Shloka 53
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
क्व नु तेडद्य पिता राजन् क्व नु तेडद्य पितामहा: । न त्वं पश्यसि तानद्य न त्वां पश्यन्ति तेडनघ,राजन्! आज तुम्हारे पिता कहाँ हैं? आज तुम्हारे पितामह कहाँ गये? निष्पाप नरेश! आज न तो तुम उन्हें देख रहे हो और न वे तुम्हें देखते हैं
janaka uvāca | kva nu te 'dya pitā rājan kva nu te 'dya pitāmahāḥ | na tvaṁ paśyasi tān adya na tvāṁ paśyanti te 'nagha ||
ພະເຈົ້າຈະນະກະກ່າວວ່າ: “ໂອ ພະຣາຊາ, ມື້ນີ້ພໍ່ຂອງທ່ານຢູ່ໃສ? ແລ້ວມື້ນີ້ປູ່ຂອງທ່ານຢູ່ໃສ? ໂອ ກະສັດຜູ້ບໍ່ມີມົນທິນ, ມື້ນີ້ທ່ານບໍ່ເຫັນເຂົາເຈົ້າ ແລະ ເຂົາເຈົ້າກໍບໍ່ເຫັນທ່ານ.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka highlights impermanence: even one’s father and ancestors are no longer present or mutually visible. The ethical thrust is to loosen attachment to worldly continuity (family pride, possession, status) and to ground one’s conduct in dharma and inner understanding rather than in transient relations.
Janaka addresses a king and uses a pointed rhetorical question about the king’s father and grandfathers. The immediate purpose is admonition: to make the listener reflect on mortality and separation, thereby preparing the mind for counsel on right living and dispassion.