Shloka 30

कर्मनाशाभावः, गर्भे जीवप्रवेशः, आचारधर्मोपदेशः

Karma’s Non-Extinction, Jīva’s Entry into the Embryo, and Instruction on Conduct-Dharma

Devanagari script

यथात्र कश्रिन्मेधावी दृष्टात्मा पूर्वजन्मनि । यत्‌ प्रवक्ष्यामि तत्‌ सर्व यथावदुपपद्यते

Transliteration

yathātra kaścin medhāvī dṛṣṭātmā pūrvajanmani | yat pravakṣyāmi tat sarvaṃ yathāvad upapadyate ||

Translation

De même qu’un sage—celui qui, dans une existence antérieure, a réalisé le Soi—pourrait parler ici de l’impermanence du monde, ainsi parlerai-je. Tout ce que je vais énoncer sera pleinement fondé, cohérent et conforme à la raison.

Word by Word

• {'yathā': 'just as

• in the manner that', 'atra': 'here

• in this context', 'kaścit': 'someone

• a certain (person)', 'medhāvī': 'intelligent

• wise', 'dṛṣṭātmā': 'one who has seen/realized the Self

• self-realized', 'pūrvajanmani': 'in a former birth

• in a previous life', 'yat': 'that which

• what', 'pravakṣyāmi': 'I shall declare

• I will explain', 'tat': 'that', 'sarvam': 'all

• entirely', 'yathāvat': 'properly

• as it truly is', 'upapadyate': 'is consistent

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (speaker)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The speaker grounds his instruction in the authority of realized wisdom: true insight into the Self (ātma-darśana), even if attained in a prior life, enables one to speak correctly about the world’s impermanence. He also emphasizes that his forthcoming teaching will be rationally coherent (upapadyate) and properly stated (yathāvat).

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin speaker introduces a didactic passage, preparing the listener for a philosophical explanation. He claims that his forthcoming statements—especially concerning the transient nature of worldly existence—will match what a genuinely wise, self-realized person would say, and that they will be internally consistent and well-reasoned.