Shloka 39
Atithi’s Direction to the Nāga-sage Padma at Naimiṣa (अतिथ्युपदेशः—नैमिषे पद्मनागोपाख्यानप्रस्तावः)
ते तमब्रुवन् शरीरपरित्यागं लोकहितार्थ भगवान् कर्तुमरहतीति,देवता बोले--'भगवन्! आप लोकहितके लिये अपने शरीरका परित्याग कर दें!
te tam abruvan—śarīra-parityāgaṃ loka-hitārthaṃ bhagavan kartum arhati iti.
देवता बोले— “भगवन्! लोकहित के लिए आप अपने शरीर का परित्याग करने योग्य हैं—कृपा करके ऐसा कीजिए।”
तास्त्वाष्ट उवाच क्व गमिष्यथास्यतां तावन्मया सह श्रेयो भविष्यन्तीति
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights loka-hita (the welfare of the many) as a decisive ethical criterion: even the extreme act of relinquishing one’s body is presented as dharmically meaningful when undertaken for the protection and benefit of the world.
A group of speakers (understood as deities) address a revered figure as “Bhagavan” and urge him to perform śarīra-parityāga—voluntarily giving up the body—explicitly stating that it should be done for the sake of the world’s welfare.