Shloka 1
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
#<3८६>-> ह्नु # अष्टाविशोश् ध्याय: अश्मा ऋषि और जनकके संवादद्वारा प्रारब्धकी प्रबलता बतलाते हुए व्यासजीका युधिष्ठिरको समझाना वैशम्पायन उवाच ज्ञातिशोकाभितप्तस्य प्राणानभ्युत्सिसृक्षत: । ज्येष्ठस्य पाण्डुपुत्रस्य व्यास: शोकमपानुदत्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! भाई-बन्धुओं के शोकसे संतप्त हो अपने प्राणोंको त्याग देनेकी इच्छावाले ज्येष्ठ पाण्डव युधिष्ठिरके शोकको महर्षि व्यासने इस प्रकार दूर किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | jñātiśokābhitaptasya prāṇān abhyutsisṛkṣataḥ | jyeṣṭhasya pāṇḍuputrasya vyāsaḥ śokam apānudat ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Janamejaya, ketika Yudhiṣṭhira, putera sulung Pāṇḍu, hangus dibakar dukacita atas kaum kerabatnya hingga ingin melepaskan nyawanya sendiri, maka resi agung Vyāsa menghalau kesedihannya dengan cara berikut.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical problem of post-war despair: even a righteous king like Yudhiṣṭhira can be overwhelmed by grief and seek death, but dharma is restored through the guidance of a sage—here Vyāsa—who redirects him from self-destruction toward understanding and duty.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest Pāṇḍava, is consumed by sorrow for slain relatives and wishes to give up his life; at that moment the sage Vyāsa intervenes and removes his grief, setting the stage for further instruction.