Shloka 57
Sāṅkhya: Categories of the Absolute Truth and the Unfolding of Creation
Tattva-vicāra
रेतस्तस्मादाप आसन्निरभिद्यत वै गुदम् । गुदादपानोऽपानाच्च मृत्युर्लोकभयङ्कर: ॥ ५७ ॥
retas tasmād āpa āsan nirabhidyata vai gudam gudād apāno ’pānāc ca mṛtyur loka-bhayaṅkaraḥ
Thereafter appeared semen, the power of procreation, and the deity presiding over the waters. Next the anus manifested; from it arose apāna, and with apāna the dread Lord of Death, feared throughout all worlds, came forth.
It is understood herewith that the faculty to discharge semen is the cause of death. Therefore, yogīs and transcendentalists who want to live for greater spans of life voluntarily restrain themselves from discharging semen. The more one can restrain the discharge of semen, the more one can be aloof from the problem of death. There are many yogīs living up to three hundred or seven hundred years by this process, and in the Bhāgavatam it is clearly stated that discharging semen is the cause of horrible death. The more one is addicted to sexual enjoyment, the more susceptible he is to a quick death.
FAQs
This verse links apāna-vāyu with the lower bodily functions arising in the process of creation, describing apāna as emerging from the anus as part of the manifested subtle and gross systems.
In the Sāṅkhya-style description of evolution, Śukadeva explains how various functions and principles appear; death is presented as a manifested principle connected with embodied life and the fear it produces in conditioned beings.
It encourages detachment and spiritual focus: bodily processes and even death are part of material nature’s workings, so one should cultivate devotion and self-realization rather than identifying solely with the body.