Shloka 17
Manoḥ Carita
The Account of Manu Vaivasvata and the Mātsyaka Flood Narrative
श्रोतुमिच्छामहे विप्र यदि श्रोतव्यमित्युत । स तानुवाच नास्माकं मृत्यु: प्रभवते नूपा:,“ब्रह्म! हम यह सब रहस्य सुनना चाहते हैं। यदि सुननेयोग्य हो तो कहिये'। तब महर्षिने उन क्षत्रियोंसे कहा--“राजाओ! हम लोगोंपर मृत्युका वश नहीं चलता”
śrotum icchāmahe vipra yadi śrotavyam ity uta | sa tān uvāca nāsmākaṃ mṛtyuḥ prabhavate nṛpāḥ ||
“O brāhmaṇa, we wish to hear it—if indeed it is fit to be heard,” they said. Markandeya then replied to those kings: “O rulers, death holds no dominion over us.” The statement underscores the ascetic’s spiritual mastery and the ethical idea that one who is established in brahmanical austerity and truth is not shaken by fear of mortality.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
That spiritual attainment grounded in tapas (austerity) and truth brings fearlessness: death is not a tyrant over one who is inwardly established and disciplined.
The listeners (addressed as kings) request permission to hear a secret or significant matter; Markandeya responds by asserting the extraordinary spiritual condition of sages like himself—death does not exercise power over them.