FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.31.23

तेनावसृष्ट: सहसा कृत्वावाक्शिर आतुर: । विनिष्क्रामति कृच्छ्रेण निरुच्छ्‌वासो हतस्मृति: ॥ २३ ॥
tenāvasṛṣṭaḥ sahasā
[tenaavasrishtah sahasaa]
kṛtvāvāk śira āturaḥ
[kritvaavaak shira aaturah]
viniṣkrāmati kṛcchreṇa
[vinishkraamati krichchrena]
nirucchvāso hata-smṛtiḥ
[niruchchvaaso hata-smritih]
tena — by that wind avasṛṣṭaḥ — pushed downward sahasā — suddenly kṛtvā — turned avāk — downward śiraḥ — his head āturaḥ — suffering viniṣkrāmati — he comes out kṛcchreṇa — with great trouble nirucchvāsaḥ — breathless hata — deprived of smṛtiḥ — memory.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tenāvasṛṣṭaḥ sahasā
tena
by that wind
avasṛṣṭaḥ
pushed downward
sahasā
suddenly
kṛtvāvāk śira āturaḥ
kṛtvā
turned
avāk
downward
śiraḥ
his head
āturaḥ
suffering
viniṣkrāmati kṛcchreṇa
viniṣkrāmati
he comes out
kṛcchreṇa
with great trouble
nirucchvāso hata-smṛtiḥ
nirucchvāsaḥ
breathless
hata
deprived of
smṛtiḥ
memory.
Pushed downward all of a sudden by the wind, the child comes out with great trouble, head downward, breathless and deprived of memory due to severe agony.

The word kṛcchreṇa means “with great difficulty.” When the child comes out of the abdomen through the narrow passage, due to pressure there the breathing system completely stops, and due to agony the child loses his memory. Sometimes the trouble is so severe that the child comes out dead or almost dead. One can imagine what the pangs of birth are like. The child remains for ten months in that horrible condition within the abdomen, and at the end of ten months he is forcibly pushed out. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord points out that a person who is serious about advancement in spiritual consciousness should always consider the four pangs of birth, death, disease and old age. The materialist advances in many ways, but he is unable to stop these four principles of suffering inherent in material existence.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Pushed strongly by the birth air with head down, in pain, he emerges with difficulty, without breathing, and without memory of his previous births. Hatā smṛtiḥ means the he cannot remember his previous births, that he had previously died and been born.
The verse names māyā as the quiet author of our recurring disappointments. Seeing her hand at work is itself the first relief from her grip. The verse keeps returning to material existence.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'if only X happens, I'll finally be fine' story are you still telling yourself?
  • How would you live this week if you stopped expecting the material world to finally cooperate?
📝 My note

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