Shloka 5
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 106: Pūrva-Diśa Praśaṃsā
Praise and Primacy of the Eastern Quarter
अहं पारे समुद्रस्य पृथिव्या वा परम्परात् गत्वा55त्मानं विमुज्चामि कि फलं जीवितेन मे,“मैं समुद्रके उस पार अथवा पृथ्वीसे बहुत दूर जाकर इस शरीरको त्याग दूँगा। अब मेरे जीवित रहनेसे क्या लाभ है?
ahaṁ pāre samudrasya pṛthivyā vā paramparāt gatvā ātmānaṁ vimokṣyāmi; kiṁ phalaṁ jīvitena me?
Nārada said: “Crossing to the far shore of the ocean—or going far away beyond the bounds of the earth—I will cast off this body. What benefit is there in my continuing to live?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices a moment of extreme disillusionment: when life seems purposeless, one may be tempted toward self-abandonment. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such speech functions as a warning signal—despair can distort judgment, and true dharma requires steadiness, reflection, and right counsel rather than impulsive self-destruction.
Nārada expresses a resolve to go beyond the ocean or far away across the earth and then relinquish his body, declaring that life has no remaining ‘fruit’ for him. The line marks a crisis-point in dialogue, heightening the moral and emotional stakes before further counsel or clarification unfolds.