Devanagari
मृत्युर्जन्मवतां वीर देहेन सह जायते
अद्य वाब्दशतान्ते वा मृत्युर्वै प्राणिनां ध्रुव: ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
mṛtyur janmavatāṁ vīra
dehena saha jāyate
adya vābda-śatānte vā
mṛtyur vai prāṇināṁ dhruvaḥ
Synonyms
mṛtyuḥ
—
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
;
mṛtyuḥ
—
death
;
vai
—
indeed
;
prāṇinām
—
for every living entity
;
dhruvaḥ
—
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.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
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.
KB 10.1.38
Why should you be so much afraid of death? Death is already born along with your birth. From the very day you took your birth, you began to die. Suppose you are twenty-five years old; that means you have already died twenty-five years. Every moment, every second, you are dying. Why then should you be so much afraid of death? Final death is inevitable. You may die either today or in a hundred years; you cannot avoid death. Why should you be so much afraid?
Purport
Vasudeva wanted to impress upon Kaṁsa that although Kaṁsa feared dying and therefore wanted to kill even a woman, he could not avoid death. Death is sure. Why then should Kaṁsa do something that would be detrimental to his reputation and that of his family? As confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
(2.27)
:
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe
na tvaṁ 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.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
After saying this, with no change of heart in Kamsa, Vasudeva tried to advise him using logic. "O king! If you are about to commit murder because of fear of death, listen to me. Death is unavoidable." With this intention, he then speaks this verse. Factually there is no birth or death for the soul. Only those who take birth ( janmavatam) by accepting a material body have death. "Sa" here means it is well known. "Ha" indicates that the fact is definite. When will death take place? Today or a hundred years later. Two "vas’ are used to indicate that being unable to determine at all the time of death, it could happen anytime between now and a hundred years. He presents proof by saying "mrtyur vai praninam dhruvah." This recalls the verse in Gita: jatasya hi dhruvam mrtyur dhruvam janma mrtasya ca... "O brave one! A courageous warrior like you should not be afraid of death."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
He uses logic in six verses to convince Kaṁsa not to kill Devakī. First he explains that death is unavoidable. It is said jātasya hi dhurvo mṛtyur dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca: for one who is born death is certain and for one dies, birth is certain. (BG 2.27) He addresses him as a hero to encourage him but indirectly indicates that he is not a hero at all. Or he indicates that Kaṁsa is skillful in battle but not in discerning the truth. How is death born with the body? The effect (death) should be included in the cause. The word vā is repeated to show that dying today or after a hundred years are both prominent possibilities. The word vai indicates that this is a well known fact.