जितक्लमाः समा धीरा मूर्द्धन्यात्मानमादधन्
Those steady and wise, having conquered fatigue, place the self in the head.
तस्मिन्समिध्यते नित्यमग्निः स्थाल्यामिवाहितः
There, the fire is always kindled, as in a pot set upon the hearth.
श्वसित्याभाषते चैव ततो जीवो निरर्थकः
He breathes and speaks, and then the soul is purposeless.
अग्निर्जरयते चैतत्तदा जीवो निरर्थकः
The fire consumes this, and then the soul is purposeless.
वायुरेव जहात्येनमूष्मभावश्च नश्यति
It is only the wind that departs from him, and his warmth is destroyed.
वायुमञ्जलवत्पश्येद्गच्छेत्सह मरुद्गुणैः
One should see the wind as if held in the palms, departing along with the qualities of air.
महार्णवविमुक्तत्वादन्यत्सलिलभाजनम्
Because it is freed from the great ocean, another vessel of water remains.
क्षिप्रं प्रविश्य नश्येत यथा नश्यत्यसौ तथा
Quickly entering, it is destroyed, just as that is destroyed.
येषामन्यतराभावाञ्चतुर्णां नास्ति संशयः
Of those four, if either one is absent, there is no doubt.
नश्यते कोष्टभेदार्थमग्रिर्नश्यत्यभोजनात्
Fire is destroyed for want of fuel, and is destroyed for lack of food.
पीडिते ऽन्यतरे ह्येषां संघातो याति पञ्चताम्
When either of these is afflicted, the aggregate comes to dissolution.
किं खेदयति वा जीवः किं शृणोति ब्रवीति च
What does the living being tire of, what does he hear, and what does he say?
यो दत्त्वा म्रियते जन्तुः सा गौः कं तारयिष्यति
The creature who dies after giving—how will that cow save anyone?
इहैव विलयं यान्ति कुतस्तेषां समागमः
They dissolve right here; how could there be reunion for them?
अग्निना चोपयुक्तस्य कुतः संजीवनं पुनः
For one consumed by fire, how could there be life again?
जीवन्यस्य प्रवर्तन्ते मृतः क्व पुनरेष्यति
As long as he lives, he acts; once dead, how will he return?
मृताः प्रणश्यन्ति बीजाद्बीजं प्रणश्यति
The dead are destroyed; from the seed, the seed is destroyed.
त निवर्तय सर्वज्ञ यतस्त्वामाश्रितो ह्यहम्
Turn them back, O all-knowing one, for I have taken refuge in you.
पुनराहु मुनिश्रेष्ठ तत्संदेहनिवृत्तये
Speak again, best of sages, to dispel that doubt.
याति देहान्तरं प्राणी शरीरं तु विशीर्यते
The living being goes to another body, but the body itself decays.
समिधामग्निदग्धानां यथाग्रिर्द्दश्यते तथा
Just as fire is seen in kindling burnt by fire, so it is.
इन्धनस्योपयोगान्ते स वाग्निर्नोपलभ्यते
At the end of the use of fuel, that fire is no longer perceived.
गतिर्यस्य प्रमाणं वा संस्थानं वा न विद्यते
He whose movement, measure, or form is not known—
नश्यतीत्येव जानामि शान्तमग्निमनिन्धनम्
I know only that it perishes, like a fire at rest without fuel.
समिधामुपयोगान्ते यथाग्निर्नोपलभ्यते
Just as, when the fuel is used up, the fire is no longer perceived—
तथा शरीरसंत्यागे जीवो ह्याकाशवत्स्थितः
So too, when the body is abandoned, the soul remains, like space.
प्राणान्धारयते ह्यग्निः स जीव उपधार्यताम्
It is the fire that sustains the vital breaths; let that soul be understood.
तस्मिन्नष्टे शरीराग्नौ ततो देहमचेतनम्
When that bodily fire is lost, then the body becomes insentient.
जगमानां हि सर्वेषां स्थावराणां तथैव च
This is true for all moving beings, and likewise for the immobile.
तेषां त्रयाणामेकत्वाद्वयं भूमौ प्रतिष्टितम्
Because these three are one, their duality is established in the earth.