Shloka 303
Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
अदक्षिणमयज्वान श्वैत्य संशाम्य मा शुच: । 'श्वेतपुत्र सुंजय! वे धर्म
vāyudeva uvāca | adakṣiṇam ayajvān śvaitya saṁśāmya mā śucaḥ |
风神伐由天说道：“噢，室伐伊提耶，且自安定，莫要悲恸。那四者——法、智、离欲与王权——在吉祥德性上远胜于你，功德亦胜过你的儿子；然而它们也终归消逝。更何况他人？故而不必为你之子哀哭。他既未行祭祀，亦未施与祭资（达克希那）；为他勿复哀叹——当归于宁静。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief is tempered by remembering impermanence and moral causality: even the most exalted qualities and the most meritorious beings pass away; therefore one should cultivate calm detachment. The verse also underscores the ethical weight of yajña and dāna (dakṣiṇā), implying that a life lacking sacrificial giving provides less ground for lamentation rooted in pride or expectation.
Vāyudeva addresses Śvaitya, who is grieving for his son. He consoles him by pointing to the mortality of even superior, auspicious exemplars (Dharma, Knowledge, Dispassion, and Sovereign Power) and then argues that Śvaitya’s son, who did not perform sacrifices or give dakṣiṇā, should not be the object of consuming sorrow; Śvaitya is urged to become शांत (calm).