Shloka 27
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
पुत्रनाशे वित्तनाशे ज्ञातिसम्बन्धिनामपि । प्राप्पते सुमहद् दुखं दावाग्निप्रतिमं विभो । दैवायत्तमिदं सर्व सुखदुःखे भवाभवौ
putranāśe vittanāśe jñātisambandhinām api | prāpnoti sumahad duḥkhaṃ dāvāgnipratimaṃ vibho | daivāyattam idaṃ sarvaṃ sukhaduḥkhe bhavābhavau ||
Sang Brāhmaṇa berkata: “Apabila anak hilang, apabila harta lenyap, dan bahkan apabila ikatan dengan kaum kerabat terputus, dukacita yang amat besar pun timbul—bagaikan api rimba, wahai yang perkasa. Namun semuanya ini bergantung pada takdir: baik suka mahupun duka, bahkan naik turunnya seseorang dalam kewujudan duniawi.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity of grief caused by loss (child, wealth, kinship) and frames such experiences as governed by daiva (destiny), urging a reflective, less ego-centered response to happiness and suffering and to one’s worldly rise and decline.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, a Brāhmaṇa speaker addresses a powerful listener (“vibho”), describing how devastating losses ignite grief like a forest fire, then broadens the point into a moral-philosophical reflection that life’s gains and reversals are fate-dependent.