Death

rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi

rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi |
tathety ukte nimiḥ prāha mā bhūn me deha-bandhanam ||
yasya yogaṁ na vāñchanti viyoga-bhaya-kātarāḥ |
bhajanti caraṇāmbhojaṁ munayo hari-medhasaḥ ||
dehaṁ nāvarurutse’haṁ duḥkha-śoka-bhayāvaham |
sarvatrāsya yato mṛtyur matsyānām udake yathā ||
devā ūcuḥ—
videha uṣyatāṁ kāmaṁ locaneṣu śarīriṇām |
unmeṣaṇa-nimeṣābhyāṁ lakṣito’dhyātma-saṁsthitaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.13.8–11)

“[The sages pray to the devas for the sake of Mahārāja Nimi:] ‘May this body of the king live if you all are satisfied [with the sacrifice initiated by the king] and capable [of bringing the king’s body back to life].’ When, ‘So be it’ was said [by the devas in response to the sages’ prayer], Nimi [being situated then only in a subtle body] said, ‘Let me not be subject to the bondage of a [gross] body [again]. Sages who are agitated by fear of disconnection [from a gross body], who are endowed with wisdom related to Hari, and who worship the lotus feet [of Hari], do not desire connection with that [i.e. with a gross body]. [Thus,] I do not wish to don a [gross] body, which is a cause of suffering, sorrow, and fear, since its death, like that of fish [even] in water, can occur everywhere.’ [In reply to the sages] The devas said [with regard to Mahārāja Nimi]: ‘Bodiless [i.e., free from a gross body] and situated in a subtle body, at will let him be observed in the opening and closing [i.e., blinking] in the eyes of the embodied.’”

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ko nu rājann indriyavān mukunda-caraṇāmbujam

ko nu rājann indriyavān mukunda-caraṇāmbujam |
na bhajet sarvato-mṛtyur upāsyam amarottamaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.2)

“O King! Indeed who possessed of senses and subject to death from every quarter would not worship the lotus feet of Mukunda, which are the object of worship of [even] the foremost of the immortals?”

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ghṛṣṭaṁ ghṛṣṭaṁ punar api punaś candanaṁ cāru-gandhaṁ

ghṛṣṭaṁ ghṛṣṭaṁ punar api punaś candanaṁ cāru-gandhaṁ
chinnaṁ chinnaṁ punar api punaḥ svādu caivekṣu-khaṇḍam |
dagdhaṁ dagdhaṁ punar api punaḥ kāścanaṁ kānta-varṇaṁ
prāṇānte’pi prakṛti-vikṛtir jāyate nottamānām ||
(Unknown source)

“Even when ground and ground,
Again and again,
Sandalwood has a beautiful fragrance.
Even when pressed and pressed,
Again and again,
Sugarcane has a sweet taste.
Even when smelted and smelted,
Again and again,
Gold has a beautiful color.
[Similarly,] Even at death
[alt., Even in the face of death],
No aberration in nature
Of the exalted arises.”

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kuṭumbeṣu na sajjeta na pramādyet kuṭumby api

kuṭumbeṣu na sajjeta na pramādyet kuṭumby api |
vipaścin naśvaraṁ paśyed adṛṣṭam api dṛṣṭa-vat ||
putra-dārāpta-bandhūnāṁ saṅgamaḥ pāntha-saṅgamaḥ |
anu-dehaṁ viyanty ete svapno nidrānugo yathā ||
itthaṁ parimṛśan mukto gṛheṣv atithivad vasan |
na gṛhair anubadhyeta nirmamo nirahaṅkṛtaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.17.52–54)

“Even a householder should not be attached to the household and should not be negligent. A wise person should see even the unseen, like the seen, to be transitory. The meeting of sons, wife, relatives, and friends is [just like] a meeting of wayfarers. They [i.e., sons and so forth] vanish after the body [dies] just as a dream does following sleep. Deliberating in this way and dwelling in houses like a guest, a detached person free from possessiveness and egotism will not become bound by houses.”

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hitvātma-māyā-racitā gṛhāpatya-suhṛt-striyaḥ

hitvātma-māyā-racitā gṛhāpatya-suhṛt-striyaḥ |
tamo viśanty anicchanto vāsudeva-parāṅmukhāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.18)

“Giving up their homes, children, friends, and wife, created by the Ātmā’s māyā [i.e., Bhagavān’s māyā, or, their own māyā], those averse to Vāsudeva [at death] enter darkness against their will.”

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idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ

idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ
hiraṇyagarbho bhagavāñ jagāda yat |
yad anta-kāle tvayi nirguṇe mano
bhaktyā dadhītojjhita-duṣkalevaraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.19.13)

“O Master of yoga, that which Bhagavān Hiraṇyagarbha [i.e., Lord Brahmā] has spoken of is certainly expertise in yoga: at the time of death, the wavering mind, abandoning the contemptible body, should be placed with bhakti on you who are nirguṇa.”

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janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-vedanābhir upadrutam

janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-vedanābhir upadrutam |
saṁsāram imam utpannam asāraṁ tyajataḥ sukham ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 94)

“Happiness comes from giving up this insubstantial world of saṁsāra which is overrun by birth, death, old age, disease, and sorrow.”

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gurur na sa syāt svajano na sa syāt

gurur na sa syāt svajano na sa syāt
pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt |
daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.18)

“One who cannot save you [i.e., a dependent] from impending death [i.e., saṁsāra] should not be a guru, should not be a relative, should not be a father, should not be a mother, should not be a devatā, and should not be a husband.”

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tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan

tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hṛdi-sthaṁ kuru keśavam |
mriyamāṇo hy avahitas tato yāsi parāṁ gatim ||
mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ |
ātma-bhāvaṁ nayaty aṅga sarvātmā sarva-saṁśrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.49–50)

“Therefore, O King, with your whole being [i.e., with full endeavor], fix Keśava within the heart. By being [so] attentive while dying, you will attain the supreme destination. O King! Bhagavān, Puruṣottama, who is to be meditated upon by the dying, and is the Self of all and Shelter of all, leads [one] to bhāva of the ātmā [i.e., to the svarūpa (bhāva) of the jīva (ātmā), or, to prema (bhāva) for himself (Ātmā)].”

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