Shloka 7

Dehānta (Cyavana) and Upapatti: Kāśyapa’s Questions and the Siddha’s Account of Death, Pain, and Karmic Re-embodiment

Devanagari script

आयु:क्षयपरीतात्मा विपरीतानि सेवते । बुद्धिव्यावर्तते चास्य विनाशे प्रत्युपस्थिते,सिद्धने कहा--काश्यप! मनुष्य इस लोकमें आयु और कीर्तिको बढ़ानेवाले जिन कर्मोका सेवन करता है, वे शरीर-प्राप्तिमें कारण होते हैं। शरीर-ग्रहणके अनन्तर जब वे सभी कर्म अपना फल देकर क्षीण हो जाते हैं, उस समय जीवकी आयुका भी क्षय हो जाता है। उस अवस्थामें वह विपरीत कर्मोका सेवन करने लगता है और विनाशकाल निकट आनेपर उसकी बुद्धि उलटी हो जाती है

Transliteration

āyuḥkṣayaparītātmā viparītāni sevate | buddhivyāvartate cāsya vināśe pratyupasthite ||

Translation

सिद्ध उवाच—आयुःक्षयपरीतात्मा विपरीतानि सेवते । बुद्धिव्यावर्तते चास्य विनाशे प्रत्युपस्थिते ॥

Word by Word

आयुःlifespan

क्षयdecay, diminution

परीतात्माone whose self is enveloped/overcome

विपरीतानिcontrary (things/deeds)

सेवतेresorts to, practices

बुद्धिःintellect

व्यावर्ततेturns away, becomes perverted

चand

अस्यof him

विनाशेat destruction, at ruin

प्रत्युपस्थितेwhen (it is) imminent/arrived

Speaker

सिद्ध उवाच

Characters & Entities

Siddha

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As life wanes, a person may lose discernment and begin choosing ‘viparīta’ (contrary, harmful) actions; imminent ruin is marked by a reversal of buddhi. The verse warns to cultivate steady judgment and dharmic habits before decline makes clarity difficult.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Siddha delivers a reflective instruction about human behavior: nearing the end of one’s allotted life, the mind can become clouded, leading to perverse choices and inverted reasoning—an ethical diagnosis offered as counsel within the Ashvamedhika Parva discourse setting.