Shloka 52

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

Devanagari script

नायमत्यन्तसंवासो लभ्यते जातु केनचित्‌ । अपि स्वेन शरीरेण किमुतान्येन केनचित्‌

Transliteration

nāyam atyanta-saṃvāso labhyate jātu kenacit | api svena śarīreṇa kim utānyena kenacit ||

Translation

阇那迦王说道：无人能与任何人获得真正永久的同住与不绝的相伴。若连与自己的身体，这种相系都不能久长，又怎可能与他人久长？

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अत्यन्त-संवासः: perpetual co-residence/constant living together
• अत्यन्त-संवासः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अत्यन्तसंवास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• लभ्यते: is obtained/is possible
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ्
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Singular

• जातु: ever/at any time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जातु

• केनचित्: by anyone
• केनचित्: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• अपि: even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• स्वेन: with one's own
• स्वेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• शरीरेण: body
• शरीरेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• किम्: what? (how then?)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• उत: then/indeed (emphatic)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत

• अन्येन: with another
• अन्येन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• केनचित्: by/with anyone (else)
• केनचित्: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janaka
• śarīra (the body)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

All associations are impermanent: lasting togetherness with anyone is unattainable. Recognizing that even the bond with one’s own body ends, one should practice detachment, emotional steadiness, and adherence to dharma without clinging.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka is speaking in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, offering a reflective argument about the inevitability of separation to guide the listener toward dispassion and inner stability.