Shloka 12
Adhyāya 57 — Arjuna’s Vow-Anxiety, Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel, and the Pāśupata Authorization
स चेन्ममार सृञ्जय चतुर्भद्रतरस्त्वया । पुत्रात् पुण्यतरस्तुभ्यं मा पुत्रमनुतप्यथा: । अयज्वानमदाक्षिण्यमश्रि श्वैत्येत्युदाहरत्,सूंजय! राजा पौरव धर्म, ज्ञान, वैराग्य और ऐश्वर्य--इन चारों बातोंमें तुमसे बढ़कर थे और तुम्हारे पुत्रसे भी अधिक पुण्यात्मा थे। श्वैत्य सृंजय! जब वे भी मर गये, तब तुम यज्ञ और दक्षिणासे रहित अपने पुत्रके लिये शोक न करो। नारदजीने राजा सूंजयसे यही बात कही
sa cen mamāra sṛñjaya caturbhadrataras tvayā | putrāt puṇyataras tubhyaṃ mā putram anutapyathāḥ || ayajvān amadākṣiṇyam aśri śvaity ety udāharat, sūñjaya! ||
Nārada said: “O Sṛñjaya, if that king Śvaiti has died—he who was more blessed in four ways than you, and even more meritorious than your son—then do not grieve for your son. O Sūñjaya, let Śvaiti be cited as an example: though he too has passed away, you should not sink into sorrow for your son, who was without sacrifice and without gifts (dakṣiṇā).” Thus Nārada instructed King Sūñjaya, turning his mind from personal lamentation toward a broader moral perspective on merit, duty, and the inevitability of death.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nārada redirects Sṛñjaya from personal sorrow to a dharmic perspective: death is inevitable even for highly meritorious kings, so excessive grief is unhelpful; moreover, merit is linked to righteous conduct such as yajña and dakṣiṇā, and one should reflect on values rather than be consumed by lamentation.
Nārada addresses King Sṛñjaya (also referred to as Sūñjaya) and uses the death of King Śvaiti—described as superior in four auspicious qualities and more meritorious than Sṛñjaya’s son—as an illustrative example to counsel him not to mourn his son, especially a son characterized as lacking sacrificial and charitable acts.