Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 29
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
अहोरात्रमये लोके जरारूपेण संसरन् । मृत्युग्रसति भूतानि पवन पन्नगो यथा
ahorātramaye loke jarārūpeṇa saṃsaran | mṛtyugrasati bhūtāni pavanaḥ pannago yathā ||
帕罗沙罗说：在这由昼与夜编织而成的世界里，死神以衰老之形游行不息，时时吞噬一切众生——正如人们所说，蛇能饮风一般。
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mortality is constant and universal: Death operates through the visible process of aging and consumes all beings without exception. Therefore one should cultivate detachment, right conduct (dharma), and urgency in spiritual and ethical life rather than relying on worldly permanence.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective instruction, the sage Parāśara speaks about the nature of worldly existence. He uses a vivid simile—Death roaming as old age and devouring beings like a serpent ‘drinking’ wind—to impress upon the listener the inevitability of decline and death.