Shloka 303
Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
अदक्षिणमयज्वान श्वैत्य संशाम्य मा शुच: । 'श्वेतपुत्र सुंजय! वे धर्म
vāyudeva uvāca | adakṣiṇam ayajvān śvaitya saṁśāmya mā śucaḥ |
Vāyudeva dit : «Ô Śvaitya, apaise-toi ; ne t’afflige pas. Ces quatre—Dharma, la Connaissance, le Détachement et la Souveraineté—te surpassaient en qualités salutaires, et étaient plus méritoires encore que ton fils ; pourtant, eux aussi ont disparu. Que dire alors des autres ? Ne pleure donc pas ton fils. Il n’a ni accompli de sacrifices ni distribué la dakṣiṇā ; pour lui, ne te lamente pas—demeure en paix.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief is tempered by remembering impermanence and moral causality: even the most exalted qualities and the most meritorious beings pass away; therefore one should cultivate calm detachment. The verse also underscores the ethical weight of yajña and dāna (dakṣiṇā), implying that a life lacking sacrificial giving provides less ground for lamentation rooted in pride or expectation.
Vāyudeva addresses Śvaitya, who is grieving for his son. He consoles him by pointing to the mortality of even superior, auspicious exemplars (Dharma, Knowledge, Dispassion, and Sovereign Power) and then argues that Śvaitya’s son, who did not perform sacrifices or give dakṣiṇā, should not be the object of consuming sorrow; Śvaitya is urged to become शांत (calm).