Shloka 133
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
तथैव च सहस्रांशुं सप्तरात्रेण मृत्युभाक् । जो मनुष्य सूर्य और चन्द्रमाके मण्डलको मकड़ीके जालेके समान छिठ्रयुक्त देखता है, वह सात रातमें ही मृत्युका भागी होता है
tathaiva ca sahasrāṃśuṃ sapta-rātreṇa mṛtyu-bhāk | yo manuṣyaḥ sūrya-candra-māṇḍalaṃ makāḍī-jāla-sadṛśaṃ chidra-yuktaṃ paśyati sa sapta-rātreṇaiva mṛtyu-bhāg bhavati ||
Yājñavalkya bersabda: Demikian pula, seseorang yang memandang cakram Matahari dan Bulan seakan berlubang-lubang seperti jaring laba-laba, ditakdirkan menemui maut dalam tujuh malam. Ajaran ini menempatkan penglihatan yang menyimpang atas cahaya kosmis sebagai pertanda celaka, memperingatkan bahaya yang segera dan menyeru kewaspadaan serta pengendalian diri.
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse treats an abnormal, hole-riddled appearance of the Sun and Moon as a grave portent: a warning that one’s life is in immediate peril. Ethically, it functions as a caution to respond to ominous signs with heightened self-control, alertness, and dharmic conduct.
In Yājñavalkya’s instruction (within the didactic setting of Śānti Parva), he enumerates signs and consequences; here he states that seeing the solar and lunar discs as perforated like a spider’s web indicates death within seven nights.