Shloka 10

Devanagari script

गृहस्थानां तु सर्वेषां विनाशमभिकाड्क्षताम्‌ । निधनं शोभनं तात पुलिनेषु क्रियावताम्‌,तात! मरनेकी इच्छावाले समस्त गृहस्थोंके लिये तो वही मृत्यु सबसे उत्तम मानी गयी है, जो गंगादि पवित्र नदियोंके तटोंपर शुभकर्मोंका अनुष्ठान करते हुए प्राप्त हो

Transliteration

gṛhasthānāṃ tu sarveṣāṃ vināśam abhikāṅkṣatām | nidhanaṃ śobhanaṃ tāta pulineṣu kriyāvatām ||

Translation

Parāśara berkata: Bagi semua penghuni rumah tangga yang telah datang untuk merindukan pengakhiran perjalanan duniawi, wahai anakku, kematian yang paling layak ialah menemuinya di tebing sungai ketika sedang melaksanakan upacara suci yang ditetapkan.

Word by Word

गृहस्थानाम्of householders

तुbut/indeed

सर्वेषाम्of all

विनाशम्destruction/ruin

अभिकाङ्क्षताम्of those desiring/longing for

निधनम्death

शोभनम्auspicious/excellent

तातdear son (vocative)

पुलिनेषुon the sandbanks/river-banks

क्रियावताम्of those performing rites/acts

तातdear son (repeated vocative)

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

gṛhastha (householder)

pulina (river-bank)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

For a householder who has turned toward life’s conclusion, the text praises an end met in a ritually and ethically ordered way—on sacred river-banks, while performing prescribed duties—emphasizing dharma and mindful preparation rather than a chaotic or negligent death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara addresses a listener (“tāta”), advising on what constitutes a ‘good’ or fitting death for householders: dying at a holy riverside while engaged in religious observances.