Shloka 27

अध्याय ३३१: नारायणकथा-प्रशंसा तथा नारदस्य श्वेतद्वीप-निवृत्ति एवं बदरी-आगमनम् | Chapter 331: Praise of the Nārāyaṇa Narrative; Nārada’s Return from Śvetadvīpa and Arrival at Badarī

Devanagari script

प्राक्सम्प्रयोगाद्‌ भूतानां नास्ति दुःखं परायणम्‌ । विप्रयोगात्‌ तु सर्वस्य न शोचेत्‌ प्रकृतिस्थित:,प्राणियोंके एक-दूसरेसे संयोग होनेके पहले कोई दुःख नहीं रहता। जब संयोगके बाद वियोग होता है तभी सबको दुःख हुआ करता है। अतः अपने स्वरूपमें स्थित विवेकी पुरुषको किसीके वियोगमें कभी भी शोक नहीं करना चाहिये

Transliteration

prāk-samprayogād bhūtānāṁ nāsti duḥkhaṁ parāyaṇam | viprayogāt tu sarvasya na śocet prakṛti-sthitaḥ ||

Translation

Nārada berkata: “Sebelum makhluk-makhluk pernah berhubung antara satu sama lain, tiada dukacita yang dapat berpegang sebagai tempat bergantung terakhir. Hanya setelah pertemuan—apabila perpisahan terjadi—barulah dukacita timbul bagi semua. Maka, orang yang arif, teguh dalam hakikat dirinya, tidak patut bersedih atas perpisahan dengan sesiapa pun.”

Word by Word

• {'prāk': 'formerly, before', 'samprayoga': 'coming together, association, union', 'bhūtānām': 'of beings, of living creatures', 'na asti': 'there is not', 'duḥkham': 'sorrow, suffering, grief', 'parāyaṇam': 'ultimate refuge

• that which one falls back upon as final resort', 'viprayogāt': 'from separation, due to disunion', 'tu': 'but, indeed', 'sarvasya': 'for everyone, of all', 'na śocet': 'should not grieve', 'prakṛti-sthitaḥ': 'one established in one’s own nature

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sorrow is not intrinsic to the self; it arises from attachment formed after association and is triggered by separation. One who is established in one’s true nature (prakṛti-sthita) maintains equanimity and does not grieve over inevitable partings.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Nārada delivers a reflective teaching: he analyzes the cause of grief (viprayoga after samprayoga) and prescribes steadiness in one’s own nature as the ethical and spiritual response.