Shloka 38

Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)

Devanagari script

मातापितृसहस्राणि पुत्रदारशतानि च । संसारेष्वनुभूतानि कस्य ते कस्य वा वयम्‌,हमने संसारमें अनेक बार जन्म लेकर सहस्रों माता-पिता और सैकड़ों स्त्री-पुत्रोंके सुखका अनुभव किया है; परंतु अब वे किसके हैं अथवा हम उनमेंसे किसके हैं?

Transliteration

mātāpitr̥sahasrāṇi putradāraśatāni ca | saṁsāreṣv anubhūtāni kasya te kasya vā vayam ||

Translation

Janaka berkata: “Dalam pengembaraan samsara, kita telah mengalami ribuan ibu dan ayah, serta ratusan putra dan istri. Namun kini—mereka milik siapa, dan kita ini milik siapa?”

Word by Word

माताmothers

पितृfathers

सहस्राणिthousands

पुत्रsons

दारwives

शतानिhundreds

चand

संसारेषुin (many) worldly existences / transmigrations

अनुभूतानिexperienced

कस्यof whom? / whose?

तेof that / of those (i.e., they)

कस्यof whom? / whose?

वाor

वयम्we

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janaka

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Repeated births create countless familial bonds, showing that worldly relations are transient and not ultimately ‘mine’ or ‘yours’. The verse urges discernment and detachment (vairāgya), pointing toward a stable basis of identity beyond changing social roles.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka reflects philosophically on saṁsāra: across innumerable lives one has had many parents, spouses, and children. By questioning ownership and belonging—‘whose are they, whose are we?’—he undermines possessiveness and prepares the ground for teachings on liberation-oriented conduct.