Shloka 54
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
अजसं जन्मनिधनं चिन्तयित्वा त्रयीमिमाम् | परित्यज्य क्षयमिह अक्षयं धर्ममास्थित:
ajasaṃ janma-nidhanaṃ cintayitvā trayīm imām | parityajya kṣayam iha akṣayaṃ dharmam āsthitaḥ ||
Yājñavalkya berkata: Dengan merenungkan bahawa putaran kelahiran dan kematian dalam saṃsāra berterusan tanpa penghujung, seseorang hendaklah menyedari bahawa sistem ritual Veda (tiga Veda beserta upacara yang ditetapkan) dan ganjarannya adalah fana; maka tinggalkan keterikatan pada tujuan yang sementara itu, dan dalam kehidupan ini juga berlindung pada Dharma yang tidak binasa.
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Because birth and death continue without cessation, one should see ritual actions and their promised rewards as transient and instead commit oneself to the imperishable Dharma—an orientation toward lasting spiritual-ethical realization rather than perishable gains.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, the sage Yājñavalkya speaks as a teacher, urging a shift from reliance on Vedic ritualism aimed at finite results to the pursuit of an enduring, liberative Dharma grounded in insight into saṃsāra.