Shloka 266

Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)

Devanagari script

दृश्यते चाप्यतिक्रामन्ननिग्राह्मो5थवा पुनः । कोई इस सेतुका उल्लंघन करता दिखायी नहीं देता अथवा पहले भी किसीने इसका उल्लंघन किया हो

Transliteration

dṛśyate cāpyatikrāmann anigrāhyo ’thavā punaḥ |

Translation

Janaka dit : D’ordinaire, on ne voit personne franchir cette limite établie (setu), et l’on n’observe pas non plus, le plus souvent, que les anciens l’aient violée. Pourtant, il arrive qu’un homme indomptable—qui, par un effort puissant tel que l’austérité, n’est plus tenu sous l’emprise du destin—soit vu dépassant cette limite.

Word by Word

• {'dṛśyate': 'is seen, is observed', 'ca api': 'and also, moreover', 'atikrāman / atikrāmati': 'crossing over, transgressing, overstepping', 'setu (implied by context)': 'boundary, bridge

• a regulating limit or moral ‘embankment’ that prevents disorder', 'anigrāhyaḥ': 'not to be restrained, not controllable, not amenable to discipline', 'athavā punaḥ': 'or again

• alternatively, on the other hand', 'daiva (contextual)': 'fate, destiny, the force of what is ordained', 'puruṣārtha (contextual)': 'human effort/initiative

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janaka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral and cosmic order (the ‘setu’) is generally stable and not easily violated; however, exceptional individuals—through intense self-effort and discipline—may transcend ordinary constraints, including what is usually attributed to fate.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka is reflecting on the apparent inviolability of an established moral boundary, then qualifying it by noting rare cases where an extraordinary, unrestrainable person can be seen to cross beyond that limit.