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Library » Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) » Canto 3: The Status Quo » CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

ŚB 3.31.8

Devanagari

उल्बेन संवृतस्तस्मिन्नन्त्रैश्च बहिरावृत: ।
आस्ते कृत्वा शिर: कुक्षौ भुग्नपृष्ठशिरोधर: ॥ ८ ॥

Text

ulbena saṁvṛtas tasminn
antraiś ca bahir āvṛtaḥ
āste kṛtvā śiraḥ kukṣau
bhugna-pṛṣṭha-śirodharaḥ

Synonyms

ulbena — by the amnion; saṁvṛtaḥ — enclosed; tasmin — in that place; antraiḥ — by the intestines; ca — and; bahiḥ — outside; āvṛtaḥ — covered; āste — he lies; kṛtvā — having put; śiraḥ — the head; kukṣau — towards the belly; bhugna — bent; pṛṣṭha — back; śiraḥ-dharaḥ — neck.

Translation

Placed within the amnion and covered outside by the intestines, the child remains lying on one side of the abdomen, his head turned towards his belly and his back and neck arched like a bow.

Purport

If a grown man were put into such a condition as the child within the abdomen, completely entangled in all respects, it would be impossible for him to live even for a few seconds. Unfortunately, we forget all these sufferings and try to be happy in this life, not caring for the liberation of the soul from the entanglement of birth and death. It is an unfortunate civilization in which these matters are not plainly discussed to make people understand the precarious condition of material existence.