Shloka 17

Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)

Devanagari script

पूर्वे वयसि मध्ये वाप्युत्तरे वा नराधिप । अवर्जनीयास्ते<र्था वै कांक्षिता ये ततो5न्यथा

Transliteration

janaka uvāca | pūrve vayasi madhye vāpy uttare vā narādhipa | avarjanīyās te 'rthā vai kāṅkṣitā ye tato 'nyathā nareśvara ||

Translation

Vua Janaka nói: “Hỡi bậc chúa tể loài người, dù ở tuổi trẻ, tuổi trung niên hay tuổi già, có những kết cục không thể tránh. Chính những điều ta mong nó phải khác đi—chỉ ước an nhàn—vẫn đến dưới hình hài gian khổ, vì khổ đau cũng là phần không thể thoát của kiếp người.”

Word by Word

• {'janaka uvāca': 'Janaka said', 'pūrve vayasi': 'in the earlier stage of life

• in youth', 'madhye': 'in the middle (stage)

• in midlife', 'uttare': 'in the later (stage)

• in old age', 'narādhipa': 'O king

• ruler of men', 'avarjanīyāḥ': 'unavoidable

• not to be warded off', 'te': 'those', 'arthāḥ': 'things

• circumstances', 'vai': 'indeed

• surely', 'kāṅkṣitāḥ': 'desired

• longed for', 'anyathā': 'otherwise

• in a different way (than they actually occur)', 'nareśvara': 'O lord of men

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janaka
• narādhipa (a king addressed)
• nareśvara (a king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Janaka teaches realism and detachment: across all stages of life, some hardships are inevitable, even when one wishes for only pleasure. Wisdom lies in accepting the unavoidable and not grounding one’s peace in the demand that life be only सुख (comfort).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, King Janaka addresses a king, offering counsel about life’s inescapable difficulties and the ethical need for steadiness of mind amid changing circumstances.