Shloka 17

Skanda–Mātṛgaṇa-janma: Kumārakāḥ, Kanyāgaṇāḥ, and the Vīrāṣṭaka (स्कन्द-मातृगण-सम्भवः)

Devanagari script

व्याध उवाच प्रज्ञया मानसं दु:खं हन्याच्छारीरमौषधै: । एतद्‌ विज्ञानसामर्थ्य न बालै: समतामियात्‌,धर्मव्याधने कहा--ज्ञानी पुरुष शारीरिक कष्टका औषधसेवनद्वारा नाश करे और विवेकशील बुद्धिद्वारा मानसिक दुःखको नष्ट करे। यही ज्ञानकी शक्ति है। बुद्धिमान्‌ मनुष्यको बालकोंके समान शोक या विलाप नहीं करना चाहिये

Transliteration

vyādha uvāca | prajñayā mānasaṁ duḥkhaṁ hanyāc chārīram auṣadhaiḥ | etad vijñāna-sāmarthyaṁ na bālaiḥ samatām iyāt ||

Translation

Dijo el cazador: «Con discernimiento debe destruirse la pena del ánimo, y con medicinas debe aliviarse la aflicción del cuerpo. Éste es el verdadero poder del conocimiento; el sabio no debe rebajarse al nivel de los niños con llanto y lamentos.»

Word by Word

• {'vyādhaḥ': 'a hunter

• here, the Dharma-vyādha (the righteous hunter)', 'uvāca': 'said', 'prajñayā': 'by wisdom, discernment, clear understanding', 'mānasam': 'mental, of the mind', 'duḥkham': 'sorrow, suffering, pain', 'hanyāt': 'should destroy, should remove', 'chārīram': 'bodily, physical', 'auṣadhaiḥ': 'by medicines, remedies', 'etat': 'this', 'vijñāna': 'knowledge, true understanding (practical-spiritual insight)', 'sāmarthyam': 'power, capability, efficacy', 'na': 'not', 'bālaiḥ': 'with children

• like the childish/immature', 'samatām': 'equality, sameness

• being on a par with', 'iyāt': 'should go/come to

Speaker

व्याध उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dharma-vyādha (the hunter)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Physical suffering should be treated with appropriate remedies, while mental suffering should be overcome through wisdom and discernment; childish lamentation is portrayed as unworthy of the truly wise.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Dharma-vyādha episode of Vana Parva, the hunter instructs his interlocutor in practical dharma: he contrasts bodily ailments (addressed by medicine) with inner sorrow (addressed by prajñā), urging mature restraint instead of grief.