त्वय्युद्धवाश्रयति यस्त्रिविधो विकारो मायान्तरापतति नाद्यपवर्गयोर्यत् । जन्मादयोऽस्य यदमी तव तस्य किं स्यु- राद्यन्तयोर्यदसतोऽस्ति तदेव मध्ये ॥ ७ ॥
tvayy uddhavāśrayati yas tri-vidho vikāro māyāntarāpatati nādy-apavargayor yat janmādayo ’sya yad amī tava tasya kiṁ syur ādy-antayor yad asato ’sti tad eva madhye
- tvayi
- in you
- uddhava
- O Uddhava
- āśrayati
- enters and remains
- yaḥ
- which
- tri-vidhaḥ
- in three divisions, according to the modes of nature
- vikāraḥ
- (the material body and mind, which are subject to) constant transformation
- māyā
- illusion
- antarā
- during the present
- āpatati
- suddenly appears
- na
- not
- ādi
- in the beginning
- apavargayoḥ
- nor at the end
- yat
- since
- janma
- birth
- ādayaḥ
- and so on (growth, procreation, maintenance, dwindling and death)
- asya
- of the body
- yat
- when
- amī
- these
- tava
- in relation to you
- tasya
- in relation to your spiritual nature
- kim
- what relationship
- syuḥ
- could they have
- ādi
- in the beginning
- antayoḥ
- and in the end
- yat
- since
- asataḥ
- of that which does not exist
- asti
- exists
- tat
- that
- eva
- indeed
- madhye
- only in the middle, at present
My dear Uddhava, the material body and mind, composed of the three modes of material nature, attach themselves to you, but they are actually illusion, since they appear only at the present, having no original or ultimate existence. How is it possible, therefore, that the various stages of the body, namely birth, growth, reproduction, maintenance, dwindling and death, can have any relation to your eternal self? These phases relate only to the material body, which previously did not exist and ultimately will not exist. The body exists merely at the present moment.