भटो मरणमूर्छान्ते निमेषेणाऽमरं वपुः । स्वकर्मशिल्पिरचितं प्राप्तः स्वप्नपुरं यथा ॥ ३४ ॥
bhaṭō maraṇamūrchāntē nimēṣēṇā’maraṁ vapuḥ | svakarmaśilpiracitaṁ prāptaḥ svapnapuraṁ yathā || 34 ||
Translation
"The warrior, at the end of the swoon of death, in a moment reaches a deathless body, built by the craftsman of his own karma, as one reaches a city in a dream."
Word by word
- bhaṭō
- (bhaṭaḥ) the warrior
- maraṇa
- of death
- mūrchā
- of the swoon
- antē
- at the end
- nimēṣēṇa
- in a moment
- amaraṁ
- a deathless
- vapuḥ
- body
- sva
- his own
- karma
- of karma
- śilpi
- by the craftsman
- racitaṁ
- built
- prāptaḥ
- reaches
- svapna
- in a dream
- puraṁ
- a city
- yathā
- as one reaches
Meaning
The heart of the sarga, and of the whole tale. Death is a swoon (mūrchā), and when it ends, the one who died finds himself, in the blink of an eye, in a new body. That body is not given to him from outside: his own karma, his past action and its impressions, is the craftsman that builds it. And the way he arrives there is the way one arrives in a city in a dream: without a journey, simply finding oneself there. This is what Līlā has learnt of her husband: after death, Padma found himself king in a world his own mind made. Another commentary: as a sleeper reaches a dream-city in a moment.