Shloka 17
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
मूर्थतश्नोत्पतेद् धूम: सद्यो मृत्युनिदर्शनम् नरेश्वरर जिसके नाक और कान टेढ़े हो जाय
mūrdhataḥ śnotpated dhūmaḥ sadyo mṛtyu-nidarśanam | nareśvara yasya nāsā-karṇau vakrī-bhavataḥ, dantāś ca netrayoś ca varṇaḥ vikriyate, mūrcchā ca jāyate, śarīraṃ ca śītaṃ bhavati, vāma-netrāt sahasā aśru pravartate, mūrdhataś ca dhūmaḥ utpadyate—tasya tatkṣaṇād eva mṛtyur bhavati | uparyuktāni lakṣaṇāni sadyo-mṛtyu-sūcakāni || etāvanti tvaritāni viditvā mānavo ’tmavān rātriṃ-divaṃ paramātmānaṃ dhyāyet, mṛtyu-kālaṃ ca pratīkṣeta ||
ヤージュニャヴァルキヤは言った。「頭頂から煙が立ちのぼるかのように見えるなら、それは即死の徴である。王よ、もし人の鼻と耳が歪み、歯と眼の色が常ならず、失神が始まり、身が冷え、さらに左眼から理由なく涙があふれ、しかも頭の頂から煙が上がるように現れるなら——その者の死はただちに訪れる。これらは死期切迫を告げる印である。かかる迅速な徴を知る者は、心を制する修行者として、昼夜に至上我（パラマートマン）を観想し、定められた死の時を静かに待つべきである。」
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when confronted with the body’s ominous signs of imminent death, the recommended response is inner mastery: maintain self-control and keep the mind fixed on the Paramātman through continuous meditation, meeting death with awareness rather than panic.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king by listing specific bodily symptoms regarded as immediate portents of death, and then turns the discussion toward the ethical-spiritual practice appropriate for a seeker—steady meditation and calm readiness for the end.