अष्टक उवाच
अन्यद् वपुर् विदधातीह गर्भ ।
उताहो स्वित् स्वेन कामेन याति ॥
आपद्यमानो नरयोनिम् एताम् ।
आचक्ष्व मे संशयात् प्रब्रवीमि ॥
शरीरदेहादिसमुच्छ्रयं च ।
चक्षुःश्रोत्रे लभते केन संज्ञाम् ॥
एतत् तत्त्वं सर्वम् आचक्ष्व पृष्टः ।
क्षेत्रज्ञं त्वां तात मन्याम सर्वे ॥
ययातिर् उवाच
वायुः समुत्कर्षति गर्भयोनिम् ।
ऋतौ रेतः पुष्परसानुपृक्तम् ॥
स तत्र तन्मात्रकृताधिकारः ।
क्रमेण संवर्धयतीह गर्भम् ॥
स जायमानो विगृहीतगात्रः ।
षड्ज्ञाननिष्ठायतनो मनुष्यः ॥
स श्रोत्राभ्यां वेदयतीह शब्दं ।
सर्वं रूपं पश्यति चक्षुषा च ॥
घ्राणेन गन्धं जिह्वयाथो रसं च ।
त्वचा स्पर्शं मनसा वेद भावम् ॥
इत्य् अष्टकेहोपचितिं च विद्धि ।
महात्मनः प्राणभृतः शरीरे ॥
अष्टक उवाच
यः संस्थितः पुरुषो दह्यते वा ।
निखन्यते वापि निघृष्यते वा ॥
अभावभूतः स विनाशम् एत्य ।
केनात्मानं चेतयते पुरस्तात् ॥
ययातिर् उवाच
हित्वा सो ऽसून् सुप्तवन् निष्टनित्वा ।
पुरोधाय सुकृतं दुष्कृतं च ॥
अन्यां योनिं पवनाग्रानुसारी ।
हित्वा देहं भजते राजसिंह ॥
पुण्यां योनिं पुण्यकृतो व्रजन्ति ।
पापां योनिं पापकृतो व्रजन्ति ॥
कीटाः पतंगाश् च भवन्ति पापा ।
न मे विवक्षास्ति महानुभाव ॥
चतुष्पदा द्विपदाः षट्पदाश् च ।
तथाभूता गर्भभूता भवन्ति ॥
आख्यातम् एतन् निखिलेन सर्वं ।
भूयस् तु किं पृच्छसि राजसिंह ॥
aṣṭaka uvāca
anyad vapur vidadhātīha garbha |
utāho svit svena kāmena yāti ||
āpadyamāno narayonim etām |
ācakṣva me saṃśayāt prabravīmi ||
śarīradehādisamucchrayaṃ ca |
cakṣuḥśrotre labhate kena saṃjñām ||
etat tattvaṃ sarvam ācakṣva pṛṣṭaḥ |
kṣetrajñaṃ tvāṃ tāta manyāma sarve ||
yayātir uvāca
vāyuḥ samutkarṣati garbhayonim |
ṛtau retaḥ puṣparasānupṛktam ||
sa tatra tanmātrakṛtādhikāraḥ |
krameṇa saṃvardhayatīha garbham ||
sa jāyamāno vigṛhītagātraḥ |
ṣaḍjñānaniṣṭhāyatano manuṣyaḥ ||
sa śrotrābhyāṃ vedayatīha śabdaṃ |
sarvaṃ rūpaṃ paśyati cakṣuṣā ca ||
ghrāṇena gandhaṃ jihvayātho rasaṃ ca |
tvacā sparśaṃ manasā veda bhāvam ||
ity aṣṭakehopacitiṃ ca viddhi |
mahātmanaḥ prāṇabhṛtaḥ śarīre ||
aṣṭaka uvāca
yaḥ saṃsthitaḥ puruṣo dahyate vā |
nikhanyate vāpi nighṛṣyate vā ||
abhāvabhūtaḥ sa vināśam etya |
kenātmānaṃ cetayate purastāt ||
yayātir uvāca
hitvā so 'sūn suptavan niṣṭanitvā |
purodhāya sukṛtaṃ duṣkṛtaṃ ca ||
anyāṃ yoniṃ pavanāgrānusārī |
hitvā dehaṃ bhajate rājasiṃha ||
puṇyāṃ yoniṃ puṇyakṛto vrajanti |
pāpāṃ yoniṃ pāpakṛto vrajanti ||
kīṭāḥ pataṃgāś ca bhavanti pāpā |
na me vivakṣāsti mahānubhāva ||
catuṣpadā dvipadāḥ ṣaṭpadāś ca |
tathābhūtā garbhabhūtā bhavanti ||
ākhyātam etan nikhilena sarvaṃ |
bhūyas tu kiṃ pṛcchasi rājasiṃha ||
Ashtaka said: 'Does the embryo here shape another body for itself, or does [the soul], by its own desire, go descending into this human womb? I ask out of doubt — tell me. How is the growth of the body with its limbs attained, how do the eyes and ears gain the awareness [of perception]? Tell me, being asked, this whole truth; we all consider you one who knows the field [— the Oversoul].' Yayati said: 'The wind [of life], in its due season, draws into the womb the seed joined with the sap of [eaten] flowers; acting upon the subtle elements, it gradually nurtures the embryo there. The one being born, with formed limbs, is the seat of the six [senses] and their perceptions; he perceives sound here with his ears, sees every form with his eyes, smell with his nose, taste with his tongue, touch with his skin, and with his mind he knows [inner] states; O Ashtaka, know this as the growth [of perceptions] in the body of the great-souled being that bears life.' Ashtaka said: 'The man who has died, and whose body is burned, or buried, or ground to dust — having become, as it were, nonexistence, having come to destruction — by what does he henceforth perceive himself?' Yayati said: 'O lion among kings, he, having given up his breaths of life, having groaned as if in sleep, having placed merit and sin before him [as companions], following the course of the vital wind, having given up [one] body, takes on another womb. Those who have done good go to a good womb; those who have done evil go to an evil womb; sinners become worms and flying [insects]; O great one, I have nothing further to say [— this is certain]. Four-footed, two-footed, and six-footed creatures, in this way, [according to their karma], become an embryo; all this has been told in full, O lion among kings; what more do you ask?'
ca68e041fc7d · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:06:49 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Yayati sets forth the teaching on the soul, the body, and transmigration — a profound philosophy close to Sankhya. The distinction drawn between the body and the one who perceives is telling: the body is burned and decays, yet 'by what does he perceive himself henceforth?' — there is something that remains beyond the body. This points to the eternal soul (atman): the body perishes, but the soul, 'having given up one body, takes on another womb' (compare Gita 2.22: as a man casts off worn-out garments). Telling too is that 'merit and sin' (karma), 'placed before it' as companions, lead the soul into its new womb: not chance but accumulated karma determines the next birth. This is the law of rebirth (punar-janma), governed by karma. And most importantly, Yayati is called one 'who knows the field' (kshetrajna) — that is, he knows the distinction between the 'field' (the body) and the 'knower of the field' (the soul, or the Oversoul). Here is the seed of the Gita's teaching (chapter 13) on the field and the knower of the field. Thus bitter experience — the fall — brought Yayati to the highest wisdom: having tasted both heaven and downfall, he now teaches of the impermanence of bodies and the wandering of the soul, so that the listener may seek not fleeting bodies and worlds, but the eternal.