FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.10.28

आसिसृप्सो: पुर: पुर्या नाभिद्वारमपानत: । तत्रापानस्ततो मृत्यु: पृथक्त्वमुभयाश्रयम् ॥ २८ ॥
āsisṛpsoḥ puraḥ puryā
[aasisripsoh purah puryaa]
nābhi-dvāram apānataḥ
[naabhi-dvaaram apaanatah]
tatrāpānas tato mṛtyuḥ
[tatraapaanas tato mrityuh]
pṛthaktvam ubhayāśrayam
[prithaktvam ubhayaashrayam]
āsisṛpsoḥ — desiring to go everywhere puraḥ — in different bodies puryāḥ — from one body nābhi-dvāram — the navel or abdominal hole apānataḥ — was manifested tatra — thereupon apānaḥ — stopping of the vital force tataḥ — thereafter mṛtyuḥ — death pṛthaktvam — separately ubhaya — both āśrayam — shelter.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
āsisṛpsoḥ puraḥ puryā
āsisṛpsoḥ
desiring to go everywhere
puraḥ
in different bodies
puryāḥ
from one body
nābhi-dvāram apānataḥ
nābhi-dvāram
the navel or abdominal hole
apānataḥ
was manifested
tatrāpānas tato mṛtyuḥ
tatra
thereupon
apānaḥ
stopping of the vital force
tataḥ
thereafter
mṛtyuḥ
death
pṛthaktvam ubhayāśrayam
pṛthaktvam
separately
ubhaya
both
āśrayam
shelter.
Thereafter, when He desired to move from one body to another, the navel and the air of departure and death were combinedly created. The navel is the shelter for both, namely death and the separating force.

The prāṇa-vāyu continues the life, and the apāna-vāyu stops the living force. Both the vibrations are generated from the abdominal hole, the navel. This navel is the joint from one body to the other. Lord Brahmā was born of the abdominal hole of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu as a separate body, and the same principle is followed even in the birth of any ordinary body. The body of the child develops from the body of the mother, and when the child is separated from the body of the mother, it is separated by cutting the navel joint. And that is the way the Supreme Lord manifested Himself as separated many. The living entities are therefore separated parts, and thus they have no independence.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When the universal form desired to go from his body to another body by the path of apāna and prāṇa, the location of the opening of the navel, sense organ apāna, the devatā Mṛtyu and the sense object death, which takes shelter of the devatā and the sense organ, arose.
Commentary

When the universal form desired to go from his body (puryā) into other bodies (puraḥ), by the path of apāna and also prāṇa, though not mentioned, the location of the navel, the sense organ apāna, the devatā Mṛtyu and the sense object death (pṛthaktvam), which depends on the apāna and the devatā, arose. It is well known that death involves separation from the bonds of both prāṇa and apāna in the navel region.

Navel, prāṇa, and apāna were created for moving from one body to another. The same principle by which Brahmā was born from Viṣṇu's navel governs every birth. Death and the separating force are arranged precisely at the joint.
Reflection Questions
  • Does death scare me less when I see it as a 'joint' designed for the next step?
  • How does my picture of life-to-life movement shift with this image?
📝 My note

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