Shloka 53
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
क्व नु तेडद्य पिता राजन् क्व नु तेडद्य पितामहा: । न त्वं पश्यसि तानद्य न त्वां पश्यन्ति तेडनघ,राजन्! आज तुम्हारे पिता कहाँ हैं? आज तुम्हारे पितामह कहाँ गये? निष्पाप नरेश! आज न तो तुम उन्हें देख रहे हो और न वे तुम्हें देखते हैं
janaka uvāca | kva nu te 'dya pitā rājan kva nu te 'dya pitāmahāḥ | na tvaṁ paśyasi tān adya na tvāṁ paśyanti te 'nagha ||
Janaka dit : « Ô roi, où est ton père aujourd’hui, et où sont tes grands-pères aujourd’hui ? Aujourd’hui tu ne les vois pas, et eux ne te voient pas, ô souverain sans faute. »
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka highlights impermanence: even one’s father and ancestors are no longer present or mutually visible. The ethical thrust is to loosen attachment to worldly continuity (family pride, possession, status) and to ground one’s conduct in dharma and inner understanding rather than in transient relations.
Janaka addresses a king and uses a pointed rhetorical question about the king’s father and grandfathers. The immediate purpose is admonition: to make the listener reflect on mortality and separation, thereby preparing the mind for counsel on right living and dispassion.