Shloka 2
The Lord’s Supervision of Embodiment: Fetal Development, Womb-Suffering, and the Jīva’s Prayer (Garbha-stuti) — and the Trap of Māyā
कललं त्वेकरात्रेण पञ्चरात्रेण बुद्बुदम् । दशाहेन तु कर्कन्धू: पेश्यण्डं वा तत: परम् ॥ २ ॥
kalalaṁ tv eka-rātreṇa pañca-rātreṇa budbudam daśāhena tu karkandhūḥ peśy aṇḍaṁ vā tataḥ param
On the first night, semen and ovum unite as kalala; by the fifth night it becomes like a bubble. By the tenth night it takes a plum-like form, and thereafter it gradually turns into a lump of flesh or an egg-like form, as is fitting.
The body of the soul develops in four different ways according to its different sources. One kind of body, that of the trees and plants, sprouts from the earth; the second kind of body grows from perspiration, as with flies, germs and bugs; the third kind of body develops from eggs; and the fourth develops from an embryo. This verse indicates that after emulsification of the ovum and sperm, the body gradually develops either into a lump of flesh or into an egg, as the case may be. In the case of birds it develops into an egg, and in the case of animals and human beings it develops into a lump of flesh.
FAQs
In Canto 3, Chapter 31, this verse describes sequential stages—kalala (gel-like lump), budbuda (bubble), then a plum-like form, and later an egg-like mass—showing the body’s gradual material formation.
Śukadeva explains the conditioned soul’s embodied state to awaken detachment and spiritual urgency, emphasizing how the jīva becomes bound within matter from the very beginning of bodily development.
By reflecting that the body is a temporary product of material processes, one can reduce obsession with appearance and pride, and prioritize sādhana—hearing, chanting, and living with higher purpose.