Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
भगीरथं च राजानं मृतं सूंजय शुश्रुम । यस्येन्द्रो वितते यज्ञे सोम॑ पीत्वा मदोत्कट:
Bhagīrathaṃ ca rājānaṃ mṛtaṃ Sūṃjaya śuśruma | yasyendro vitate yajñe somaṃ pītvā madotkaṭaḥ ||
Vāyu dit : «Ô Sūṃjaya, nous avons appris que le roi Bhagīratha aussi est mort — lui dont, au sacrifice déployé dans toute son ampleur, Indra, après avoir bu le Soma, fut saisi d’une ivresse farouche.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Even the most renowned kings and the most splendid sacrifices do not exempt one from mortality; worldly glory and ritual grandeur are ultimately transient, urging reflection on lasting dharma rather than pride in power or fame.
Vāyu addresses Sūṃjaya and cites Bhagīratha as an example: despite having performed a grand sacrifice so potent that Indra drank Soma and became intensely exhilarated, Bhagīratha has still died—supporting a broader argument about the inevitability of death and the limits of worldly achievement.