Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
नाकाले म्रियते जन्तुः विद्धः शरशतैरपि ।
कुशकण्टकविद्धोऽपि प्राप्तकालो न जीवति ॥
- महाभारत
Transliteration:
nākāle mriyate jantuḥ viddhaḥ śaraśatairapi ।
kuśakaṇṭakaviddho'pi prāptakālo na jīvati ॥
- mahābhārata
Meaning of the subhAShita:
A being, even when pierced by a hundred arrows, will not die if it is not his time. Come his time, he will not survive even the touch of a straw thorn.
Commentary:
It's all in good time! Each and every being comes to this world with his very own baggage. One has to exhaust all the deeds and actions that are meant to be exhausted in that life. When the purpose of his life has not been achieved, no matter what happens, he is going to live. Time and again, we have heard or seen that some people survived the deadliest crash or came out of the worst epidemic, etc. These are examples of the very fact that their life's purpose is not attained yet. The verse says that if the time is not ripe yet, he will live through to see another sunrise even if pierced by a hundred arrows.
On the contrary, if his assignment here is done, nothing or nobody has the capacity to hold him back. When his time is up, there is not even a reason that is needed. A healthy person could drop dead in an instant. Sometimes, a person who has survived the most impossible circumstances could pass on due to the most trivial of the reasons. He could trip on a pebble and die. Or, as the verse says, he could be pricked by a strand of hay which becomes the reason for his death. These are only 'nimitta-mātra' (mere causes), means to an end, so to speak (figuratively and literally).
Hence, there is no point living life in perpetual fear of death. There is nothing one can do about it. Shouldn't we live life to the fullest when we are alive! That's why someone once said, “If you can't change your fate, change your attitude”. Think about it...
pada vigrahaH:
न अकाले म्रियते जन्तुः विद्धः शर-शतैः अपि ।
na akāle mriyate jantuḥ viddhaḥ śara-śataiḥ api ।
कुश-कण्टक-विद्धः अपि प्राप्त-कालो न जीवति ॥
kuśa-kaṇṭaka-viddhaḥ api prāpta-kālo na jīvati ॥
On the contrary, if his assignment here is done, nothing or nobody has the capacity to hold him back. When his time is up, there is not even a reason that is needed. A healthy person could drop dead in an instant. Sometimes, a person who has survived the most impossible circumstances could pass on due to the most trivial of the reasons. He could trip on a pebble and die. Or, as the verse says, he could be pricked by a strand of hay which becomes the reason for his death. These are only 'nimitta-mātra' (mere causes), means to an end, so to speak (figuratively and literally).
Hence, there is no point living life in perpetual fear of death. There is nothing one can do about it. Shouldn't we live life to the fullest when we are alive! That's why someone once said, “If you can't change your fate, change your attitude”. Think about it...
pada vigrahaH:
न अकाले म्रियते जन्तुः विद्धः शर-शतैः अपि ।
na akāle mriyate jantuḥ viddhaḥ śara-śataiḥ api ।
कुश-कण्टक-विद्धः अपि प्राप्त-कालो न जीवति ॥
kuśa-kaṇṭaka-viddhaḥ api prāpta-kālo na jīvati ॥
naakaale mriyate jantuH viddhaH sharashatairapi ।
kushakaNTakaviddho.pi praaptakaalo na jIvati ॥
- mahaabhaarata
na akaale mriyate jantuH viddhaH shara-shataiH api ।
kusha-kaNTaka-viddhaH api praapta-kaalo na jIvati ॥
No comments:
Post a Comment