मृत्युरुवाच । भगवन् जायते शून्यात्कथं नाम वदेति मे । पृथ्व्यादयः कथं सन्ति न सन्ति वद वा कथम् ॥ ३४ ॥
mṛtyuruvāca | bhagavan jāyatē śūnyātkathaṁ nāma vadēti mē | pṛthvyādayaḥ kathaṁ santi na santi vada vā katham || 34 ||
Translation
Death said: "Lord, tell me how anything can be born of the void; and tell me how earth and the rest exist, or how they do not."
Word by word
- bhagavan
- Lord
- jāyatē
- can be born
- śūnyāt
- of the void
- kathaṁ
- how
- nāma
- anything
- vada
- tell; tell me
- iti
- "
- mē
- me
- pṛthvī
- earth
- ādayaḥ
- and the rest
- santi
- exist; do
- na
- not
- vā
- or
- katham
- how
Meaning
Death's objection is a good one, and the commentary sets it out: Yama has spoken of the changeless void changing, of the unborn being born, and of earth and the rest, which plainly exist, as not existing; Death finds this impossible. If the brahmin is born of space, something came of nothing; and if earth is unreal, what is it that we walk on? The reader who has these doubts is in good company.