Shloka 12
स चेन्ममार सृञज्जय चतुर्भद्रतरस्त्वया । पुत्रात् पुण्यतरस्तुभ्यं मा पुत्रमनुतप्यथा: । अयज्वानमदाक्षिण्यमश्रि श्रैत्येत्युदाहरत्,वैत्य सुंजय! वे चारों कल्याणकारी गुणोंमें तुमसे बढ़े-चढ़े थे और तुम्हारे पुत्रोंसे तो बहुत अधिक पुण्यात्मा थे। जब वे भी मर गये, तब दूसरोंकी तो बात ही क्या है? अतः तुम यज्ञ और दान-दक्षिणासे रहित अपने पुत्रके लिये शोक न करो। ऐसा नारदजीने कहा
sa cen mamāra sṛñjaya caturbhadrataras tvayā | putrāt puṇyataras tubhyaṃ mā putram anutapyathāḥ | ayajvān amadākṣiṇyam aśrī śraity ety udāharat, vaitty suṃjaya!
Nārada said: “O Sṛñjaya, if even those who were endowed with fourfold auspicious virtues—surpassing you in excellence and far more meritorious than your own sons—have met with death, what need is there to speak of others? Therefore do not grieve for your son, who was without sacrifice and without the giving of gifts and priestly fees. Thus did Nārada instruct you, O Suṃjaya.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nārada teaches detachment and perspective: death comes even to the highly virtuous, so excessive grief is futile. He also links ethical evaluation to dharma—valuing sacrifice and generosity (yajña, dāna/dakṣiṇā)—and urges the listener not to be overwhelmed by sorrow for a son portrayed as lacking these merits.
Nārada addresses Sṛñjaya/Suṃjaya to console him for his son’s death. He argues that if even people superior in auspicious qualities and merit have died, then death is universal; therefore Sṛñjaya should not lament, and should understand the event within the broader moral and existential frame Nārada provides.