीं जाते? तुम्हारा यह स्नेह निरर्थक है और इस परिश्रमका भी कोई फल नहीं है

Transliteration

tyajyatām eṣa nistejāḥ śūnyaḥ kāṣṭhatvam āgataḥ | anyadeha-viṣaktaḥ hi śavaṁ kāṣṭhatvam āgatam ||

Translation

Dijo Jambuka: «Dejadlo. Sin brillo y vacío de vida, se ha vuelto como un trozo de madera. Pues el ser viviente ya se ha ligado a otro cuerpo; este cadáver se ha convertido en simple leño. ¿Por qué no os marcháis, dejándolo atrás? Vuestro apego es vano, y este esfuerzo no dará fruto.»

Word by Word

त्यज्यताम्let (him/it) be abandoned

एषःthis (one)

निस्तेजाःdevoid of radiance/energy

शून्यःempty, void

काष्ठत्वम्woodenness; state of being like wood

आगतःhas come to; has become

अन्यin another

देहेin (a) body

विषक्तःattached, clinging

हिindeed, for

शवम्corpse

काष्ठत्वम्woodenness; state like wood

आगतम्has reached; has become

Speaker

जम्बुक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Jambuka

corpse (śava)

child (implied by context: bālaka)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse urges discernment and detachment at death: once life has departed, the body is inert like wood. Clinging to the corpse out of affection is portrayed as fruitless, while the jīva is understood to move on toward another embodiment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Jambuka addresses mourners who are attached to a dead child’s body, instructing them to abandon the corpse and stop exhausting themselves in grief, emphasizing that the living principle has already departed and their continued attachment cannot restore life.