चिनोत्युत्पादयत्यत्ति निहन्त्यासृजति क्रमात् । सततं रात्र्यहानीव निवर्तन्ते नरं प्रति ॥ ४० ॥
cinōtyutpādayatyatti nihantyāsṛjati kramāt | satataṁ rātryahānīva nivartantē naraṁ prati || 40 ||
Translation
He gathers, brings forth, eats, kills and creates in turn: these come back round to a man unceasingly, like nights and days.
Word by word
- cinōti
- he gathers
- utpādayati
- brings forth
- atti
- eats
- nihanti
- kills
- āsṛjati
- and creates
- kramāt
- in turn
- satataṁ
- unceasingly
- rātri
- nights
- ahāni
- and days
- iva
- like
- nivartantē
- come back round
- naraṁ
- a man
- prati
- to
Meaning
Verse 34 returns with one change: "he gathers" (cinoti) for "it spreads". The commentary: the Creator gathers people like grain, raises them, kills and eats them, and, liking the taste, creates them again. The repetition is part of the teaching: the same cycle, told twice, sounds like the cycle itself.