Shloka 69
प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)
गर्भे च सुखलेशो ऽपि भवद्भिर् अनुमीयते यदि तत् कथ्यताम् एवं सर्वं दुःखमयं जगत्
garbhe ca sukhaleśo 'pi bhavadbhir anumīyate yadi tat kathyatām evaṃ sarvaṃ duḥkhamayaṃ jagat
もしあなたがたの言うように、胎内にもわずかな喜びの痕跡があるのなら、語ってください。ではなぜ、この世界全体がなお苦に満ちているのか。
Maitreya (questioning Sage Parāśara in the ongoing dialogue)
Speaker: Maitreya
Topic: If there is any pleasure even in the womb, why is the world described as wholly suffused with suffering?
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: inquisitive and dialectical
Concept: Even if a trace of pleasure is conceded in embodied states, the predominance and pervasiveness of duḥkha in saṃsāra demands explanation and points beyond worldly satisfactions.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Use reflective inquiry: when pleasures arise, examine their instability and dependence, and seek the stable good (śreyas) through devotion and discernment.
Vishishtadvaita: The question sets up the distinction between limited, contingent सुख-लेश and the soul’s true fulfillment in relation to Vishnu, not in self-contained worldly experience.
FAQs
It sharpens the text’s argument that embodied life is fundamentally constrained by suffering; even if a tiny pleasure is imagined, it does not overturn the broader characterization of saṃsāra as duḥkha-maya.
He challenges an apparent contradiction: if some pleasure can be inferred even in prenatal existence, why is the world described as wholly pervaded by suffering—prompting a clearer doctrinal explanation from Parāśara.
By foregrounding the inadequacy of worldly pleasure, the passage supports the Vaiṣṇava conclusion that lasting well-being requires turning toward the Supreme Reality—Viṣṇu—as the ultimate refuge beyond saṃsāra.