मरणावसरे काया जीवं नाऽनुसरन्ति ये । तेषु तात कृतघ्नेषु कैवाऽऽस्था वद धीमताम् ॥ ३९ ॥
maraṇāvasarē kāyā jīvaṁ nā’nusaranti yē | tēṣu tāta kṛtaghnēṣu kaivā’’sthā vada dhīmatām || 39 ||
Translation
Tell me, dear one: what trust can the wise place in those ungrateful ones, the bodies, which do not follow the self at the time of death?
Word by word
- maraṇa
- of death
- avasarē
- at the time
- kāyā
- (kāyāḥ) the bodies
- jīvaṁ
- the self
- na
- not
- anusaranti
- follow
- yē
- which
- tēṣu
- in those
- tāta
- dear one
- kṛtaghnēṣu
- ungrateful ones
- kā
- what
- ēva
- indeed
- āsthā
- trust
- vada
- tell me
- dhīmatām
- can the wise place
Meaning
A friend who has been fed and cared for all his life, and then leaves you at the moment you most need him, is kṛtaghna, ungrateful. The body is such a friend: tended for a lifetime, it does not go with the self when death comes. The commentary: when one dies, the body, long cared for, does not follow the soul; what regard can the wise have for such ingrates? The reader is asked to weigh how much care they give the body against how far it will go with them.