Shloka 10

अग्निवंशवर्णनम् (Agni-vaṃśa-varṇana) / The Genealogy and Function of Agni

Devanagari script

तदा देही देहमन्यं व्यतिरोहति कालत: । आनुपूर्व्या विनश्यन्ति जायन्ते चानुपूर्वश:,विप्रवर! ये पाँच भूत एक-दूसरेके बिना नहीं रह सकते। परस्पर मिलकर ही भलीभाँति प्रकाशित होते हैं। जिस समय व्यक्त और अव्यक्त पाँचों भूत विषम-भावको प्राप्त होते हैं, उस समय यह जीव कालकी प्रेरणासे अपने संकल्पानुसार दूसरे शरीरको प्राप्त हो जाता है। ये पाँचों भूत मृत्युकालमें प्रतिलोमक्रमसे विलीन हो जाते हैं और उत्पत्तिकालमें अनुलोमक्रमसे उत्पन्न होते हैं

Transliteration

tadā dehī deham anyaṁ vyatirohati kālataḥ | ānupūrvyā vinaśyanti jāyante cānupūrvaśaḥ ||

Translation

猎人说道：“其时，具身之我为时（kāla）所驱，迁入另一身。诸元素于死亡时按一定次第而解散，于出生时又按应有次第而复起。”在伦理语境中，此偈将死与再生置于有序之理，而非偶然：皆由 kāla 所统摄，劝人离身执著，安住于法（dharma）。

Word by Word

तदाthen

देहीthe embodied one (soul/jiva)

देहम्a body

अन्यम्another

व्यतिरोहतिpasses over to / enters (another body)

कालतःdue to time; from time (as cause)

आनुपूर्व्याin due order; sequentially

विनश्यन्तिperish; dissolve

जायन्तेare born; arise

चand

आनुपूर्वशःin regular order; successively

विप्रवरO best of Brahmins

Speaker

व्याध उवाच

Characters & Entities

vyādha (the hunter, speaker)

dehī (embodied self/jīva)

kāla (Time)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Death and rebirth follow an orderly law: under the governance of kāla (Time), the embodied self moves to another body, while the elements dissolve and re-arise in a fixed sequence. This supports an ethical stance of non-attachment to the body and steadiness in righteous conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

The hunter (vyādha), instructing a learned listener, explains the metaphysical mechanics behind dying and being born: the jīva transitions to another embodiment, and the elemental constituents of the body dissolve at death and re-form at birth in sequential order.