Upaniṣads · Mahā 3.53
॥
Devanāgarī
आपदः क्षणमायान्ति क्षणमायान्ति सम्पदः क्षणं जन्माथ मरणं सर्वं नश्वरमेव तत्
Transliteración (IAST)
āpadaḥ kṣaṇamāyānti kṣaṇamāyānti sampadaḥ kṣaṇaṃ janmātha maraṇaṃ sarvaṃ naśvarameva tat
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
आपदः क्षणम् आयान्तिāpadaḥ kṣaṇam āyānticalamities come for a moment; misfortunes appear for an instant
क्षणम् आयान्ति सम्पदःkṣaṇam āyānti sampadaḥfor a moment come the successes; for an instant come the good fortunes
क्षणम् जन्म अथ मरणम्kṣaṇam janma atha maraṇamfor a moment birth, then death; an instant — birth, and then death
सर्वम् नश्वरम् एव तत्sarvam naśvaram eva tatall that is perishable indeed; all of it is precisely fleeting
Traducción
“For a moment come calamities, for a moment come successes, for a moment birth, then death: all this is perishable.”
Versión
440cd8c4fdd0 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The verse draws the line under the whole catalogue of perishing, and does so with unexpected calm.
Four times is repeated kṣaṇam — “for a moment”. Calamities and successes receive one and the same measure.
In this equalizing is a consolation that the preceding verses did not have. If only the joys are fleeting, that is bitter. If everything is fleeting — then calamity too is fleeting.
Note the order: first calamities, then successes. The usual listing is the reverse. Beginning with calamities, the verse at once places the reader in the position of one for whom this is good news.
The word naśvara — “perishable, prone to perishing” — is a property, not an event. Not “will perish someday”, but “by its nature perishing”.