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 |
阇那迦王说道：为时势所驱，人便妄想：“此事由我而作。”继而因不满足，凡其所欲——纵是罪业——其败坏之心也会趋前而行，竟去造作。
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.