यथा तृणजलूकेयं नापयात्यपयाति च । न त्यजेन्म्रियमाणोऽपि प्राग्देहाभिमतिं जन: ॥ ७६ ॥ यावदन्यं न विन्देत व्यवधानेन कर्मणाम् । मन एव मनुष्येन्द्र भूतानां भवभावनम् ॥ ७७ ॥
yatha trna-jalukeyam napayaty apayati ca na tyajen mriyamano ’pi prag-dehabhimatim janah yavad anyam na vindeta vyavadhanena karmanam mana eva manusyendra bhutanam bhava-bhavanam
- yatha
- as
- trna-jaluka
- caterpillar
- iyam
- this
- na apayati
- does not go
- apayati
- goes
- ca
- also
- na
- not
- tyajet
- gives up
- mriyamanah
- at the point of death
- api
- even
- prak
- former
- deha
- with the body
- abhimatim
- identification
- janah
- a person
- yavat
- so long as
- anyam
- another
- na
- not
- vindeta
- obtains
- vyavadhanena
- by the termination
- karmanam
- of fruitive activities
- manah
- the mind
- eva
- certainly
- manusya-indra
- O ruler of men
- bhutanam
- of all living entities
- bhava
- of material existence
- bhavanam
- the cause
The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires.