Shloka 3
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
जिसके प्राण दोनों पिण्डलियोंके मार्गसे बाहर निकलते हैं, वह वसु नामक देवताओंके लोकमें जाता है; ऐसा हमने सुन रक्खा है। घुटनोंसे प्राणत्याग करनेपर महाभाग साध्य-देवताओंके लोकोंकी प्राप्ति होती है ।।
pāyunotkramamāṇas tu maitraṃ sthānam avāpnuyāt | pṛthivīṃ jaghanenātha ūrubhyāṃ ca prajāpatiṃ ||
Wika ni Yājñavalkya: “Kung ang hininga ng buhay ng isang tao ay lumisan sa pamamagitan ng puwit (anus), nararating niya ang daigdig ni Mitra. Kung sa pamamagitan ng mga pigi, nararating niya ang Daigdig; at kung sa pamamagitan ng mga hita, nakakamit niya ang kay Prajāpati.”
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the departure-route of prāṇa at death is linked to specific post-mortem destinations (realms of Mitra, Earth, and Prajāpati), implying that inner discipline and the condition of one’s life-force at death have moral and spiritual consequences.
In a didactic discourse within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya explains a traditional mapping between bodily exit-points of the life-breath and the cosmic realms attained after death, continuing a broader discussion on death, destiny, and spiritual attainment.