Shloka 47
Adhyāya 136: Yavakrī–Bharadvāja Saṃvāda and the Bāladhī–Dhanuṣākṣa Gāthā
Arrogance, Boons, and Nimitta
तस्य प्रसादो वै देवै: कृतो न त्वमरै: सम: । नामर्त्यों विद्यते मर्त्यों निमित्तायुर्भविष्यति,देवताओंने उनपर कृपा अवश्य की, परंतु उनके पुत्रको देवतुल्य नहीं बनाया और वरदान देते हुए यह कहा “कि मरणधर्मा मनुष्य कभी देवताके समान अमर नहीं हो सकता। अतः उसकी आयु निमित्त (कारण)-के अधीन होगी”
tasya prasādo vai devaiḥ kṛto na tv amaraiḥ samaḥ | na amartyo vidyate martyo nimittāyur bhaviṣyati ||
Bharadvāja said: “The gods indeed showed him their favor; yet they did not make his son equal to the immortals. For no mortal human can become deathless like a god. Therefore, his lifespan will be contingent—dependent upon a determining cause.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when the gods grant favor, they do not overturn the fundamental boundary between gods and humans: a mortal cannot become truly immortal. Human life remains conditioned—its duration depends on specific causes and circumstances.
Bharadvāja explains the nature of a divine favor granted in a prior context: the gods were gracious, but they refused to make the recipient’s son godlike and deathless, declaring instead that the son’s lifespan would be determined by a particular condition (nimitta).