Shloka 17
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
मूर्थतश्नोत्पतेद् धूम: सद्यो मृत्युनिदर्शनम् नरेश्वरर जिसके नाक और कान टेढ़े हो जाय
mūrdhataḥ śnotpated dhūmaḥ sadyo mṛtyu-nidarśanam | nareśvara yasya nāsā-karṇau vakrī-bhavataḥ, dantāś ca netrayoś ca varṇaḥ vikriyate, mūrcchā ca jāyate, śarīraṃ ca śītaṃ bhavati, vāma-netrāt sahasā aśru pravartate, mūrdhataś ca dhūmaḥ utpadyate—tasya tatkṣaṇād eva mṛtyur bhavati | uparyuktāni lakṣaṇāni sadyo-mṛtyu-sūcakāni || etāvanti tvaritāni viditvā mānavo ’tmavān rātriṃ-divaṃ paramātmānaṃ dhyāyet, mṛtyu-kālaṃ ca pratīkṣeta ||
阎若婆迦罗说道：“若似见烟自头顶升起，此乃立刻死亡之征。大王啊，若一人鼻与耳变形歪斜，齿与目之色异常，昏厥渐起，身躯转冷；又若左眼无故忽然流泪，而头顶冠处似有烟气上腾——则其死即刻到来。此等皆为死期迫近之相。知此迅疾之征者，当自制其心，昼夜观想至上我（Paramātman），安然等待那注定的死亡时刻。”
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when confronted with the body’s ominous signs of imminent death, the recommended response is inner mastery: maintain self-control and keep the mind fixed on the Paramātman through continuous meditation, meeting death with awareness rather than panic.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king by listing specific bodily symptoms regarded as immediate portents of death, and then turns the discussion toward the ethical-spiritual practice appropriate for a seeker—steady meditation and calm readiness for the end.