FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.45.5

సర్వార్థసమ్భవో దేహో జనిత: పోషితో యత: । న తయోర్యాతి నిర్వేశం పిత్రోర్మర్త్య: శతాయుషా ॥ ౫ ॥
sarvārtha-sambhavo deho
[sarvaartha-sambhavo deho]
janitaḥ poṣito yataḥ
[janitah poshito yatah]
na tayor yāti nirveśaṁ
[na tayor yaati nirvesham]
pitror martyaḥ śatāyuṣā
[pitror martyah shataayushaa]
sarva — of all artha — goals of life sambhavaḥ — the source dehaḥ — one’s body janitaḥ — born poṣitaḥ — maintained yataḥ — from whom na — not tayoḥ — to them yāti — one achieves nirveśam — repayment of the debt pitroḥ — to the parents martyaḥ — a mortal śata — of one hundred (years) āyuṣā — with a life span .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sarvārtha-sambhavo deho
sarva
of all
artha
goals of life
sambhavaḥ
the source
dehaḥ
one’s body
janitaḥ poṣito yataḥ
janitaḥ
born
poṣitaḥ
maintained
yataḥ
from whom
na tayor yāti nirveśaṁ
na
not
tayoḥ
to them
yāti
one achieves
nirveśam
repayment of the debt
pitror martyaḥ śatāyuṣā
pitroḥ
to the parents
martyaḥ
a mortal
śata
of one hundred (years)
āyuṣā
with a life span .
  • sarva - artha - sambhavaḥ — source of all goals of life
    The body is the upādhi by which dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa can be pursued. Gauḍīyas add a fifth — prema — and note that even bhakti requires the human body the parents gave.
  • janitaḥ — born
    From √jan — the very root of jana (verse 1) and jananī (verse 22). The semantic web throughout this chapter binds Kṛṣṇa's parents, His devotees, and birth itself into one cluster of dependence on śakti.
  • poṣitaḥ — maintained
    From √puṣ — to nourish. The verb of vātsalya; cf. Yaśodā's poṣaṇa of Kṛṣṇa in SB 10.8. Body without poṣaṇa cannot serve the higher arthas, which is why the debt is double — janma plus poṣaṇa.
  • nirveśam — repayment of the debt
    Nirveśa = settlement, discharge. The classical term for clearing the three ṛṇas. Kṛṣṇa is teaching that this particular ṛṇa is structurally unclearable — which sets up His own apology in verse 9.
  • śata - āyuṣā — with a hundred-year life
    The Vedic full life-span (jīved śaradaḥ śatam). Even at maximum allotted time, the debt cannot be cleared — meaning the duty is one of bhāva, not arithmetic. Service is owed lifelong because gratitude has no terminal payment.
With one’s body one can acquire all goals of life, and it is one’s parents who give the body birth and sustenance. Therefore no mortal man can repay his debt to his parents, even if he serves them for a full lifetime of a hundred years.

Having stated, “Both you, Our parents, and We have suffered because of Our separation,” Kṛṣṇa now states that His and Balarāma’s religious principles have been spoiled by Their failure to satisfy Their parents.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
With one's body one can acquire all goals of life, and it is one's parents who give the body birth and sustenance. Therefore no mortal man can repay his debt to his parents, even if he serves them for a full lifetime of a hundred years.
Commentary

"One cannot repay the debt to the parents who give birth to the body from which arises all aspirations such as dharma."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The body is born and nourished by parents. This is a different reason for offering respect to parents. However, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were not nourished by Vasudeva and Devakī. This verse cannot apply to them.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The body is usually nourished by the parents. However, Kṛṣṇa was nourished by Nanda and Yaśodā. The body is subject to death (martyaḥ) and lives only a hundred years.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)
Related verses
Concepts
Dharma

Bhagavān turns the dharma of pitṛ-ṛṇa back upon Himself like a king who chooses to stand in the petitioner's line. He owes nothing, yet He bows and says, 'A man cannot repay his parents in a hundred years' — teaching the gṛhastha-dharma from the inside.

Pitṛ-ṛṇa in the dharma-śāstra tradition

The three debts — to the ṛṣis, to the devas, to the pitṛs — are foundational to Vedic adult life (taittirīya, manu-smṛti). Among them pitṛ-ṛṇa is unique: it is owed to those who gave the body itself, the upādhi by which any other dharma can be performed.

Kṛṣṇa here recites this ancient teaching not as a debtor but as ācārya. The Bhāgavatam pattern is consistent: Bhagavān keeps the standards of dharma in His own conduct (cf. SB 1.9, Bhīṣma's praise of Kṛṣṇa for sva-dharma-rakṣaṇa) so that householders have a model to follow.

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