Verse 11.28
Speaker: Arjuna
Sanskrit
यथा नदीनां बहवोऽम्बुवेगाः समुद्रमेवाभिमुखा द्रवन्ति | तथा तवामी नरलोकवीरा विशन्ति वक्त्राण्यभिविज्वलन्ति ||२८||
Transliteration (IAST)
yathā nadīnāṁ bahavo 'mbu-vegāḥ samudram evābhimukhā dravanti | tathā tavāmī nara-loka-vīrā viśanti vaktrāṇy abhivijvalanti ||28||
Word-by-Word Meanings
yathā-as
nadīnām-of rivers
ambu-vegāḥ-torrents of water
samudram-the ocean
abhimukhāḥ-facing toward
dravanti-flow
nara-loka-vīrāḥ-heroes of the human world
vaktrāṇi-mouths
abhivijvalanti-blazing
Translation
As many torrents of rivers flow toward the ocean, so these heroes of the human world enter Your blazing mouths.
Commentary
The simile of rivers flowing inevitably into the ocean conveys the inexorable nature of death. Shankaracharya notes that just as rivers cannot reverse their course, beings cannot escape their appointed end. The 'blazing mouths' represent the consuming fire of Time.
Themes
timekarma
Related Verses
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