Shloka 443

Devanagari script

न क्रियाभिरनन चास्त्रेण मृत्यो: कश्षिन्निवार्यते जान पड़ता है, कोई भी न तो ब्रह्मचर्यके पालनसे, न वेदोंके स्वाध्यायसे, न कर्मोके अनुष्ठानसे और न अस्त्रोंके प्रयोगसे ही अपनेको मृत्युसे बचा सकता है

Transliteration

na kriyābhir na cāstreṇa mṛtyoḥ kaścin nivāryate

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: No one can ward off death—neither by ritual acts nor by the use of weapons. The verse underscores the inevitability of mortality even amid disciplined conduct and martial power, reminding the listener that human effort has limits before the law of time.

Word by Word

नnot

क्रियाभिःby actions/rites

अननand not (as given; likely corrupt)

चand

अस्त्रेणby a weapon

मृत्योःfrom death

कश्चित्anyone/someone

निवार्यतेis prevented/warded off

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mṛtyu (Death)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Death cannot be ultimately prevented by human means—neither religious action nor martial power can guarantee escape from mortality; this frames ethical action as valuable, yet limited before time.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Drona Parva’s war context, the narrator Vaiśampāyana states a reflective maxim: amid battlefield events and heroic efforts, death remains unavoidable, tempering pride in ritual merit or weapon-skill.