Sarga 28¶
Vairāgya Prakaraṇa · Everything changes (43 verses)
Sarga 28 at a glance
Śrī Rāma's speech continues: everything turns into its opposite.
- All that is seen is unstable, like a meeting in a dream: hollows become mountains, cities become forests, kings become ash (1.28.1–1.28.12).
- The world is an actress in a wild drama; "those days, those great ones, those riches — all have passed into memory; we too will go in a moment" (1.28.13–1.28.24).
- "One moment … the next": riches and poverty, health and illness, birth and death — "what is not momentary?" (1.28.25–1.28.33).
- Time creates and destroys like night and day; neither misfortune nor fortune lasts (1.28.34–1.28.43).
Verse 1.28.1¶
श्रीराम उवाच ।
यच्चेदं दृश्यते किंचिज्जगत्स्थावरजंगमम् ।
तत्सर्वमस्थिरं ब्रह्मन्स्वप्नसंगमसंनिभम् ॥ १.२८.१ ॥
ब्रह्मन् (O sage), इदं (this) यत् च किंचित् स्थावर-जङ्गमं जगत् दृश्यते (whatever moving or unmoving world is seen), तत् सर्वम् (all of it) अस्थिरम् (unstable) स्वप्न-सङ्गम-सन्निभम् (like a meeting in a dream).
Translation: Śrī Rāma said: "O sage, whatever is seen in this world, moving or unmoving, is all unstable — like a meeting in a dream."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Like a dream. The theme of this sarga: everything changes into its opposite. The comparison with a dream, here only a simile, will become the central teaching of the later books.
- Gauḍapāda's Kārikā 2.31: स्वप्नमाये यथा दृष्टे गन्धर्वनगरं यथा । तथा विश्वमिदं दृष्टं वेदान्तेषु विचक्षणैः ॥ — as a dream and a magic show are seen, as a city in the clouds, so the wise in Vedānta see this world.
Verse 1.28.2¶
शुष्कसागरसंकाशो निखातो योऽद्य दृश्यते ।
स प्रातरभ्रसंवीतो नगः संपद्यते मुने ॥ १.२८.२ ॥
मुने (O sage), यः (what) अद्य (today) शुष्क-सागर-संकाशः निखातः दृश्यते (is seen as a hollow like a dried-up sea), सः (that) प्रातः (by morning) अभ्र-संवीतः नगः सम्पद्यते (becomes a mountain wrapped in clouds).
Translation: "O sage, a pit that looks today like the bed of a dried-up ocean will, by tomorrow's dawn, be a mountain draped in cloud."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Opposites become one another. The hollow becomes the peak. Over geological time this is literally true; the verse speeds it up to show the instability of all forms.
Verse 1.28.3¶
यो वनव्यूहविस्तीर्णो विलीढगगनो महान् ।
दिनैरेव स यात्युर्वीसमतां कूपतां च वा ॥ १.२८.३ ॥
यः (that which) वन-व्यूह-विस्तीर्णः (spread with dense forests) विलीढ-गगनः महान् [अस्ति] (great, licking the sky), सः (that) दिनैः एव (in days) उर्वी-समतां (level with the ground) कूपतां च वा (or even into a pit) याति (goes).
Translation: "Something huge — sprawling with forest and grazing the sky — is, within days, flattened to the plain or sunk into a hollow."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The great brought low. Mountains and empires alike.
Verse 1.28.4¶
यदङ्गमद्य संवीतं कौशेयस्रग्विलेपनैः ।
दिगम्बरं तदेव श्वो दूरे विशरिताऽवटे ॥ १.२८.४ ॥
यत् अङ्गम् (the body which) अद्य (today) कौशेय-स्रक्-विलेपनैः संवीतम् (is wrapped in silk, garlands and perfumes), तत् एव (that very one) श्वः (tomorrow) दिगम्बरम् (naked) दूरे अवटे विशरिता (lies scattered in a far-off pit).
Translation: "The body dressed today in silk, garlands and perfumes lies tomorrow naked, scattered in a distant pit."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Today and tomorrow. The sharpest form of the contrast: one day apart.
Verse 1.28.5¶
यत्राद्य नगरं दृष्टं विचित्राचारचञ्चलम् ।
तत्रैवोदेति दिवसैः संशून्यारण्यधर्मता ॥ १.२८.५ ॥
यत्र (where) अद्य (today) विचित्र-आचार-चञ्चलं नगरं दृष्टम् (a city is seen, bustling with varied ways), तत्र एव (right there) दिवसैः (in some days) संशून्य-अरण्य-धर्मता उदेति (the emptiness of a forest arises).
Translation: "Where today a city bustles with all its varied ways, in a few days the emptiness of a forest arises."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Lost cities. History is full of them: great cities now forest or desert.
Verse 1.28.6¶
यः पुमानद्य तेजस्वी मण्डलान्यधितिष्ठति ।
स भस्मकूटतां राजन्दिवसैरधिगच्छति ॥ १.२८.६ ॥
राजन् (O king), यः पुमान् (the man who) अद्य (today) तेजस्वी (glorious) मण्डलानि अधितिष्ठति (rules over kingdoms), सः (he) दिवसैः (in some days) भस्म-कूटताम् अधिगच्छति (becomes a heap of ashes).
Translation: "O king, the man who today rules kingdoms in glory becomes, in a few days, a heap of ashes."
Pointers for Reflection:
- राजन् — O king. Rāma addresses his father Daśaratha directly. The words fall heavily: Daśaratha himself will soon die of grief.
- A heap of ashes. Compare Gītā 2.27, जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युः.
Verse 1.28.7¶
अरण्यानी महाभीमा या नभोमण्डलोपमा ।
पताकाच्छादिताकाशा सैव संपद्यते पुरी ॥ १.२८.७ ॥
या (that which) महा-भीमा (very fearsome) नभः-मण्डल-उपमा अरण्यानी [अस्ति] (a great forest vast as the sky), सा एव (that very one) पताका-आच्छादित-आकाशा पुरी सम्पद्यते (becomes a city whose sky is covered with flags).
Translation: "A vast, fearsome forest, wide as the sky, becomes a city whose sky is filled with flags."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The reverse. Forest becomes city as well as city becomes forest (1.28.5). Change runs in both directions.
Verse 1.28.8¶
या लतावलिता भीमा भात्यद्य विपिनावली ।
दिवसैरेव सा याति पुनर्मरुमहीपदम् ॥ १.२८.८ ॥
या (that which) अद्य (today) लता-वलिता भीमा विपिन-आवली भाति (shines as a fearsome stretch of forest wrapped in creepers), सा (that) दिवसैः एव (in days) पुनः मरु-मही-पदं याति (becomes desert again).
Translation: "A fearsome stretch of forest, today wrapped in creepers, becomes desert again in a few days."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Forest to desert. A reminder today of what humans themselves can do to the earth.
Verse 1.28.9¶
सलिलं स्थलतां याति स्थलीभवति वारिभूः ।
विपर्यस्यति सर्वं हि सकाष्ठाम्बुतृणं जगत् ॥ १.२८.९ ॥
सलिलं स्थलतां याति (water becomes land) वारि-भूः स्थली-भवति (watery ground becomes dry); हि (indeed) स-काष्ठ-अम्बु-तृणं सर्वं जगत् (the whole world, with its wood, water and grass) विपर्यस्यति (turns upside down).
Translation: "Water turns to land, and wetland to dry ground: the whole world, with its wood, water and grass, is turned upside down."
Pointers for Reflection:
- विपर्यय — reversal. The key word of the sarga.
Verse 1.28.10¶
अनित्यं यौवनं बाल्यं शरीरं द्रव्यसंचयाः ।
भावाद्भावान्तरं यान्ति तरङ्गवदनारतम् ॥ १.२८.१० ॥
यौवनं बाल्यं शरीरं द्रव्य-सञ्चयाः (youth, childhood, body and stores of wealth) अनित्यम् (are impermanent); [ते] तरङ्ग-वत् (like waves) अनारतं (ceaselessly) भावात् भाव-अन्तरं यान्ति (go from one state to another).
Translation: "Childhood and youth, the body, the piles of possessions — none of them last. Like waves, they keep turning, without pause, from one shape into the next."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 2.14: आगमापायिनोऽनित्याः — they come and go; they are impermanent.
Verse 1.28.11¶
वातान्तर्दीपकशिखालोलं जगति जीवितम् ।
तडित्स्फुरणसंकाशा पदार्थश्रीर्जगत्त्रये ॥ १.२८.११ ॥
जगति जीवितम् (life in the world) वात-अन्तः-दीपक-शिखा-लोलम् (is unsteady as a lamp-flame in the wind); जगत्-त्रये (in the three worlds) पदार्थ-श्रीः (the splendour of things) तडित्-स्फुरण-संकाशा (is like a flash of lightning).
Translation: "Life in the world flickers like a lamp-flame in the wind; the splendour of things in the three worlds is like a flash of lightning."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Reading note. The online text prints जगत्र्त्रये; corrected here to जगत्त्रये.
- The lamp in the wind. The Gītā uses the opposite image for the steady mind (6.19): यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता. as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker. Life flickers; the yogī's mind does not.
Verse 1.28.12¶
विपर्यासमियं याति भूरिभूतपरम्परा ।
बीजराशिरिवाजस्रं पूर्यमाणः पुनःपुनः ॥ १.२८.१२ ॥
इयं भूरि-भूत-परम्परा (this vast succession of beings) अजस्रं पुनः पुनः पूर्यमाणः बीज-राशिः इव (like a heap of seed, constantly refilled again and again) विपर्यासं याति (undergoes change).
Translation: "This vast succession of beings keeps changing, like a heap of seed that is refilled again and again."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Seeds. Each being is a seed of the next. Compare Kaṭha 1.1.6: सस्यमिव मर्त्यः पच्यते सस्यमिवाजायते पुनः. like grain a mortal ripens, like grain he is born again.
Verse 1.28.13¶
मनःपवनपर्यस्तभूरिभूतरजःपटा ।
पातोत्पातपरावर्तपराभिनयभूषिता ॥ १.२८.१३ ॥
[इयं जागती स्थितिः] (this worldly state) मनः-पवन-पर्यस्त-भूरि-भूत-रजः-पटा (whose veil of the dust of many beings is tossed by the wind of the mind) पात-उत्पात-परावर्त-पर-अभिनय-भूषिता (adorned with the great acting of falls, rises and reversals) …
Translation: "This state of the world — its veil of the dust of countless beings tossed by the wind of the mind, adorned with the high drama of falls, rises and reversals …"
Pointers for Reflection:
- The wind of the mind. The mind stirs the dust of beings. The world's turmoil is the mind's turmoil. The sentence continues.
Verse 1.28.14¶
आलक्ष्यते स्थितिरियं जागती जनितभ्रमा ।
नृत्तावेशविवृत्तेव संसारारभटीनटी ॥ १.२८.१४ ॥
जनित-भ्रमा इयं जागती स्थितिः (this worldly state, which produces delusion) नृत्त-आवेश-विवृत्ता संसार-आरभटी-नटी इव (like an actress in the violent drama of saṃsāra, whirling in the frenzy of her dance) आलक्ष्यते (appears).
Translation: "… this state of the world, which breeds delusion, looks like an actress in the violent drama of saṃsāra, whirling in the frenzy of her dance."
Pointers for Reflection:
- आरभटी — the violent style of drama in Indian dramaturgy. The world as a wild stage-show — as in Sarga 25.
Verse 1.28.15¶
गन्धर्वनगराकारविपर्यासविधायिनी ।
अपाङ्गभङ्गुरोदारव्यवहारमनोरमा ॥ १.२८.१५ ॥
[सा] गन्धर्व-नगर-आकार-विपर्यास-विधायिनी (making changes like the shapes of a cloud-city) अपाङ्ग-भङ्गुर-उदार-व्यवहार-मनोरमा (charming with grand dealings as brief as a sidelong glance) …
Translation: "… making changes like the shifting shapes of a city in the clouds, charming with grand affairs as fleeting as a sidelong glance …"
Pointers for Reflection:
- The gandharva city (1.18.61). The world's forms change like cloud-shapes.
Verse 1.28.16¶
तडित्तरलमालोकमातन्वाना पुनःपुनः ।
संसाररचना राजन्नृत्तसक्तेव राजते ॥ १.२८.१६ ॥
राजन् (O king), संसार-रचना (the arrangement of saṃsāra) पुनः पुनः (again and again) तडित्-तरलम् आलोकम् आतन्वाना (spreading a light as fleeting as lightning) नृत्त-सक्ता इव राजते (shines as if absorbed in dance).
Translation: "O king, the arrangement of saṃsāra shines as if absorbed in dance, again and again spreading a light as fleeting as lightning."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Absorbed in its own dance. The world has no purpose beyond its own movement — लीला.
Verse 1.28.17¶
दिवसास्ते महान्तस्ते संपदस्ताः क्रियाश्च ताः ।
सर्वं स्मृतिपथं यातं यामो वयमपि क्षणात् ॥ १.२८.१७ ॥
ते दिवसाः (those days) ते महान्तः (those great people) ताः सम्पदः (those riches) ताः क्रियाः च (and those deeds) — सर्वं स्मृति-पथं यातम् (all have gone into memory); वयम् अपि (we too) क्षणात् यामः (go in a moment).
Translation: "Those days are gone, and those great men; that wealth and all that was done — it now lives only in memory. And we too will be gone in a moment."
Pointers for Reflection:
- A famous verse of impermanence. Simple and devastating. Everything that was is now only a memory, and soon we will be one too.
Verse 1.28.18¶
प्रत्यहं क्षयमायाति प्रत्यहं जायते पुनः ।
अद्यापि हतरूपाया नान्तोऽस्या दग्धसंसृतेः ॥ १.२८.१८ ॥
[सा संसृतिः] प्रत्यहं क्षयम् आयाति (each day it wastes away) प्रत्यहं पुनः जायते (and each day is born again); अद्य अपि (even now) हत-रूपायाः अस्याः दग्ध-संसृतेः (of this wretched, accursed cycle) अन्तः न [अस्ति] (there is no end).
Translation: "Each day it dies and each day it is born again: even now there is no end to this wretched cycle of existence."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Endless. Saṃsāra does not end by itself; it must be ended by knowledge.
Verse 1.28.19¶
तिर्यक्त्वं पुरुषा यान्ति तिर्यञ्चो नरतामपि ।
देवाश्चादेवतां यान्ति किमिवेह विभो स्थिरम् ॥ १.२८.१९ ॥
विभो (O lord), पुरुषाः तिर्यक्त्वं यान्ति (humans become animals) तिर्यञ्चः नरताम् अपि (animals become humans) देवाः च अदेवतां यान्ति (gods lose their godhood); इह (here) किम् इव स्थिरम् (what is stable)?
Translation: "O lord, humans become animals, animals become humans, and gods lose their divinity. What here is stable?"
Pointers for Reflection:
- Rebirth. The wheel of births moves through all forms of life. Even the gods fall (Gītā 9.21).
Verse 1.28.20¶
रचयन्रश्मिजालेन रात्र्यहानि पुनःपुनः ।
अतिवाह्य रविः कालो विनाशावधिमीक्षते ॥ १.२८.२० ॥
रविः कालः (the sun, which is Time) रश्मि-जालेन (with its net of rays) पुनः पुनः रात्रि-अहानि रचयन् (making nights and days again and again) अतिवाह्य (passing them by) विनाश-अवधिम् ईक्षते (looks to the limit of destruction).
Translation: "The sun, which is Time itself, makes nights and days again and again with its net of rays, and passing them by, watches for the hour of destruction."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The sun as Time. Each sunrise counts a day off every life.
Verse 1.28.21¶
ब्रह्मा विष्णुश्च रुद्रश्च सर्वा वा भूतजातयः ।
नाशमेवानुधावन्ति सलिलानीव वाडवम् ॥ १.२८.२१ ॥
ब्रह्मा विष्णुः च रुद्रः च (Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra) सर्वाः वा भूत-जातयः (or all kinds of beings) सलिलानि वाडवम् इव (as waters [rush to] the submarine fire) नाशम् एव अनुधावन्ति (rush only to destruction).
Translation: "Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra, and every kind of being, all rush towards destruction, as waters rush into the fire under the sea."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Even the Trinity — as at 1.26.29. In their cosmic functions, they too belong to Time.
Verse 1.28.22¶
द्यौः क्षमा वायुराकाशं पर्वताः सरितो दिशः ।
विनाशवाडवस्यैतत्सर्वं संशुष्कमिन्धनम् ॥ १.२८.२२ ॥
द्यौः क्षमा वायुः आकाशं पर्वताः सरितः दिशः (sky, earth, wind, space, mountains, rivers, directions) एतत् सर्वं (all this) विनाश-वाडवस्य संशुष्कम् इन्धनम् (is dry fuel for the submarine fire of destruction).
Translation: "The heavens and the earth, the air and open space, the hills, the rivers and every quarter of the compass — the whole of it is so much dried tinder for the blaze of ruin."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The elements themselves. Even space and the directions are fuel. Only consciousness, the witness of space, is not.
Verse 1.28.23¶
धनानि बान्धवा भृत्या मित्राणि विभवाश्च ये ।
विनाशभयभीतस्य सर्वं नीरसतां गतम् ॥ १.२८.२३ ॥
विनाश-भय-भीतस्य (for one frightened by the fear of destruction) धनानि बान्धवाः भृत्याः मित्राणि विभवाः च ये (riches, relatives, servants, friends and possessions) सर्वं नीरसतां गतम् (all have lost their flavour).
Translation: "Wealth, family, servants, friends and possessions — once the dread of loss has really been felt, all of them go flat."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The taste has gone. This is वैराग्य exactly: not hatred, but loss of taste (रस). Compare Gītā 2.59: रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते. even the taste falls away, once the Supreme is seen. Rāma has lost the taste; he has not yet seen the Supreme.
Verse 1.28.24¶
स्वदन्ते तावदेवैते भावा जगति धीमते ।
यावत्स्मृतिपथं याति न विनाशकुराक्षसः ॥ १.२८.२४ ॥
जगति (in the world) एते भावाः (these things) धीमते (to the wise) तावत् एव स्वदन्ते (are pleasant only so long) यावत् (as) विनाश-कु-राक्षसः (the cruel demon of destruction) स्मृति-पथं न याति (does not come to mind).
Translation: "Things in the world are pleasant to the wise only until the cruel demon of destruction comes to mind."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Remembering death. Mindfulness of death (मरणस्मृति in Buddhism) instantly changes the taste of every pleasure.
Verse 1.28.25¶
क्षणमैश्वर्यमायाति क्षणमेति दरिद्रताम् ।
क्षणं विगतरोगत्वं क्षणमागतरोगताम् ॥ १.२८.२५ ॥
क्षणम् ऐश्वर्यम् आयाति (one moment prosperity comes) क्षणं दरिद्रताम् एति (the next, poverty); क्षणं विगत-रोगत्वं (one moment freedom from illness) क्षणम् आगत-रोगताम् (the next, illness arrives).
Translation: "Wealth for a moment, then want; well for a moment, then ill."
Pointers for Reflection:
- क्षणम् … क्षणम् — 'one moment … the next'. The refrain of the next verses (1.28.25–1.28.31).
Verse 1.28.26¶
प्रतिक्षणविपर्यासदायिना निहतात्मना ।
जगद्भ्रमेण के नाम धीमन्तो हि न मोहिताः ॥ १.२८.२६ ॥
के नाम धीमन्तः (which wise people) प्रति-क्षण-विपर्यास-दायिना (by that which brings reversal every moment) निहत-आत्मना जगत्-भ्रमेण (by the wretched delusion of the world) न मोहिताः (are not deluded)?
Translation: "Which of the wise is not deluded by this wretched delusion of the world, which brings reversal every moment?"
Pointers for Reflection:
- Even the wise are deceived — until they see through it.
Verse 1.28.27¶
तमःपङ्कसमालब्धं क्षणमाकाशमण्डलम् ।
क्षणं कनकनिष्यन्दकोमलालोकसुन्दरम् ॥ १.२८.२७ ॥
आकाश-मण्डलं (the sky) क्षणं तमः-पङ्क-समालब्धम् (one moment smeared with the mud of darkness) क्षणं कनक-निष्यन्द-कोमल-आलोक-सुन्दरम् (the next lovely with soft light like flowing gold).
Translation: "Now the sky lies daubed with the mud of darkness; a moment later it glows, soft and lovely, as if gold were flowing across it."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Reading note. The online text prints क्षण कनक; corrected here to क्षणं कनक.
- Night and dawn. The sky changes moment by moment, yet the sky itself is untouched. Compare the sky of the mind (1.15.19).
Verse 1.28.28¶
क्षणं जलदनीलाब्जमालावलितकोटरम् ।
क्षणमुड्डामररवं क्षणं मूकमिव स्थितम् ॥ १.२८.२८ ॥
[आकाश-मण्डलं] क्षणं जलद-नील-अब्ज-माला-वलित-कोटरम् (one moment its vault wreathed with blue-lotus garlands of clouds) क्षणम् उड्डामर-रवम् (one moment roaring) क्षणं मूकम् इव स्थितम् (one moment standing as if mute).
Translation: "One moment the vault of the sky is wreathed with clouds like garlands of blue lotuses, the next it is roaring with thunder, and the next it stands silent."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Reading note. The online text prints क्ष्रणम्; corrected here to क्षणम्.
- The sky remains. Clouds, thunder and silence pass across it; the sky itself does not change. This is the image the teaching will use for the Self.
Verse 1.28.29¶
क्षणं ताराविरचितं क्षणमर्केण भूषितम् ।
क्षणमिन्दुकृताह्लादं क्षणं सर्वबहिष्कृतम् ॥ १.२८.२९ ॥
[आकाश-मण्डलं] क्षणं तारा-विरचितम् (one moment set with stars) क्षणम् अर्केण भूषितम् (one moment adorned by the sun) क्षणम् इन्दु-कृत-आह्लादम् (one moment gladdened by the moon) क्षणं सर्व-बहिष्कृतम् (one moment empty of all).
Translation: "One moment the sky is set with stars, the next adorned with the sun, the next made glad by the moon — and the next it is empty of everything."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Empty of all. The sky's own nature appears when nothing else is in it.
Verse 1.28.30¶
आगमापायपरया क्षणसंस्थितिनाशया ।
न बिभेति हि संसारे धीरोऽपि क इवानया ॥ १.२८.३० ॥
आगम-अपाय-परया (bent on coming and going) क्षण-संस्थिति-नाशया (whose stability is destroyed in a moment) अनया (by this) संसारे (in the world) कः इव धीरः अपि (which person, even steady) न बिभेति हि (is not afraid)?
Translation: "Who, even among the steady, is not afraid of this world, where everything comes and goes and nothing lasts a moment?"
Pointers for Reflection:
- Fear before freedom. Rāma's fear is honest. The Upaniṣads promise its end: Taittirīya 2.9, आनन्दं ब्रह्मणो विद्वान् न बिभेति कुतश्चन.
Verse 1.28.31¶
आपदः क्षणमायान्ति क्षणमायान्ति संपदः ।
क्षणं जन्म क्षणं मृत्युर्मुने किमिव न क्षणम् ॥ १.२८.३१ ॥
आपदः क्षणम् आयान्ति (calamities come in a moment) क्षणम् आयान्ति सम्पदः (riches come in a moment); क्षणं जन्म क्षणं मृत्युः (birth is a moment, death is a moment); मुने (O sage), किम् इव न क्षणम् (what is not momentary)?
Translation: "Calamities come in a moment, riches come in a moment; birth is a moment, death is a moment. O sage, what is not momentary?"
Pointers for Reflection:
- What is not momentary? The decisive question of the sarga. The answer is the one who sees the moments come and go — the witness, which is never itself a moment.
- Buddhist momentariness (क्षणिकवाद) taken to its limit, and then answered by the Advaita of the unchanging witness — the synthesis of traditions.
Verse 1.28.32¶
प्रागासीदन्य एवेह जातस्त्वन्यो नरो दिनैः ।
सदैकरूपं भगवन्किंचिदस्ति न सुस्थिरम् ॥ १.२८.३२ ॥
भगवन् (revered one), इह (here) प्राक् अन्यः एव आसीत् (before, a person was one) दिनैः तु नरः अन्यः जातः (but with days, the person became another); सदा एक-रूपं सु-स्थिरं किंचित् न अस्ति (nothing is always of one form, firmly stable).
Translation: "Revered one, a person here was one thing before and, with the passing days, has become another. Nothing remains of one form, firmly stable."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The changing person. Who we are changes with time. Yet something knows 'I was a child, I am now an adult' — the same knower through all changes.
Verse 1.28.33¶
घटस्य पटता दृष्टा पटस्यापि घटस्थितिः ।
न तदस्ति न यद्दृष्टं विपर्यस्यति संसृतौ ॥ १.२८.३३ ॥
घटस्य पटता दृष्टा (a pot is seen to become cloth) पटस्य अपि घट-स्थितिः (and cloth to become a pot); संसृतौ (in the world) तत् न अस्ति यत् दृष्टं (there is nothing seen which) न विपर्यस्यति (does not turn into something else).
Translation: "A pot is seen to become cloth, and cloth to become a pot. In this world there is nothing seen that does not turn into something else."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Pot and cloth — the stock examples of Indian logic. Here even the classic examples of fixed objects dissolve into each other (the clay of the pot becomes soil, the soil grows cotton, the cotton becomes cloth).
Verse 1.28.34¶
तनोत्युत्पादयत्यत्ति निहत्यासृजति क्रमात् ।
सततं रात्र्यहानीव निवर्तन्ते नरं प्रति ॥ १.२८.३४ ॥
[कालः] क्रमात् (in turn) तनोति उत्पादयति अत्ति (spreads, produces, eats) निहत्य आसृजति (and having killed, creates again); [ते] रात्रि-अहानि इव (like nights and days) नरं प्रति सततं निवर्तन्ते (keep returning to people).
Translation: "Time spreads things out, produces them, eats them, and having killed them, creates them again in turn; these changes return to people endlessly, like nights and days."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Almost repeated at 1.28.40. The text repeats this verse with one word changed; the repetition is the point.
Verse 1.28.35¶
अशूरेण हतः शूर एकेनापि हतं शतम् ।
प्राकृताः प्रभुतां याताः सर्वमावर्त्यते जगत् ॥ १.२८.३५ ॥
अशूरेण शूरः हतः (a hero is killed by a coward) एकेन अपि शतं हतम् (a hundred are killed by one); प्राकृताः प्रभुतां याताः (common people become lords); सर्वं जगत् आवर्त्यते (the whole world is turned around).
Translation: "The brave fall to the cowardly; one man brings down a hundred; the lowly rise to rule. The whole world keeps tipping over."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Reversals of fortune. No order of merit holds in the world of change.
Verse 1.28.36¶
जनतेयं विपर्यासमजस्रमनुगच्छति ।
जडस्पन्दपरामर्शात्तरङ्गाणामिवावली ॥ १.२८.३६ ॥
इयं जनता (these people) जड-स्पन्द-परामर्शात् (by the touch of dull vibration) तरङ्गाणाम् आवली इव (like a row of waves) अजस्रं विपर्यासम् अनुगच्छति (constantly undergo reversal).
Translation: "People constantly turn into their opposites, like a row of waves stirred by blind motion."
Pointers for Reflection:
- जडस्पन्द — blind vibration. Movement without awareness. The contrast is with चित्स्पन्द, the conscious vibration of Kashmir Śaivism (1.25.2).
Verse 1.28.37¶
बाल्यमल्पदिनैरेव यौवनश्रीस्ततो जरा ।
देहेऽपि नैकरूपत्वं कास्था बाह्येषु वस्तुषु ॥ १.२८.३७ ॥
बाल्यम् अल्प-दिनैः एव (childhood in only a few days) ततः यौवन-श्रीः (then the glory of youth) ततः जरा (then old age); देहे अपि एक-रूपत्वं न (even in the body there is no single form); बाह्येषु वस्तुषु का आस्था (what trust in outer things)?
Translation: "Childhood is over in a few days; then comes the bloom of youth, and after it old age. Not even the body stays one shape — how could anyone rely on things outside it?"
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 2.13: देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा — as the embodied one passes through childhood, youth and old age in this body … The Gītā completes the thought: the one who passes through them is unchanged.
Verse 1.28.38¶
क्षणमानन्दितामेति क्षणमेति विषादिताम् ।
क्षणं सौम्यत्वमायाति सर्वस्मिन्नटवन्मनः ॥ १.२८.३८ ॥
मनः (the mind) क्षणम् आनन्दिताम् एति (one moment is joyful) क्षणं विषादिताम् एति (the next is dejected) क्षणं सौम्यत्वम् आयाति (the next becomes gentle); सर्वस्मिन् नटवत् [भवति] (in everything it is like an actor).
Translation: "One moment the mind is joyful, the next dejected, the next calm: in everything it behaves like an actor."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The mind as an actor. It plays every role. Who watches the play? The witness, which is not an actor.
Verse 1.28.39¶
इतश्चान्यदितश्चान्यदितश्चान्यदयं विधिः ।
रचयन्वस्तुनायाति खेदं लीलास्विवार्भकः ॥ १.२८.३९ ॥
अयं विधिः (this Creator / ordering power) इतः च अन्यत् इतः च अन्यत् इतः च अन्यत् (now one thing, now another, now another) वस्तुना रचयन् (making with things) लीलासु अर्भकः इव (like a child at play) खेदम् आयाति (grows tired).
Translation: "The Creator makes now one thing, now another, now yet another, like a child at play — and grows tired of it."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Reading note. The online text could also be read as 'never tires' (न खेदम्); compare 1.25.32, where the cosmic dancer makes worlds 'untiring' (अखिन्न). The text as printed says the Creator does tire, like a child.
Verse 1.28.40¶
चिनोत्युत्पादयत्यत्ति निहत्यासृजति क्रमात् ।
सततं रात्र्यहानीव निवर्तन्ते नरं प्रति ॥ १.२८.४० ॥
[कालः] क्रमात् (in turn) चिनोति उत्पादयति अत्ति (gathers, produces, eats) निहत्य असृजति (and having killed, creates); रात्रि-अहनी इव (like night and day) [एताः] नरं प्रति सततं निवर्तन्ते (keep returning to people).
Translation: "Time gathers, produces, eats, and having killed, creates again in turn; and all this returns to people endlessly, like night and day."
Pointers for Reflection:
- A near-repeat of 1.28.34, with चिनोति (gathers) for तनोति (spreads).
Verse 1.28.41¶
आविर्भावतिरोभावभागिनो भवभागिनः ।
जनस्य स्थिरतां यान्ति नापदो न च संपदः ॥ १.२८.४१ ॥
आविर्भाव-तिरोभाव-भागिनः (subject to appearing and disappearing) भव-भागिनः जनस्य (for people who share in worldly existence) न आपदः न च सम्पदः (neither calamities nor riches) स्थिरतां यान्ति (become permanent).
Translation: "For people caught in worldly existence, subject to appearing and disappearing, neither misfortune nor good fortune ever lasts."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Neither lasts. A consolation as well as a warning: bad times pass too. Compare the reflection at 1.14.3.
Verse 1.28.42¶
कालः क्रीडत्ययं प्रायः सर्वमापदि पातयन् ।
हेलाविचलिताशेषचतुराचारचञ्चुरः ॥ १.२८.४२ ॥
अयं कालः (this Time) प्रायः (mostly) सर्वम् आपदि पातयन् (throwing everything into calamity) हेला-विचलित-अशेष-चतुर-आचार-चञ्चुरः (expert at upsetting, with ease, all the plans of the clever) क्रीडति (plays).
Translation: "Time plays on, mostly throwing everything into misfortune, expert at upsetting with ease all the plans of the clever."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The plans of the clever. No cleverness escapes Time. Only wisdom, which does not depend on outcomes, is free of it.
Verse 1.28.43¶
समविषमविपाकतो विभिन्नास्त्रिभुवनभूतपरम्पराफलौघाः ।
समयपवनपातिताः पतन्ति प्रतिदिनमाततसंसृतिद्रुमेभ्यः ॥ १.२८.४३ ॥
प्रतिदिनम् (every day) सम-विषम-विपाकतः विभिन्नाः (differing by their even and uneven ripening) त्रिभुवन-भूत-परम्परा-फल-ओघाः (floods of fruit, the successions of beings in the three worlds) समय-पवन-पातिताः (felled by the wind of Time) आतत-संसृति-द्रुमेभ्यः (from the wide-spreading trees of saṃsāra) पतन्ति (fall).
Translation: Every day, floods of fruit — the generations of beings in the three worlds, ripening well or badly — are shaken down by the wind of Time from the wide-spreading trees of saṃsāra, and fall.
Pointers for Reflection:
- A closing verse in a longer metre (puṣpitāgrā).
- Fruit falling from the tree — the image that closes the sarga. Each life ripens and falls. The teaching will show the tree itself to be an appearance in consciousness (Gītā 15.1–3, the inverted aśvattha).