उपनिषद् · Mahā 3.14
॥
देवनागरी
जातास्त एव जगति जन्तवः साधुजीविताः ये पुनर्नेह जायन्ते शेषा जरठगर्दभाः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
jātāsta eva jagati jantavaḥ sādhujīvitāḥ ye punarneha jāyante śeṣā jaraṭhagardabhāḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
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
अनुवाद
“Truly born are only those creatures who lived well and are not born here again; the rest are decrepit donkeys.”
संस्करण
b5cd1767341e · प्रकाशित 29 जुल॰ 2026, 6:29:20 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
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.