Shloka 40
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
क्वासे क्व च गमिष्यामि को न्वहं किमिहास्थित: । कस्मात् किमनुशोचेयमित्येवं स्थापयेन्मन:
kvāse kva ca gamiṣyāmi ko nvahaṃ kimihāsthitaḥ | kasmāt kimanuśoceyamityevaṃ sthāpayenmanaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Janaka: “Saan nga ba ako naroroon, at saan ako tutungo? Sino ba talaga ako, at bakit ako nakatayo rito sa ganitong kalagayan? Dahil sa anong dahilan, at sa anong bagay, ako dapat magdalamhati?” Sa ganitong pagsisiyasat paulit-ulit dapat patatagin ang isip, upang maputol ang dalamhating isinilang ng pagkalito at maitatag ang malinaw na pag-unawa.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
To counter grief, one should stabilize the mind through reflective inquiry into one’s true identity, one’s situation, and the causes of lamentation; clear seeing dissolves sorrow rooted in mistaken self-identification.
King Janaka speaks in a didactic context, presenting a method of inner discipline: posing fundamental questions—where am I, where am I going, who am I, why grieve—and using them to steady the mind toward detachment and wisdom.