Shloka 20
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
गन्धवर्णरसस्पर्शा निवर्तन्ते स्वभावत: । तथैव सुखदुःखानि विधानमनुवर्तते,जैसे शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और गन्ध स्वभावत: आते-जाते रहते हैं, उसी प्रकार मनुष्य सुख और दु:खोंको प्रारब्धानुसार पाता रहता है
gandha-varṇa-rasa-sparśā nivartante svabhāvataḥ | tathaiva sukha-duḥkhāni vidhānam anuvartate ||
जनक म्हणाले—गंध, वर्ण, रस आणि स्पर्श हे स्वभावतः येतात-जातात; त्याचप्रमाणे सुख-दुःखही विधानानुसार, म्हणजेच प्रारब्धाच्या क्रमाने, मनुष्याला प्राप्त होतात.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-experiences (smell, color/form, taste, touch) naturally arise and pass away; likewise, pleasure and pain arrive according to the ordained order (vidhāna). The ethical implication is to cultivate steadiness and non-attachment rather than being driven by changing sensations and fortunes.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and right conduct, King Janaka speaks as a teacher-figure, using the transient nature of sensory contact as an analogy to explain why one should remain even-minded when confronted with happiness and suffering.