The Rarity of Human Birth and the Folly of Craving

Verse 1 (garuda.2.12.1)

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच । एवं ते कथितस्तार्क्ष्य जीवितस्य विनर्णयः । मानुषाणां हितार्थाय प्रेतत्वविनिवृत्तये

śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca | evaṁ te kathitastārkṣya jīvitasya vinarṇayaḥ | mānuṣāṇāṁ hitārthāya pretatvavinivṛttaye

Shri Krishna said: O Tarkshya, thus have I told you this complete analysis of life, given for the welfare of mankind and for the removal of the state of a preta.

Verse 2 (garuda.2.12.2)

चतुरशीतिलक्षाणि चतुर्भेदाश्च जन्तवः । अण्डजाः स्वेदजाश्चैव उद्भिज्जाश्च जारायुजाः

caturaśītilakṣāṇi caturbhedāśca jantavaḥ | aṇḍajāḥ svedajāścaiva udbhijjāśca jārāyujāḥ

Living beings number eighty-four hundred thousand, of four kinds — the egg-born, the sweat-born, the sprout-born, and the womb-born.

Verse 3 (garuda.2.12.3)

एकविंशतिलक्षाणि अण्डजाः परिकीर्तिताः । स्वेदजाश्च तथा प्रोक्ता उद्भिज्जाश्च क्रमेण तु

ekaviṁśatilakṣāṇi aṇḍajāḥ parikīrtitāḥ | svedajāśca tathā proktā udbhijjāśca krameṇa tu

Twenty-one hundred thousand are declared to be egg-born; the sweat-born too are declared as many, and the sprout-born likewise, in turn,

Verse 4 (garuda.2.12.4)

जरायुजास्तथा प्रोक्ता मनुष्याद्यास्तथा परे । सर्वेषामेव जन्तूनां मानुषत्वं हि दुर्लभम्

jarāyujāstathā proktā manuṣyādyāstathā pare | sarveṣāmeva jantūnāṁ mānuṣatvaṁ hi durlabham

and the womb-born too are declared as many, among whom are men and other such beings. Among all these creatures, humanhood is rare indeed.

Verse 5 (garuda.2.12.5)

पञ्चेन्द्रियनिधानत्वं महापुण्यैरवाप्यते । ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्त्रिया वैश्याः शूद्रास्तत्परजातयः

pañcendriyanidhānatvaṁ mahāpuṇyairavāpyate | brāhmaṇāḥ kṣattriyā vaiśyāḥ śūdrāstatparajātayaḥ

The body that is the seat of the five senses is obtained only through great merit. Brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras, and the castes beyond them,

Verse 6 (garuda.2.12.6)

रजकश्चर्मकारश्च नटो बुरुड एव च । कैवर्तमेदभिल्लाश्च सप्तैते ह्यन्त्यजाः स्मृताः

rajakaścarmakāraśca naṭo buruḍa eva ca | kaivartamedabhillāśca saptaite hyantyajāḥ smṛtāḥ

the washerman, the tanner, the acrobat, the bamboo-worker, the fisherman, the meda, and the forest-dweller — these seven are declared to be the antyajas, the outermost castes.

Verse 7 (garuda.2.12.7)

म्लेच्छतुम्बविभेदेन जातिभेदास्त्वनेकशः । जन्तूनामेव सर्वेषां जातिभेदाः सहस्रशः

mlecchatumbavibhedena jātibhedāstvanekaśaḥ | jantūnāmeva sarveṣāṁ jātibhedāḥ sahasraśaḥ

Owing to the mlecchas and their further subdivisions, the distinctions of caste are of many kinds; among all these creatures, distinctions of species number in the thousands.

Verse 8 (garuda.2.12.8)

जन्तूनामेव सर्वेषां भेदाश्चैव सहस्रशः । आहारो मैथुनं निद्रा भयं क्रोधस्तथैव च

jantūnāmeva sarveṣāṁ bhedāścaiva sahasraśaḥ | āhāro maithunaṁ nidrā bhayaṁ krodhastathaiva ca

Among all these creatures there are thousands of distinctions. Food, mating, sleep, fear, and anger too —

Verse 9 (garuda.2.12.9)

सर्वेषा मेव जन्तूनां विवेको दुर्लभः परः । एकपादादिरूपेण देहभेदास्त्वनेकशः

sarveṣā meva jantūnāṁ viveko durlabhaḥ paraḥ | ekapādādirūpeṇa dehabhedāstvanekaśaḥ

these are common to all these creatures alike; but discernment among them is exceedingly rare. The distinctions of bodily form — one-footed and the rest — are also of many kinds.

Verse 10 (garuda.2.12.10)

कृष्णसारो मृगो यत्र धर्मदशः स उच्यते । ब्रह्माद्या देवताः सर्वास्तत्र तिष्ठन्ति सर्वशः

kṛṣṇasāro mṛgo yatra dharmadaśaḥ sa ucyate | brahmādyā devatāḥ sarvāstatra tiṣṭhanti sarvaśaḥ

The land where the black antelope roams is called the land of dharma; there Brahma and all the other gods dwell in every way.

Verse 11 (garuda.2.12.11)

भूतानां प्राणिनः श्रेष्ठाः प्राणिनां मतिजीविनः । मतिमत्सु नराः श्रेष्ठा नरेषु ब्राह्मणाः स्मृताः

bhūtānāṁ prāṇinaḥ śreṣṭhāḥ prāṇināṁ matijīvinaḥ | matimatsu narāḥ śreṣṭhā nareṣu brāhmaṇāḥ smṛtāḥ

Among all beings, animate creatures are foremost; among creatures, those who live by intelligence are foremost. Among the intelligent, men are foremost; among men, brahmins are held to be foremost.

Verse 12 (garuda.2.12.12)

मानुष्यं यः समासाद्य स्वर्गमेक्षैकसाधकम् । तयोर्न साधयेदेकं तेनात्मा वञ्चितो ध्रुवम्

mānuṣyaṁ yaḥ samāsādya svargamekṣaikasādhakam | tayorna sādhayedekaṁ tenātmā vañcito dhruvam

He who, having obtained human birth, secures neither of the two — neither liberation nor heaven — has certainly deceived his own soul.

Verse 13 (garuda.2.12.13)

इच्छति शती सहस्रं सहस्री लक्षमीहते कर्तुम् । लक्षाधिपती राज्यं राजापि सकलां धरां लब्धुम्

icchati śatī sahasraṁ sahasrī lakṣamīhate kartum | lakṣādhipatī rājyaṁ rājāpi sakalāṁ dharāṁ labdhum

He who has a hundred desires a thousand; he who has a thousand longs to make a hundred thousand; the lord of a hundred thousand desires a kingdom, and even a king desires the whole earth.

Verse 14 (garuda.2.12.14)

चक्रधरोऽपि सुरत्वं सुरभावे सकलसुरपतिर्भवितुम् । सुरपतिरूर्ध्वगतित्वं तथापि ननिवर्तते तृष्णा

cakradharo'pi suratvaṁ surabhāve sakalasurapatirbhavitum | surapatirūrdhvagatitvaṁ tathāpi nanivartate tṛṣṇā

Even the universal emperor desires godhood; in the divine state he desires to become lord of all the gods; even Indra desires a state higher still — and yet craving never comes to an end.

Verse 15 (garuda.2.12.15)

तृष्णया चाभिभूतस्तु नरकं प्रतिपद्यते । तृष्णामुक्तास्तु ये केचित्स्वर्गवासं लभन्ति ते

tṛṣṇayā cābhibhūtastu narakaṁ pratipadyate | tṛṣṇāmuktāstu ye kecitsvargavāsaṁ labhanti te

Overcome by craving, one attains hell. Those, whoever they may be, who are free of craving, alone attain dwelling in heaven.

Verse 16 (garuda.2.12.16)

आत्माधीनः पुमांल्लोके सुखी भवति निश्चितम् । शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धश्च तद्गुणाः

ātmādhīnaḥ pumāṁlloke sukhī bhavati niścitam | śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṁ ca raso gandhaśca tadguṇāḥ

The man who in this world is subject only to his own self is certainly happy. Sound, touch, form, taste, and smell — these are the qualities of the sense-objects,

Verse 17 (garuda.2.12.17)

तथा च विषयाधीनो दुः खी भवति निश्चितम्

tathā ca viṣayādhīno duḥ khī bhavati niścitam

and, likewise, he who is subject to these objects is certainly unhappy.

Verse 18 (garuda.2.12.18)

कुरङ्गमताङ्गपतङ्गभृङ्गमीना हताः पञ्चभिरेव पञ्च । एकः प्रमादी स कथं न हन्यते यः सेवते पञ्चभिरेव पञ्च

kuraṁgamatāṁgapataṁgabhṛṁgamīnā hatāḥ pañcabhireva pañca | ekaḥ pramādī sa kathaṁ na hanyate yaḥ sevate pañcabhireva pañca

The deer, the elephant, the moth, the bee, and the fish — these five are each destroyed by a single sense alone; how then shall that heedless man not perish, who indulges all five senses at once?

Verse 19 (garuda.2.12.19)

पितृमातृमयो बाल्ये यौवने दयितामयः । पुत्रपौत्रमयश्चान्ते मूढो नात्ममयः क्वचित्

pitṛmātṛmayo bālye yauvane dayitāmayaḥ | putrapautramayaścānte mūḍho nātmamayaḥ kvacit

In childhood he is absorbed in his parents, in youth in his beloved, and at the end in his sons and grandsons; this deluded creature is never absorbed in his own self.

Verse 20 (garuda.2.12.20)

लोहदारुमयैः पाशैः पुमान्बद्धो विमुच्यते । पुत्रदारमयैः पाशैर्नैव बद्धो विमुच्यते

lohadārumayaiḥ pāśaiḥ pumānbaddho vimucyate | putradāramayaiḥ pāśairnaiva baddho vimucyate

A man bound by chains of iron and wood is eventually released; but a man bound by the fetters of son and wife is never released.

Verse 21 (garuda.2.12.21)

एकः करोति पापानि फलं भुङ्क्ते महाजनः । भोक्तारो विप्रयुज्यन्ते कर्ता दोषेण लिप्यते

ekaḥ karoti pāpāni phalaṁ bhuṁkte mahājanaḥ | bhoktāro viprayujyante kartā doṣeṇa lipyate

One alone commits the sin, yet a great multitude enjoys its fruit; those who merely enjoy soon part ways, but the doer alone remains stained by that fault.

Verse 22 (garuda.2.12.22)

कोऽपि मृत्युं न जयति बालो वृद्धो युवापि वा । सुखदुः खादिको वापि पुनरायाति याति च

ko'pi mṛtyuṁ na jayati bālo vṛddho yuvāpi vā | sukhaduḥ khādiko vāpi punarāyāti yāti ca

No one conquers death — neither child, nor old man, nor even the young; laden with pleasure and pain, the creature comes and goes again and again.

Verse 23 (garuda.2.12.23)

सर्वेषां पश्यतामेव मृतः सर्वं परित्यजेत् । एकः प्रजायते जन्तुरेक एव प्रलीयते

sarveṣāṁ paśyatāmeva mṛtaḥ sarvaṁ parityajet | ekaḥ prajāyate jantureka eva pralīyate

Before the eyes of all, the dead man abandons everything. A creature is born alone, and alone it perishes.

Verse 24 (garuda.2.12.24)

एकोऽपि भुङ्क्ते सुकृतमेक एव च दुष्कृतम् । मृतं शरीरमुत्सृज्य काष्ठलोष्टसमङ्क्षितौ

eko'pi bhuṁkte sukṛtameka eva ca duṣkṛtam | mṛtaṁ śarīramutsṛjya kāṣṭhaloṣṭasamaṁkṣitau

Alone it experiences its merit, and alone its sin. Abandoning the dead body as though it were mere wood or a clod of earth,

Verse 25 (garuda.2.12.25)

बान्धवा विमुखा यान्ति धर्मस्तमनुगच्छति । गृहेष्वर्था निवर्तन्ते श्मशानान्मित्रबान्धवाः

bāndhavā vimukhā yānti dharmastamanugacchati | gṛheṣvarthā nivartante śmaśānānmitrabāndhavāḥ

kinsmen turn away and depart; only dharma follows him. Wealth remains behind in the house, and friends and kinsmen turn back from the very cremation ground,

Verse 26 (garuda.2.12.26)

शरीरं वह्निरादत्ते सुकृतं दुष्कृतं व्रजेत् । शरीरं वह्निना दग्धं पुण्यं पापं सह स्थितम्

śarīraṁ vahnirādatte sukṛtaṁ duṣkṛtaṁ vrajet | śarīraṁ vahninā dagdhaṁ puṇyaṁ pāpaṁ saha sthitam

fire takes hold of the body, and merit and sin alone travel onward. With the body burnt by fire, both merit and sin remain together, still bound to the soul.

Verse 27 (garuda.2.12.27)

शुभं वा यदि वा पापं भुङ्क्ते सर्वत्र मानवः । यदनस्तमिते सूर्ये न दत्तं धनमर्थिनाम्

śubhaṁ vā yadi vā pāpaṁ bhuṁkte sarvatra mānavaḥ | yadanastamite sūrye na dattaṁ dhanamarthinām

Whether auspicious or sinful, man everywhere experiences only that fruit. Whatever wealth is not given to petitioners before the sun sets,

Verse 28 (garuda.2.12.28)

न जाने तस्य तद्वित्तं प्रातः कस्य भविष्यति । रारटीति धनं तस्य को मे भर्ता भविष्यति

na jāne tasya tadvittaṁ prātaḥ kasya bhaviṣyati | rāraṭīti dhanaṁ tasya ko me bhartā bhaviṣyati

I do not know whose that wealth shall be by morning. That wealth cries out, as it were — 'Who now shall be my master,

Verse 29 (garuda.2.12.29)

न दत्तं द्विजमुख्येभ्यः परोपकृतये तथा । पूर्वजन्मकृतात्पुण्याद्यल्लब्धं बहु चाल्पकम्

na dattaṁ dvijamukhyebhyaḥ paropakṛtaye tathā | pūrvajanmakṛtātpuṇyādyallabdhaṁ bahu cālpakam

since he did not give me, for the benefit of others, to the foremost brahmins?' Whatever, whether great or small, is obtained through the merit of a former birth,

Verse 30 (garuda.2.12.30)

तदीदृशं परिज्ञाय धर्मार्थे दीयते धनम् । धनेन धार्यते धर्मः श्रद्धापूतेन चेतसा

tadīdṛśaṁ parijñāya dharmārthe dīyate dhanam | dhanena dhāryate dharmaḥ śraddhāpūtena cetasā

knowing it to be such, wealth should be given for the sake of dharma. Dharma is upheld by wealth, through a heart purified by faith.

Verse 31 (garuda.2.12.31)

श्रद्धाविरहितो धर्मो नेहामुत्र च तत्फलम् । धर्माच्च जायते ह्यर्थो धर्मात्कामोऽपि जायते

śraddhāvirahito dharmo nehāmutra ca tatphalam | dharmācca jāyate hyartho dharmātkāmo'pi jāyate

Dharma performed without faith bears no fruit, neither in this world nor in the next. From dharma alone arises artha, and from dharma alone arises kama too.

Verse 32 (garuda.2.12.32)

धर्म एवापवर्गाय तस्माद्धर्मं समाचरेत् । श्रद्धया साध्यते धर्मो बहुभिर्नार्थराशिभिः

dharma evāpavargāya tasmāddharmaṁ samācaret | śraddhayā sādhyate dharmo bahubhirnārtharāśibhiḥ

Dharma alone is the means to liberation; therefore dharma should be practiced. Dharma is accomplished through faith, not through great heaps of wealth.

Verse 33 (garuda.2.12.33)

अकिञ्चना हि मुनयः श्रद्धावन्तो दिवं गताः । अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत् । असदित्युच्यते पक्षिन्प्रेत्य चेह न तत्फलम्

akiñcanā hi munayaḥ śraddhāvanto divaṁ gatāḥ | aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapastaptaṁ kṛtaṁ ca yat | asadityucyate pakṣinpretya ceha na tatphalam

Even penniless sages, being full of faith, have attained heaven. Whatever oblation is offered, whatever gift is given, whatever austerity is performed, and whatever deed is done without faith — O bird, that is declared to be worthless; neither in this world nor in the next does it bear any fruit.