Shloka 60
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
त्यक्तजीवस्य चैवास्य कस्माद्धित्वा न गच्छत । निरर्थको हायं॑ स्नेहो निष्फलश्व परिश्रम:
jambuka uvāca | tyaktajīvasya caivāsya kasmād dhitvā na gacchata | nirarthako hāyaṁ sneho niṣphalaś ca pariśramaḥ ||
ジャーンブカは言った。「命がすでにこれを去ったのに、なぜ捨てて行かぬのか。この身は活力を失い、ただの木片となった。生きる自己は先へ進み、別の受生に結びついた。ゆえに、あなたがたの執着は無益であり、この労も果を結ばぬ。」
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges discernment between the perishable body and the departed self: once life has left, attachment to the corpse is purposeless. It counsels detachment and acceptance of impermanence, implying that grief-driven clinging does not restore life and therefore becomes fruitless effort.
Jambuka addresses people who are lingering over a dead child/body, questioning why they do not leave it behind. He argues that the body is now inert like wood and that the living principle has moved on to another embodiment, so their continued attachment and labor around the corpse has no practical or spiritual result.