Shloka 16
अर्जुनस्य लक्ष्यवेधः
Arjuna’s Hitting of the Target at the Svayaṃvara
आयुषा विप्रकृष्टेन यदा न: खेद आविशत् | तदास्माभिरवर् धस्तात क्षत्रियैरीप्सित: स्वयम्
āyuṣā viprakṛṣṭena yadā naḥ kheda āviśat | tadāsmābhir avar dhastāt kṣatriyair īpsitaḥ svayam, vatsa |
Vasiṣṭha berkata: “Wahai anakku, ketika usia kami terulur terlalu panjang namun kematian juga tak kunjung datang, keletihan yang dalam menyergap kami. Maka, wahai putra terkasih, kami sendiri dengan sengaja menghendaki agar dibunuh oleh para kṣatriya—mencari kematian kami sendiri.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary longevity can become a burden; the verse highlights the ethical tension between attachment to life and the acceptance of death, and it frames death as something to be met consciously rather than clung to or feared.
Vasiṣṭha explains that when he and his group found their lives unnaturally prolonged and felt deep fatigue, they intentionally wished to be killed by kṣatriyas—implying a deliberate choice to end life when it had become spiritually or existentially oppressive.