Shloka 20
अध्याय २८६ — पराशर-उपदेशः
Ethical Restraint, Mortality, and Karma
न च मृत्योर्न चाधर्मान्न लोभान्न कुतश्चन । पीतामृतस्येवात्यन्तमिह वामुत्र वा भयम्
na ca mṛtyor na cādharmān na lobhān na kutaścana | pītāmṛtasyevātyantam iha vāmutra vā bhayam ||
Samaḍa dit : «Je ne crains ni la mort, ni l’injustice, ni l’avidité — je ne crains absolument rien. Tel celui qui a bu le nectar et se trouve dès lors entièrement au-delà de l’effroi de mourir, ainsi suis-je sans peur, en ce monde comme dans l’autre.»
समड़ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches radical fearlessness grounded in inner purity and spiritual assurance: one who is free from adharma and lobha, and who stands established in a higher realization (likened to having ‘drunk nectar’), is not shaken by death or by concerns of this world and the next.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Samaḍa speaks as a teacher-like voice, declaring his state of unshakable confidence and moral-spiritual independence: he is not intimidated by death, wrongdoing, greed, or any external threat, whether pertaining to earthly life or the hereafter.