Shloka 1
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
#<3८६>-> ह्नु # अष्टाविशोश् ध्याय: अश्मा ऋषि और जनकके संवादद्वारा प्रारब्धकी प्रबलता बतलाते हुए व्यासजीका युधिष्ठिरको समझाना वैशम्पायन उवाच ज्ञातिशोकाभितप्तस्य प्राणानभ्युत्सिसृक्षत: । ज्येष्ठस्य पाण्डुपुत्रस्य व्यास: शोकमपानुदत्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | jñātiśokābhitaptasya prāṇān abhyutsisṛkṣataḥ | jyeṣṭhasya pāṇḍuputrasya vyāsaḥ śokam apānudat ||
Vaiśampāyana thưa: “Muôn tâu Janamejaya, khi Yudhiṣṭhira—trưởng tử của Pāṇḍu—bị nỗi đau mất người thân thiêu đốt, đến mức muốn lìa bỏ cả mạng sống, thì bậc đại hiền Vyāsa đã xua tan sầu khổ của ngài như sau.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical problem of post-war despair: even a righteous king like Yudhiṣṭhira can be overwhelmed by grief and seek death, but dharma is restored through the guidance of a sage—here Vyāsa—who redirects him from self-destruction toward understanding and duty.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest Pāṇḍava, is consumed by sorrow for slain relatives and wishes to give up his life; at that moment the sage Vyāsa intervenes and removes his grief, setting the stage for further instruction.