Shloka 5
Jājali–Tulādhāra-saṃvāda: Yajña, Vṛtti, and Ātma-tīrtha (जाजलि-तुलाधार-संवादः)
इमे मृता नृपतय: प्रायशो भीमविक्रमा: । तत्र मे संशयो जात: कुतः संज्ञा मृता इति
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ime mṛtā nṛpatayaḥ prāyaśo bhīmavikramāḥ | tatra me saṃśayo jātaḥ kutaḥ saṃjñā mṛtā iti | kasya mṛtyur bhavati? kasmān mṛtyur bhavati? kasmāt kāraṇān mṛtyur iha sarvaprāṇinām apaharaṇaṃ karoti? devatulyā pitāmaha! etat sarvaṃ me vaktum arhasi ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Estos reyes han muerto—la mayoría poseía un poder terrible. Sin embargo, nace en mí una duda: ¿por qué se les designa “muertos”? ¿De quién es esta “muerte”? ¿De dónde surge la muerte y por qué causa arrebata aquí la vida de todos los seres? Oh abuelo, igual a los dioses, te ruego que me lo digas todo.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic-philosophical inquiry into mortality: even the mighty fall, so one must understand what ‘death’ truly signifies—its locus (whose), its source (from what), and its universal power over embodied beings. It prepares the ground for Bhīṣma’s instruction on the nature of life, impermanence, and right understanding after catastrophic war.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira, troubled by the death of many powerful kings, turns to the godlike grandsire Bhīṣma for clarification. He asks why they are called ‘dead’ and seeks an explanation of death’s nature and cause, initiating a reflective teaching sequence in the Śānti Parva.