Shloka 753
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
शकक्यं जीवयितुं होष बालो वर्षशतैरपि । जो व्यक्ति एक बार इस देहसे नाता तोड़कर मर जाता है
śakyaṃ jīvayituṃ hoṣa bālo varṣaśatair api | yo vyaktiḥ eka-bāraṃ asya dehasya nātāṃ toḍakara mṛtaḥ, tasya kṛte punaḥ asmin śarīre laṭṭuṃ sambhavaṃ na asti | śatair api śṛgālaiḥ sva-śarīraṃ balidānaṃ kṛtaṃ cet, api ca śata-varṣaiḥ asya bālakasya jīvanaṃ na śakyate |
Jambuka dit : «Ô Hoṣa, même au bout de cent ans, on ne saurait rendre la vie à cet enfant. Celui qui, une fois, a rompu son lien avec ce corps et est mort, ne peut revenir dans ce même corps. Quand bien même des centaines de chacals sacrifieraient leur propre chair, on ne ranimerait pas ce garçon, fût-ce en des centaines d’années.»
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the finality of death with respect to the same physical body: once the bond with the body is broken, re-entry into that very body is not possible. It cautions against magical or transactional hopes of reversing death, even through extreme sacrifices.
Jambuka addresses Hoṣa and rejects the possibility of reviving a dead child. He emphasizes that even extraordinary measures—symbolized by hundreds of jackals sacrificing themselves—cannot restore the child’s life, framing the moment as a sobering counsel amid grief.