Shloka 6
कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च
Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा भूतानां च सुराधिप । तेन शक्र न शोचामि नापराधादिदं मम
antavanta ime dehā bhūtānāṁ ca surādhipa | tena śakra na śocāmi nāparādhād idaṁ mama, deveśvara ||
«Ô souverain des dieux ! Les corps de tous les êtres sont périssables. C’est pourquoi, ô Śakra, je ne m’afflige point. Et ce corps d’âne ne m’est pas échu par suite d’une faute : je l’ai revêtu de mon plein gré.»
श॒क्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
All embodied forms are impermanent; recognizing the perishability of the body, one should not fall into grief. The verse also distinguishes between suffering that arises from one’s wrongdoing and a condition assumed deliberately, underscoring ethical clarity and inner detachment.
Śakra (Indra) explains to the addressed divine lord that he does not lament his present embodiment—even as a donkey—because bodies inevitably end, and because this particular form was not imposed as punishment for a fault but was taken up by his own choice.