Shloka 4
मृत्युकारणप्रश्नः / Inquiry into the Cause and Designation of Death
उभयं सम्प्रधार्यतदध्यवस्येद् यथामति । अनेनैव विधानेन भवेद् गर्भशयो महान्
ubhayam sampradhārya tad adhyavasyed yathāmati | anenaiva vidhānena bhaved garbhaśayo mahān ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Setelah menimbang kedua pandangan itu dengan saksama, seseorang hendaknya—sesuai daya buddhinya—menetapkan kesimpulan yang mantap. Dengan cara penetapan seperti inilah, makhluk yang berulang kali ‘berbaring dalam rahim’ (mengalami kelahiran kembali) menjadi agung.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not accept a position impulsively; after weighing both sides, one must reach a firm conclusion according to one’s best discernment. Such reflective determination is presented as a means of inner growth for the transmigrating self.
Vyāsa is instructing the listener in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, emphasizing a method of inquiry: consider both viewpoints and then decide. The verse frames this disciplined decision-making as spiritually elevating for the being subject to repeated birth.