Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

जनक उवाच आगमे यदि वापाये ज्ञातीनां द्रविणस्य च । नरेण प्रतिपत्तव्यं कल्याणं कथमिच्छता,जनक बोले--ब्रह्मन्‌! कुटुम्बीजन और धनकी उत्पत्ति या विनाश होनेपर कल्याण चाहनेवाले पुरुषको कैसा निश्चय करना चाहिये?

Transliteration

janaka uvāca | āgame yadi vāpāye jñātīnāṃ draviṇasya ca | nareṇa pratipattavyaṃ kalyāṇaṃ katham icchatā ||

Translation

Janaka dit : «Ô brahmane, lorsque les proches et la richesse d’un homme croissent ou déclinent, quelle ligne de conduite ferme doit-il adopter s’il recherche ce qui est véritablement propice et salutaire ?»

Word by Word

जनकःJanaka

उवाचsaid

आगमेin the acquisition/coming (of)

यदिif

वाor

अपायेin the loss/decline (of)

ज्ञातीनाम्of kinsmen/relatives

द्रविणस्यof wealth

चand

नरेणby a man

प्रतिपत्तव्यम्should be adopted/decided upon

कल्याणम्welfare/good

कथम्how

इच्छताby (one) desiring

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janaka

Brahmin (addressed interlocutor)

jñāti (kinsmen/relatives)

draviṇa (wealth)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry: a seeker of true welfare (kalyāṇa) must choose a steady, principled course of conduct that does not collapse under either prosperity (gain of wealth/relations) or adversity (their loss).

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka addresses a Brahmin interlocutor and asks for guidance on what resolution or practical stance a person should adopt when family circumstances and material fortunes fluctuate—seeking a path that leads to genuine good.