Shloka 4

मृत्युकारणप्रश्नः / Inquiry into the Cause and Designation of Death

Devanagari script

उभयं सम्प्रधार्यतदध्यवस्येद्‌ यथामति । अनेनैव विधानेन भवेद्‌ गर्भशयो महान्‌,इन दोनों मतोंपर अपनी बुद्धिके अनुसार विचार करके सिद्धान्तका निश्चय करे। इस प्रकार निश्चय करनेसे (बार-बार) गर्भमें शयन करनेवाला जीव महान्‌ हो जाता है

Transliteration

ubhayam sampradhārya tad adhyavasyed yathāmati | anenaiva vidhānena bhaved garbhaśayo mahān ||

Translation

Vyāsa dijo: «Tras ponderar cuidadosamente ambas posturas, uno debe, según su propio discernimiento, llegar a una conclusión firme. Al decidir de este mismo modo—mediante examen reflexivo y resolución constante—el ser encarnado que una y otra vez yace en el vientre (es decir, renace) se vuelve “grande”: su estatura interior crece por la recta comprensión y la elección deliberada».

Word by Word

उभयम्both (views/things)

सम्प्रधार्यhaving well-considered

तत्that (decision/conclusion)

अध्यवस्येत्should determine/decide

यथाaccording to/as

मतिone's understanding/intellect

अनेनby this/through this

एवindeed/only

विधानेनby the method/procedure

भवेत्would become/should become

गर्भशयःone who lies in the womb (embodied being)

महान्great

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should not accept a position impulsively; after weighing both sides, one must reach a firm conclusion according to one’s best discernment. Such reflective determination is presented as a means of inner growth for the transmigrating self.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa is instructing the listener in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, emphasizing a method of inquiry: consider both viewpoints and then decide. The verse frames this disciplined decision-making as spiritually elevating for the being subject to repeated birth.