Verse 23

Naadbindu

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

देहादीनामसत्त्वात्तु यथा स्वप्नो विबोधतः । कर्म जन्मान्तरीयं यत्प्रारब्धमिति कीर्तितम् ॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

देह-आदीनाम् । असत्त्वात् । तु । यथा । स्वप्नः । विबोधतः । कर्म । जन्म-अन्तरीयम् । यत् । प्रारब्धम् । इति । कीर्तितम् ॥

IAST Transliteration

dehādīnām asattvāt tu yathā svapno vibodhataḥ | karma janmāntarīyaṃ yat prārabdham iti kīrtitam ||

Translation

ਪਰ ਦੇਹ ਆਦਿ ਅਸਤਿ ਨਹੀਂ—ਜਿਵੇਂ ਜਾਗਣ ਤੇ ਸੁਪਨਾ ਅਸਤਿ ਨਹੀਂ ਰਹਿੰਦਾ—ਉਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਹੋਰ ਜਨਮ ਨਾਲ ਸੰਬੰਧਿਤ ਜਿਸ ਕਰਮ ਨੂੰ ‘ਪ੍ਰਾਰਬਧ’ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਵੀ ਅਸੱਤ ਹੈ।

Academic Translation

But because the body and the rest are unreal—just as a dream (is unreal) upon awakening—the karma belonging to another birth which is spoken of as ‘prārabdha’ (is likewise unreal).

Verse Context

• Māyā/Adhyāsa; Dream analogy; Karma’s dependence on body-identification
• Mahavakya: Aligns with ‘तत् त्वम् असि’ (Tat Tvam Asi): when the Self is known as non-different from Brahman, the body-based superimposition that supports karma is seen as dreamlike.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (śloka)