Shloka 25

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

Devanagari script

व्याधिरग्निर्जलं शस्त्र बुभुक्षाश्नापदो विषम्‌ ज्वरश्ष मरणं जन्तोरुच्चाच्च पतनं तथा

Transliteration

vyādhir agnir jalaṁ śastraṁ bubhukṣā śvāpado viṣam | jvaraś ca maraṇaṁ jantor uccāc ca patanaṁ tathā ||

Translation

遮那迦说：“众生之危，来自四方：疾病、火灾、水患、兵刃、饥饿、猛兽、毒物、热病，乃至死亡本身；又有自高处坠落之险。既见生命时时暴露于此等威胁之下，便不可沉醉于安稳，也不可迟延当行之正事；当以警觉、自制与随时奉行达摩之心而活。”

Word by Word

• व्याधिः: disease
• व्याधिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याधि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अग्निः: fire
• अग्निः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• शस्त्रम्: weapon
• शस्त्रम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शस्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• बुभुक्षा: hunger
• बुभुक्षा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुभुक्षा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अश्नापदः: a carnivorous animal; predator
• अश्नापदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्नापद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विषम्: poison
• विषम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ज्वरः: fever
• ज्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मरणम्: death
• मरणम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• जन्तोः: of a creature / of a living being
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• उच्चात्: from a height
• उच्चात्: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्च

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पतनम्: falling; a fall
• पतनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janaka
• fire
• water
• weapons
• wild beasts
• poison
• death
• height (uccāt)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Life is inherently precarious, threatened by many causes; therefore one should not cling to false security, but cultivate restraint and timely commitment to dharma, remembering impermanence.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka is speaking in the Shanti Parva, listing the many hazards that can befall a living being to underscore the fragility of embodied life and to support a reflective, ethically alert stance.