Shloka 8
Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka
Grief
Devanagari script
अरिष्टानि प्रवक्ष्यामि विहितानि मनीषिभि: । संवत्सरवियोगस्य सम्भवन्ति शरीरिण:
Transliteration
ariṣṭāni pravakṣyāmi vihitāni manīṣibhiḥ | saṃvatsaraviyogasya sambhavanti śarīriṇaḥ ||
Translation
阎若伐迦言：“今我当宣说诸不祥之征——智者所认可并立说者——当有身之众生距离身坏命终仅余一年之时，此等死亡之兆将现于其前。”
Word by Word
{'ariṣṭāni''inauspicious signs
{'ariṣṭāni':
ominous portents (often indicating impending death)', 'pravakṣyāmi''I will declare
ominous portents (often indicating impending death)', 'pravakṣyāmi':
I will explain', 'vihitāni''laid down
I will explain', 'vihitāni':
established (by authoritative tradition)', 'manīṣibhiḥ''by the wise
established (by authoritative tradition)', 'manīṣibhiḥ':
by sages and discerning thinkers', 'saṃvatsara''a year', 'viyoga': 'separation
by sages and discerning thinkers', 'saṃvatsara':
disjunction (hereseparation from the body)', 'saṃvatsaraviyogasya': 'of the separation (from the body) after a year
disjunction (here:
when a year remains until separation', 'sambhavanti''arise
when a year remains until separation', 'sambhavanti':
come to be', 'śarīriṇaḥ''of an embodied being
come to be', 'śarīriṇaḥ':
Speaker
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Characters & Entities
Y
YājñavalkyaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death as a knowable transition marked by recognizable signs, emphasizing the role of wise tradition in preparing a person ethically and mentally for life’s impermanence.
Yājñavalkya begins a systematic exposition: he announces that he will list the established ominous indicators that appear when an embodied person has about one year remaining before death.