Upaniṣads · Mahā 3.14
॥
Devanāgarī
जातास्त एव जगति जन्तवः साधुजीविताः ये पुनर्नेह जायन्ते शेषा जरठगर्दभाः
Transliteración (IAST)
jātāsta eva jagati jantavaḥ sādhujīvitāḥ ye punarneha jāyante śeṣā jaraṭhagardabhāḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
जाताः ते एव जगतिjātāḥ te eva jagationly those were born into the world; only they have truly come into the world
जन्तवः साधु-जीविताःjantavaḥ sādhu-jīvitāḥthe creatures that lived well; beings whose life was good
ये पुनः न इह जायन्तेye punaḥ na iha jāyantewho are not born here again; who appear here no more
शेषाः जरठ-गर्दभाःśeṣāḥ jaraṭha-gardabhāḥthe rest are decrepit donkeys; the remainder are aged asses
Traducción
“Truly born are only those creatures who lived well and are not born here again; the rest are decrepit donkeys.”
Versión
b5cd1767341e · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The verse is coarse, and its coarseness is deliberate.
The definition of “born” is given through non-birth: truly born is he who will not have to be born again. The rest, however many times they are born, have begun nothing.
And the verdict: jaraṭha-gardabha — “a decrepit donkey”. The donkey in this literature is the image of a creature that toils all its life, carries another's load and does not understand why.
We are entitled to wince at such sharpness. But it is worth remembering who speaks: a youth who has just resolved not to live like everyone, and he says this first of all about himself — about the lot he wishes to escape.
A sermon addressed to others would sound otherwise. This is not a sermon; it is the report of a pondering.