FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.25

तस्यापि तव देहोऽयं कृपणस्य जिजीविषो: । परैत्यनिच्छतो जीर्णो जरया वाससी इव ॥ २५ ॥
tasyāpi tava deho ’yaṁ
[tasyaapi tava deho ’yam]
kṛpaṇasya jijīviṣoḥ
[kripanasya jijeevishoh]
paraity anicchato jīrṇo
[paraity anichchato jeerno]
jarayā vāsasī iva
[jarayaa vaasasee iva]
tasya — of this api — in spite of tava — your dehaḥ — body ayam — this kṛpaṇasya — of one who is miserly jijīviṣoḥ — of you who desire life paraiti — will dwindle anicchataḥ — even unwilling jīrṇaḥ — deteriorated jarayā — old vāsasī — garments iva — like.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tasyāpi tava deho ’yaṁ
tasya
of this
api
in spite of
tava
your
dehaḥ
body
kṛpaṇasya jijīviṣoḥ
paraity anicchato jīrṇo
jarayā vāsasī iva
ayam
this
kṛpaṇasya
of one who is miserly
jijīviṣoḥ
of you who desire life
paraiti
will dwindle
anicchataḥ
even unwilling
jīrṇaḥ
deteriorated
jarayā
old
vāsasī
garments
iva
like.
Despite your unwillingness to die and your desire to live even at the cost of honor and prestige, your miserly body will certainly dwindle and deteriorate like an old garment.

The words kṛpaṇasya jijīviṣoḥ are significant. There are two classes of men. One is called the kṛpaṇa, and the other is called the brāhmaṇa. The kṛpaṇa, or the miserly man, has no estimation of his material body, but the brāhmaṇa has a true estimation of himself and the material body. The kṛpaṇa, having a wrong estimation of his material body, wants to enjoy sense gratification with his utmost strength, and even in old age he wants to become a young man by medical treatment or otherwise. Dhṛtarāṣṭra is addressed herein as a kṛpaṇa because without any estimation of his material body he wants to live at any cost. Vidura is trying to open his eyes to see that he cannot live more than his term and that he must prepare for death. Since death is inevitable, why should he accept such a humiliating position for living? It is better to take the right path, even at the risk of death. Human life is meant for finishing all kinds of miseries of material existence, and life should be so regulated that one can achieve the desired goal. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, due to his wrong conception of life, had already spoiled eighty percent of his achieved energy, so it behooved him to utilize the remaining days of his miserly life for the ultimate good. Such a life is called miserly because one cannot properly utilize the assets of the human form of life. Only by good luck does such a miserly man meet a self-realized soul like Vidura and by his instruction gets rid of the nescience of material existence.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Though wanting to live and not give the body up, your body, worn out with old age, is dying, beyond your will, like two pieces of cloth.
Commentary

Paraiti means “it is wasting away.” Two pieces of cloth indicate the upper and lower cloth. This indicates that both the gross and subtle bodies have become worn out. Blindness and deafness indicate decay of the subtle body (since the senses are subtle) and wrinkles and grey hair are the decay of the gross body.

Despite your unwillingness to die, your miserly body will dwindle and deteriorate like an old garment. The body is a garment, not the self. Cling to it and it still slips away.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I treating my body as me rather than as garment?
  • What would change if I held it more lightly?
📝 My note

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