Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
केवल आयुर्वेदका अध्ययन करनेवाले बहुत-से वैद्य भी परिवारसहित रोगोंके शिकार हुए देखे जाते हैं ।। ते पिबन्त: कषायांश्र सर्पीषि विविधानि च । न मृत्युमतिवर्तन्ते वेलामिव महोदधि:
te pibantaḥ kaṣāyān sarpīṃṣi vividhāni ca | na mṛtyum ativartante velām iva mahodadhiḥ ||
Janaka dijo: “Incluso muchos médicos que han estudiado solo el Ayurveda se ven caer presa de la enfermedad, junto con sus familias. Aunque beban decocciones medicinales y tomen diversas preparaciones de ghee, no traspasan la Muerte, así como el gran océano no cruza su propia orilla.”
जनक उवाच
Worldly expertise and remedies, though valuable, cannot ultimately conquer mortality; therefore one should not rely on technical knowledge alone for ultimate security, but turn toward higher wisdom and inner discipline.
King Janaka illustrates a philosophical point with a concrete example: even learned physicians using medicines (decoctions and ghee-preparations) still succumb to disease and death, just as the ocean remains bounded by its shore.