Shloka 18

अध्याय २५६ — श्रद्धा, अहिंसा, स्पर्धा-त्यागः

Tūlādhāra–Jājali: Faith, Non-harm, and Renunciation of Rivalry

Devanagari script

तामाहूय तदा देवो लोकानामादिरीश्वर: । मृत्यो इति महीपाल जहि चेमा: प्रजा इति,भूपाल! तब लोकोंके आदिकारण भगवान्‌ ब्रह्माने उसे 'मृत्यु/ कहकर पुकारा और निकट बुलाकर कहा--'तुम इन प्रजाओंका समय-समयपर विनाश करती रहो

Transliteration

tām āhūya tadā devo lokānām ādir īśvaraḥ | mṛtyo iti mahīpāla jahi cemāḥ prajā iti ||

Translation

అప్పుడు లోకాల ఆదికారణుడూ ఈశ్వరుడైన దేవుడు బ్రహ్మ ఆమెను పిలిచి ‘మృత్యు’ అని సంబోధించి ఇలా అన్నాడు—“ఓ రాజా, ఈ ప్రజలను కాలానుగుణంగా సంహరించు.”

Word by Word

ताम्her

आहूयhaving called (summoned)

तदाthen

देवःthe god (Brahmā)

लोकानाम्of the worlds

आदिःthe origin/first cause

ईश्वरःthe lord

मृत्योO Death

इतिthus/so (quotative)

महीपालO king (protector of the earth)

जहिslay/destroy

चand

इमाःthese

प्रजाःcreatures/subjects

इतिthus (end of quotation)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Brahmā (the Lord, origin of the worlds)

Mṛtyu (Death personified)

Mahīpāla (the king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Death is presented as a divinely instituted duty within dharma: a necessary, regulated force that sustains cosmic balance by ensuring beings do not persist indefinitely and that cycles of time, karma, and renewal can proceed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada recounts that the supreme lord of the worlds (Brahmā) calls a female figure to him, names her “Mṛtyu” (Death), and commands her to destroy beings at their appointed times—establishing death as an ordained cosmic function.