Shloka 13
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
वसिष्ठ उवाच श्रूयतां पृथिवीपाल क्षरतीदं यथा जगत् | यन्न क्षरति पूर्वेण यावत्कालेन वाप्यथ,वसिष्ठदजीने कहा--भूपाल! जिस प्रकार इस जगतका क्षय (परिवर्तन) होता है, उसको तथा जो किसी भी कालमें क्षरित (नष्ट) नहीं होता, उस अक्षरको भी बता रहा हूँ, सुनो
Vasiṣṭha uvāca: Śrūyatāṃ pṛthivīpāla kṣaratīdaṃ yathā jagat | Yan na kṣarati pūrveṇa yāvat kālena vāpy atha ||
Vasiṣṭha berkata: “Dengarlah, wahai pelindung bumi. Aku akan menerangkan bagaimana dunia ini mengalami susut dan perubahan. Dan aku juga akan berbicara tentang yang tidak binasa—yang tidak berubah oleh apa yang terdahulu, dan tidak dimakan oleh waktu itu sendiri.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the perishable nature of the world (kṣara)—everything subject to change and dissolution—with the imperishable principle (akṣara), which is not worn down by prior conditions or by time. It prepares the listener to discern what should not be clung to (the changing world) and what is worthy of realization (the timeless, unchanging reality).
In Śānti Parva, Vasiṣṭha addresses a king (pṛthivīpāla) and begins an instructive discourse. He asks the king to listen as he explains the process by which the world decays and transforms, and then promises to describe the imperishable reality that remains unaffected by time.