Shloka 69

गर्भे च सुखलेशो ऽपि भवद्भिर् अनुमीयते यदि तत् कथ्यताम् एवं सर्वं दुःखमयं जगत्

garbhe ca sukhaleśo 'pi bhavadbhir anumīyate yadi tat kathyatām evaṃ sarvaṃ duḥkhamayaṃ jagat

若如你们所言,纵在胎中亦有一丝乐味,那么请说:为何此整个世界仍遍满苦恼?

garbhein the womb
garbhe:
Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootgarbha (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
caand
ca:
Samuccaya (Conjunction)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; समुच्चय
sukhaleśaḥa small portion of happiness
sukhaleśaḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootsukha (प्रातिपदिक) + leśa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (sukhasya leśaḥ)
apieven
api:
Sambandha (Particle)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootapi (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; अपि (even/also)
bhavadbhiḥby you (respected ones)
bhavadbhiḥ:
Karana (Instrument/करण)
TypeNoun
Rootbhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; आदरार्थक-प्रयोग (honorific 'by you')
anumīyateis inferred
anumīyate:
Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootanu√mā (धातु)
Formलट् (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन
yadiif
yadi:
Sambandha (Condition)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyadi (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional 'if')
tatthat
tat:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (referring to sukhaleśaḥ)
kathyatāmlet it be told
kathyatām:
Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootkath (धातु)
Formलोट् (Imperative), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आज्ञार्थे (let it be said)
evaṃthus
evaṃ:
Prakara (Manner)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootevaṃ (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: thus)
sarvamall/entire
sarvam:
Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootsarva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying jagat)
duḥkhamayamfull of suffering
duḥkhamayam:
Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootduḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मयट्-प्रत्ययान्त/तत्पुरुष-स्वभाव (duḥkhena mayaṃ = full of suffering)
jagatthe world
jagat:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootjagat (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Maitreya (questioning Sage Parāśara in the ongoing dialogue)

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: If there is any pleasure even in the womb, why is the world described as wholly suffused with suffering?

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: inquisitive and dialectical

Concept: Even if a trace of pleasure is conceded in embodied states, the predominance and pervasiveness of duḥkha in saṃsāra demands explanation and points beyond worldly satisfactions.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Use reflective inquiry: when pleasures arise, examine their instability and dependence, and seek the stable good (śreyas) through devotion and discernment.

Vishishtadvaita: The question sets up the distinction between limited, contingent सुख-लेश and the soul’s true fulfillment in relation to Vishnu, not in self-contained worldly experience.

FAQs

It sharpens the text’s argument that embodied life is fundamentally constrained by suffering; even if a tiny pleasure is imagined, it does not overturn the broader characterization of saṃsāra as duḥkha-maya.

He challenges an apparent contradiction: if some pleasure can be inferred even in prenatal existence, why is the world described as wholly pervaded by suffering—prompting a clearer doctrinal explanation from Parāśara.

By foregrounding the inadequacy of worldly pleasure, the passage supports the Vaiṣṇava conclusion that lasting well-being requires turning toward the Supreme Reality—Viṣṇu—as the ultimate refuge beyond saṃsāra.