Shloka 15

Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka

Grief

Devanagari script

कर्णनासावनमनं दन्तदृष्टिविरागिता

Transliteration

karṇanāsāvanamanaṃ dantadṛṣṭivirāgitā

Translation

ਯਾਜ्ञਵਲਕ੍ਯ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਕੰਨ ਤੇ ਨੱਕ ਸਮੇਤ ਸਿਰ ਦਾ ਹੌਲੇ ਨਾਲ ਝੁਕਿਆ ਰਹਿਣਾ, ਅਤੇ ਦੰਦਾਂ ਤੇ ਨਿਗਾਹ ਉੱਤੇ ਵੈਰਾਗ੍ਯ-ਯੁਕਤ ਸੰਯਮ—ਇਹ ਨਿਮਰਤਾ, ਦਮ ਅਤੇ ਇੰਦ੍ਰਿਯ-ਨਿਗ੍ਰਹ ਦੇ ਬਾਹਰੀ ਲੱਛਣ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• कर्णनासावनमनम्: drooping of the ears and nose
• कर्णनासावनमनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण-नासा-अवनमन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• दन्तदृष्टिविरागिता: loss of luster/interest in the teeth and the gaze (dullness of teeth and eyes)
• दन्तदृष्टिविरागिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्त-दृष्टि-विरागिता
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True discipline shows in bodily and sensory restraint: a modest, lowered posture and a detached, controlled gaze and expression indicate humility and mastery over impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Yājñavalkya is enumerating observable traits of a restrained, ethically grounded person—external comportment that reflects inner vairāgya and self-governance.