Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.1.38

mrityur janmavatām vīra

dehena saha jāyate

adya vābda-śatānte vā

mrityur vai prāninām dhruvah

SYNONYMS

mrityuh — death; janma-vatām — of the living entities who have taken birth; vīra — O great hero; dehena saha — along with the body; jāyate — is born (one who has taken birth is sure to die); adya — today; vā — either; abda-śata — of hundreds of years; ante — at the end; vā — or; mrityuh — death; vai — indeed; prāninām — for every living entity; dhruvah — is assured.

TRANSLATION

O great hero, one who takes birth is sure to die, for death is born with the body. One may die today or after hundreds of years, but death is sure for every living entity.

PURPORT

Vasudeva wanted to impress upon Kamsa that although Kamsa feared dying and therefore wanted to kill even a woman, he could not avoid death. Death is sure. Why then should Kamsa do something that would be detrimental to his reputation and that of his family? As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.27):

jātasya hi dhruvo mrityur

dhruvam janma mritasya ca

tasmād aparihārye 'rthe

na tvam śocitum arhasi

"For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament." One should not fear death. Rather, one should prepare oneself for the next birth. One should utilize one's time in this human form to end the process of birth and death. It is not that to save oneself from death one should entangle oneself in sinful activities. This is not good.

<<< >>>

Copyright ©r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari