Shloka 13
Adhyātma-nirdeśa
Definition of Adhyātma): Mahābhūtas, Indriyas, Guṇas, and the Witness (Kṣetrajña
विहगैरुप भुक्तस्य शैलाग्रात्ू पतितस्य च । अग्निना चोपसयुक्तस्य कुत: संजीवनं पुनः
vihagair upabhuktasya śailāgrāt patitasya ca | agninā copasayuktasya kutaḥ saṃjīvanaṃ punaḥ ||
鳥に食い尽くされた者、山の峰から落ちて砕け散った者、火に呑まれて焼き尽くされた者——そのような者が、どうして再び生き返り得ようか。かかる有様で、復活の根拠はどこにあるのか。
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse articulates a skeptical challenge to the idea of returning to life after death by pointing to irreversible physical destruction. It sets up a philosophical inquiry into what ‘life’ or ‘self’ could mean beyond the body, and invites a response grounded in dharma, karma, and metaphysics rather than mere bodily continuity.
Bharadvāja raises an objection in a doctrinal discussion: if a body is destroyed—devoured by birds, smashed by a fall, or burned to ash—how can it be ‘revived’? The statement functions as a probing question meant to test or clarify teachings about post-mortem existence and rebirth.