Shloka 34
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
सदा देवा: साधुभि: संवदन्ते न मानुषं विषयं यान्ति द्रष्टम् नेन्दु: सम: स्थादसमो हि वायु- रुच्चावचं विषयं यः स वेद
sadā devāḥ sādhubhiḥ saṃvadante na mānuṣaṃ viṣayaṃ yānti draṣṭum | nenduḥ samaḥ sthād asamo hi vāyur uccāvacaṃ viṣayaṃ yaḥ sa veda ||
Disse o Cisne: “Os deuses sempre fazem companhia aos bons e com eles conversam; por isso nem sequer se voltam para olhar os prazeres fugazes que ocupam os homens. Aquele que compreende de fato a natureza perecível e mutável dos objetos dos sentidos não tem igual — nem a lua nem o vento podem compará-lo.”
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
True excellence lies in discerning the impermanent, fluctuating nature of sense-objects and not being drawn to them. The verse links divine stature with satsanga (association with the virtuous) and with a steady, discriminating knowledge that transcends ordinary comparisons.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional setting, the speaker ‘Haṃsa’ delivers a didactic statement: the gods are portrayed as continually conversing with the virtuous and therefore remaining uninterested in transient human pleasures; the verse then praises the knower of the changing nature of worldly objects as incomparable.