Shloka 42
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
अक्षरक्षरयोरेतदुक्त तव निदर्शनम् । मयेह ज्ञानसम्पन्नं यथाश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्,राजन! वेदमें जैसा वर्णन किया गया है, उसके अनुरूप यह क्षर-अक्षरका विवेक करानेवाला ज्ञान मैंने तुम्हें सुनाया है
akṣarakṣarayor etad uktaṁ tava nidarśanam | mayeha jñānasampannaṁ yathāśruti-nidarśanāt, rājan! vedaṁ me yathā varṇitaṁ, tasya anurūpaṁ idaṁ kṣara-akṣara-viveka-kārakaṁ jñānaṁ mayā tubhyaṁ śrāvitam ||
Vasiṣṭha dit : «Cette illustration concernant l’impérissable (akṣara) et le périssable (kṣara) a désormais été exposée pour ton entendement. Ici, je t’ai transmis un enseignement doté de la vraie connaissance, fondé sur les indications de la Śruti. Ô roi, conformément à ce qui est décrit dans le Veda, je t’ai récité ce savoir qui permet de discerner entre le changeant et l’immuable.»
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes viveka—clear discernment between kṣara (the changing, perishable realm) and akṣara (the unchanging, imperishable principle)—and asserts that this teaching is aligned with Śruti/Vedic testimony, presenting scriptural authority as the basis for right understanding.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and concludes or summarizes an instruction: he has provided an illustrative explanation of the imperishable and perishable, claiming it is faithful to Vedic description, and that he has now recited this discriminative knowledge to the listener.