Shloka 12

स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation

Devanagari script

न शोचन्‌ मृतमन्वेति न शोचन्‌ ग्रियते नरः । एवं सांसिद्धिके लोके किमर्थमनुशोचसि,“शोक करनेवाला मनुष्य न तो मरे हुएके साथ जाता है और न स्वयं ही मरता है। जब लोककी यही स्वाभाविक स्थिति है, तब आप किसलिये बारंबार शोक कर रहे हैं?

Transliteration

na śocan mṛtam anveti na śocan mriyate naraḥ | evaṃ sāṃsiddhike loke kim artham anuśocasi ||

Translation

ಶೋಕಿಸುವ ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ಸತ್ತವನನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಿ ಹೋಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ; ಶೋಕದಿಂದ ಅವನು ತಾನೇ ಸಾಯುವುದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಲೋಕದ ಸಹಜ ಕ್ರಮವೇ ಇದು ಎಂದಾಗ, ನೀನು ಏಕೆ ಮರುಮರು ಶೋಕಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವೆ?

Word by Word

नnot

शोचन्grieving (one who grieves)

मृतम्the dead (person)

अन्वेतिfollows/goes after

नnot

शोचन्grieving (one who grieves)

म्रियतेdies

नरःa man/person

एवम्thus/in this way

सांसिद्धिकेin the natural/inevitable (order/state)

लोकेin the world

किम्what/why

अर्थम्purpose/reason

अनुशोचसिdo you grieve repeatedly/afterwards

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Grief does not change the fact of death or reunite one with the deceased; recognizing the world’s inevitable order (death as a natural certainty) is urged as a basis for restraint and composure.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Strī Parva’s lamentation context after the great war, the narrator’s report includes a consolatory maxim addressed to a grieving person, discouraging repeated mourning by appealing to the inevitability of death.