Shloka 75
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
मृतस्योत्सृष्टदेहस्य पुनर्देहो न विद्यते । नैव मूर्तिप्रदानेन जम्बुकस्य शतैरपि
mṛtasyotsṛṣṭadehasya punardeho na vidyate | naiva mūrtipradānena jambukasya śatair api ||
Jambuka berkata: “Bagi orang yang telah mati dan meninggalkan jasadnya, tiada jasad kembali lagi. Bahkan dengan mempersembahkan seratus arca sekalipun, tubuh itu tidak dapat dipulihkan.”
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the finality of physical death: once the body is abandoned, it cannot be recovered through ritual substitutions such as donating or offering images. It cautions against believing that symbolic acts can reverse irreversible realities, urging clearer ethical discernment about what rituals can and cannot accomplish.
Jambuka is speaking to make a pointed argument about death and the limits of ritual action. He asserts that after death the body does not return, and that even lavish offerings of images—however numerous—cannot restore the deceased, framing a sober reflection typical of Śānti Parva’s moral and philosophical discussions.