Shloka 2
Śānti-parva Adhyāya 30: Nārada–Parvata Samaya-bhaṅga, Śāpa, and the Marriage of Sukumārī
यदा वर्षसहस्रायुसतदा भवति मानव: । कथमप्राप्तकौमार: सृंजयस्य सुतो मृत:,जब उस समय मनुष्यकी एक हजार वर्षकी आयु होती थी, तब सूंजयका पुत्र कुमारावस्था आनेसे पहले ही क्यों मर गया?
yadā varṣasahasrāyus tadā bhavati mānavaḥ | katham aprāptakaumāraḥ sṛñjayasya suto mṛtaḥ ||
यदा हि तस्मिन्काले मानवाः सहस्रवर्षायुषो बभूवुः, तदा कथं शृञ्जयस्य सुतः कौमारमप्राप्त एव मृतः? केन कारणेन स शीघ्रं मृत्युमाप?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into the apparent contradiction between a proclaimed long human lifespan and the reality of untimely death, pointing toward deeper causes such as karma, destiny, and the limits of general rules when individual circumstances intervene.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions the tradition that humans once lived for a thousand years and asks how Sṛñjaya’s son could nevertheless die before reaching boyhood, prompting an explanation about the causes of premature death.