Shloka 17
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
न धर्मकाल: पुरुषस्य निश्चितो न चापि मृत्यु: पुरुष प्रतीक्षते । सदा हि धर्मस्य क्रियैव शोभना यदा नरो मृत्युमुखेडभिवर्तते
na dharmakālaḥ puruṣasya niścito na cāpi mṛtyuḥ puruṣa pratīkṣate | sadā hi dharmasya kriyaiva śobhanā yadā naro mṛtyumukhe ’bhivartate ||
Dijo Parāśara: “Para una persona no hay un ‘tiempo apropiado’ fijado para practicar el dharma; ni la muerte espera a nadie. Puesto que el ser humano está siempre, por así decirlo, a la boca de la muerte, lo que de veras le conviene es la práctica constante e ininterrumpida del dharma.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not postpone dharma. Since death can come at any time and does not wait, the only fitting course is to practice righteousness and duty continuously, not merely at a ‘convenient’ moment.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, the sage Parāśara delivers a moral exhortation: he warns against delaying ethical and religious conduct, grounding his advice in the unpredictability of death.