Shloka 30
Aśmagīta: Janaka’s Inquiry on Loss, Kāla, and the Limits of Control (अश्मगीता)
अहमेतत् करोमीति मन्यते कालनोदित: । यद् यदिष्टमसंतोषाद् दुरात्मा पापमाचरेत्
aham etat karomīti manyate kāla-noditaḥ | yad yad iṣṭam asaṃtoṣād durātmā pāpam ācaret |
Vua Janaka nói: Bị Thời gian thúc đẩy, con người tưởng rằng: “Ta là kẻ làm ra việc này.” Rồi vì bất mãn, điều gì mình ham muốn—dẫu là tội lỗi—tâm trí bại hoại ấy cũng cứ tiến tới mà phạm làm.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that when a person, pushed by the force of Time, falls into the ego of doership (“I am the agent”), dissatisfaction fuels desire, and desire can drive one to commit even sinful acts. Ethical life therefore requires vigilance over ego, contentment, and restraint.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse, King Janaka speaks about inner causality: how Time’s impulse, combined with the delusion of personal agency, leads a morally weakened person to chase desired ends and thereby perform wrongful deeds.