Shloka 15
Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)
इहैव परिवर्तन्ते तिर्यग्योनिप्रवेशिन: । त्रीणि कल्पसहस्राणि एतेषामहरुच्यते
ihaiva parivartante tiryagyonipraveśinaḥ | trīṇi kalpasahasrāṇi eteṣām ahar ucyate ||
Wer in tierische Leiber eingegangen ist, kreist hier selbst immer wieder von Neuem. Von solchen Wesen heißt es, ein einziger „Tag“ gelte ihnen als dreitausend Kalpas—ein Bild, das die ungeheure, bedrückende Dauer ihrer Fesselung und den schweren ethischen Preis des Abstiegs in untermenschliche Daseinsformen veranschaulichen soll.
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that falling into subhuman (animal) births results in prolonged, repetitive bondage within saṃsāra. By describing their ‘day’ as lasting three thousand kalpas, it stresses the immense duration and difficulty of such a condition, urging ethical conduct that prevents such degradation and supports liberation-oriented living.
Yājñavalkya is instructing his listener(s) on the consequences of certain karmic trajectories. He describes the fate of beings who enter animal wombs: they continue cycling within worldly existence, and their experience of time is portrayed as extraordinarily extended, underscoring the seriousness of moral and spiritual decline.