Shloka 13
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
द्वितीयं कारणं तत्र नान्यत् किंचन विद्यते । तद् देहं देहिनां युक्त पज्चभूतेषु वर्तते
dvitīyaṃ kāraṇaṃ tatra nānyat kiṃcana vidyate | tad dehaṃ dehināṃ yukta pañcabhūteṣu vartate ||
Parāśara dit : «En cette affaire, il n’existe absolument pas de seconde cause : rien d’autre ne peut en être la raison. Il est juste que les êtres incarnés obtiennent ce corps qui demeure dans les cinq grands éléments.»
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Parāśara emphasizes strict causal clarity: for the stated outcome, no alternative cause should be imagined. He then grounds embodiment in a metaphysical frame—bodies are constituted by and operate within the five great elements, and it is ‘fitting’ (yukta) that embodied beings receive such elemental bodies in accordance with their condition.
Within Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse, Parāśara is instructing on causes and consequences connected with embodiment. He asserts that the relevant result has no ‘second cause’ and then explains the nature of the body as pañcabhūta-based, situating the discussion in ethical-metaphysical reasoning about why beings obtain particular bodies.