जातस्य हि घ्रुवो मृत्युर्घ्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च।
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि।।

Jātasya hi dhruvo mṛityur dhruvaṁ
janma mṛitasya cha।
Tasmād aparihārye ‘rthe na
tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi॥

Meaning in English:
For one who is born,
death is certain.
And for one who has died,
rebirth is inevitable.
Therefore, in a situation
that cannot be changed,
you should not grieve.
_____________________________________

श्रेयान् स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात् स्वनुष्टितात्।
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः।।

śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ
paradharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt।
svadharme nidhanam
śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ॥

Meaning in English
It is better to fail while following
one’s own duty (swadharma)
even if imperfectly, than to succeed
by following another’s path
(paradharma).
Death while performing
one’s own duty is auspicious;
following another’s path is full of fear.
_____________________________________

अमृतं चैव मृत्युश्च द्वयं देहे प्रतिष्ठितम्।
मोहादुत्पद्यते मृत्युः सत्येनोत्पद्यतेऽमृतम्।।

Amṛitaṁ chaiva mṛityuścha
dvayaṁ dehe pratiṣṭhitam।
Mohād utpadyate mṛityuḥ
satyenotpadyate ‘mṛitam॥

Meaning in English
Immortality (Amṛitam) and death (Mṛityu)
both reside within this very body.
Delusion (Moha) leads to death,
and Truth (Satya) leads to immortality.
_____________________________________

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं
भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।

Na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ
bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ।
Ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre॥

Meaning in English
The soul is never born and never dies.
It has never come into being,
does not come into being now, and
will not come into being in the future.
It is unborn, eternal, everlasting, and
ancient. It is not destroyed
when the body is destroyed.  _____________________________________

देहिनोऽ स्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा।
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुहयति।।

Dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā।
Tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati॥

Meaning in English
Just as the embodied soul
passes through childhood, youth,
and old age within this body, so too
it passes into another body at death.
A wise person is not
deluded by this change.
_____________________________________

य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम्।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते।।

Ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ
yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam।
Ubhau tau na vijānīto
nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate॥  

Meaning in English
He who thinks that the soul kills,
and he who thinks that
the soul can be killed
— both are ignorant.
The soul neither kills nor can it be killed.
_____________________________________

इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः।।

Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ
paraṁ manaḥ।
Manasas tu parā buddhir
yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ॥

Meaning in English
The senses are said to be
superior to the body, the mind
is higher than the senses, the intellect
is still higher than the mind, and
above the intellect is the Self (Atman).
_____________________________________

असतो मा सद्मय।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय।।

Asato mā sad gamaya।
Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya।
Mṛityor mā amṛitaṁ gamaya॥

Meaning in English
Lead me from the unreal to the real,
Lead me from darkness to light,
Lead me from death to immortality.
_____________________________________

मा कुरु धनजनयौवनगर्वं
हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वम।
मायामयमिदमखिलं हित्वा
ब्रह्मपदं त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा।।

Mā kuru dhana-jana-yauvana-garvaṁ
Harati nimeṣāt kālaḥ sarvam।
Māyāmayam idam akhilaṁ hitvā
Brahmapadaṁ tvaṁ praviśa viditvā॥

Meaning in English
Do not be proud of wealth,
people, and youth —
Time takes away everything
in the blink of an eye.
Leaving aside this illusory world,
Realize the Brahman (Supreme Self)
and attain eternal peace.
_____________________________________

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः।
न चौनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः।।

Na enaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
na enaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ।
Na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ॥

Meaning in English
Weapons cannot cut the soul,
Fire cannot burn it,
Water cannot wet it,
And wind cannot dry it.
_____________________________________

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा-
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही।।

Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi।
Tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇā-
ny anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī॥

Meaning in English
Just as a person casts off worn-out
clothes and puts on new ones,
so too the soul discards old,
worn-out bodies and takes on new ones.
_____________________________________

कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः।
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम्।।

Karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi
phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ।
Janma-bandha-vinir-muktāḥ
padaṁ gacchanti anāmayam॥

Meaning in English
The wise, with their minds established in equanimity, abandoning the fruits
of actions, are freed from the
bondage of birth and death and
attain the state beyond all sorrow.
_____________________________________

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः।
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते।।

Prakṛiteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ।
Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate॥

Meaning in English
All actions are performed by the modes (gunas) of material nature.
But a soul deluded by ego thinks:
“I am the doer.”
_____________________________________

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा-
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही।।

Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi।
Tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇā-
ny anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī॥

Meaning in English
Just as a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones,
so too the soul discards old, worn-out
bodies and takes on new ones.
_____________________________________

कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः।
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम्।।

Karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi
phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ।
Janma-bandha-vinir-muktāḥ
padaṁ gacchanti anāmayam॥

Meaning in English
The wise, with their minds
established in equanimity,
abandoning the fruits of actions,
are freed from the bondage of birth
and death and attain the
state beyond all sorrow.
____________________________________

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः।
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते।।

Prakṛiteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ।
Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate॥

Meaning in English
All actions are performed by the
modes (gunas) of material nature.
But a soul deluded by ego thinks:
“I am the doer.”