Word meanings
- avyakta-ādīni
- unmanifest before birth
- bhūtāni
- created beings
- vyakta
- manifest
- madhyāni
- in the middle
- bhārata
- Arjun, scion of Bharat
- avyakta
- unmanifest
- nidhanāni
- on death
- eva
- indeed
- tatra
- therefore
- kā
- why
- paridevanā
- grieve
Translations
Beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle state, O Arjuna, and unmanifest again in their end. What is there to grieve about?
The end and beginning of beings are unknown; we only see the intervening formations. So, what is there to grieve about?
O descendant of Bharata, all beings remain unmanifested in the beginning; they become manifested in the middle. After death, they certainly become unmanifested. What lamentation can there be for them?
हे भारत ! सभी प्राणी जन्मसे पहले अप्रकट थे और मरनेके बाद अप्रकट हो जायँगे, केवल बीचमें ही प्रकट दीखते हैं। अतः इसमें शोक करनेकी बात ही क्या है?Commentary
The physical body is a combination of the five elements. It is seen by the physical eyes only after the five elements have entered into such combination. After death, the body disintegrates and the five elements go back to their source it cannot be seen. Therefore, the body can be seen only in the middle state. The relationship as son, friend, teacher, father, mother, wife, brother and sister is formed through the body on account of attachment and Moha (delusion). Just as planks unite and separate in a river, just as pilgrims unite and separate in a public inn, so also fathers, mothers, sons and brothers unite and separate in this world.
This world is a very big public inn. People unite and separate. There is no pot in the beginning and in the end. Even if you see the pot in the middle, you should think and feel that it is illusory and does not really exist. So also there is no body in the beginning and in the end. That which does not exist in the beginning and in the end must be illusory in the middle also. You must think and feel that the body does not really exist in the middle as well. He who thus understands the nature of the body and all human relationships based on it, will not grieve.