जन्म दुःखाचा अंकुर । जन्म शोकाचा सागर । जन्म भयाचा डोंगर । चळेना ऐसा ॥ १॥

Birth is the sprout of sorrow, an ocean of grief, and a mountain of fear that never budges.

जन्म कर्माची आटणी । जन्म पातकाची खाणी । जन्म काळाची जाचणी । निच नवी ॥ २॥

Birth is where one's accumulated past deeds converge, it is a mine of sins, and it is Time's torment, renewed every single day.

जन्म कुविद्येचें फळ । जन्म लोभाचें कमळ । जन्म भ्रांतीचें पडळ । ज्ञानहीन ॥ ३॥

Birth is the fruit of ignorance, the blossoming of the lotus of greed, and a cataract of delusion that blinds one to true knowledge.

जन्म जिवासी बंधन । जन्म मृत्यासी कारण । जन्म हेंचि अकारण । गथागोवी ॥ ४॥

Birth binds the soul, birth is itself the cause of death, and birth is nothing but a needless, tangled knot.

जन्म सुखाचा विसर । जन्म चिंतेचा आगर । जन्म वासनाविस्तार । विस्तारला ॥ ५॥

Birth makes one forget true happiness, it is a storehouse of anxiety, and from it desires only keep spreading and multiplying.

जन्म जीवाची आवदसा । जन्म कल्पनेचा ठसा । जन्म लांवेचा वळसा । ममतारूप ॥ ६॥

Birth is a calamity befalling the soul, it stamps the mind with endless imaginings, and it coils around one like the snare of attachment.

जन्म मायेचे मैंदावें । जन्म क्रोधाचें विरावें । जन्म मोक्षास आडवें । विघ्न आहे ॥ ७॥

Birth is maya's deception, it is the flare-up of anger, and it stands as an obstacle blocking the path to liberation.

जन्म जिवाचें मीपण । जन्म अहंतेचा गुण । जन्म हेंचि विस्मरण । ईश्वराचें ॥ ८॥

Birth is the soul's sense of "I", it is the very quality of ego, and birth itself is the forgetting of God.

जन्म विषयांची आवडी । जन्म दुराशेची बेडी । जन्म काळाची कांकडी । भक्षिताहे ॥ ९॥

Birth is fondness for sense-objects, it is the shackle of false hope, and through birth Time keeps gnawing away at life bit by bit, as one nibbles a cucumber.

जन्म हाचि विषमकाळ । जन्म हेंचि वोखटी वेळ । जन्म हा अति कुश्चीळ । नर्कपतन ॥ १०॥

Birth itself is a harsh and adverse time, an inauspicious hour, and it is utterly vile, like falling straight into hell.

पाहातां शरीराचें मूळ । या ऐसें नाहीं अमंगळ । रजस्वलेचा जो विटाळ । त्यामध्यें जन्म यासी ॥ ११॥

If one examines the very origin of the body, nothing is as impure as this, for it is conceived in the ritual impurity of a woman's menstrual blood.

अत्यंत दोष ज्या विटाळा । त्या विटाळाचाचि पुतळा । तेथें निर्मळपणाचा सोहळा । केवी घडे ॥ १२॥

This body is nothing but the very image of that impurity considered most defiling, so how could purity ever find a place in it?

रजस्वलेचा जो विटाळ । त्याचा आळोन जाला गाळ । त्या गळाचेंच केवळ । शरीर हें ॥ १३॥

The impurity of menstrual blood congeals into a residue, and this very body is made from nothing but that residue.

वरी वरी दिसे वैभवाचें । अंतरीं पोतडें नर्काचें । जैसें झांकणें चर्मकुंडाचें । उघडितांच नये ॥ १४॥

Outwardly the body looks splendid, but within it is a sack full of filth like hell itself, like a pit of muck covered over with skin that should never be uncovered.

कुंड धुतां शुद्ध होतें । यास प्रत्यईं धु‍ईजेतें । तरी दुर्गंधी देहातें । शुद्धता न ये ॥ १५॥

A filthy pit becomes clean when washed, but however much this foul-smelling body is washed every day, it never actually becomes pure.

अस्तीपंजर उभविला । सीरानाडीं गुंडाळिला । मेदमांसें सरसाविला । सांदोसाअंदीं भरूनी ॥१६॥

A skeleton of bones is set up, wrapped round with veins and sinews, plastered over with fat and flesh, its joints and hollows all filled in.

अशुद्ध शब्दें शुद्ध नाहीं । तेंहि भरलें असे देहीं । नाना व्याधी दुःखें तेंहि । अभ्यांतरी वसती ॥ १७॥

Even that which is considered unspeakably unclean fills this body, and countless diseases and sufferings dwell within it as well.

नर्काचें कोठार भरलें । आंतबाहेरी लिडीबिडिलें । मूत्रपोतडें जमलें । दुर्गंधीचें ॥ १८॥

This body is a storehouse packed with filth fit for hell, smeared through inside and out, a foul-smelling bag of urine gathered together.

जंत किडे आणी आंतडी । नाना दुर्गंधीची पोतडी । अमुप लवथविती कातडी । कांटाळवाणी ॥ १९॥

Inside are worms, maggots, and intestines; the body is a sack of every kind of stench, and the skin hanging loosely over it is repulsive even to look at.

सर्वांगास सिर प्रमाण । तेथें बळसें वाहे घ्राण । उठे घाणी फुटतां श्रवण । ते दुर्गंधी नेघवे ॥ २०॥

The head is considered the noblest part of the body, yet even there mucus drips from the nose, and when the ear festers the stench that rises is unbearable.

डोळां निघती चिपडें । नाकीं दाटतीं मेकडें । प्रातःकाळीं घाणी पडे । मुखीं मळासारिखी ॥२१॥

The eyes discharge gum, the nose gets clogged with mucus, and at dawn the mouth gives off a stench like excrement.

लाळ थुंका आणी मळ । पीत श्लेष्मा प्रबळ । तयास म्हणती मुखकमळ । चंद्रासारिखें ॥ २२॥

This same mouth, filled with saliva, spit, filth, and thick yellow phlegm, is what people flatteringly call a lotus-face as lovely as the moon.

मुख ऐसें कुश्चीळ दिसे । पोटीं विष्ठा भरली असे । प्रत्यक्षास प्रमाण नसे । भूमंडळीं ॥ २३॥

The mouth itself looks this filthy, and the belly is full of excrement, yet though this is plain to see, no one in the world is willing to accept it as true.

पोटीं घालितां दिव्यान्न । कांहीं विष्ठा कांहीं वमन । भागीरथीचें घेतां जीवन । त्याची कोये लघुशंका ॥ २४॥

However fine the food put into the belly, some of it becomes excrement and some becomes vomit; even the sacred water of the Ganga, once drunk, turns into nothing but urine.

एवं मळ मूत्र आणी वमन । हेंचि देहाचें जीवन । येणेंचि देह वाढे जाण । यदर्थीं संशय नाहीं ॥ २५॥

Thus excrement, urine, and vomit are, in truth, the very sustenance of the body, and it is by these that the body grows; there is no doubt about this.

पोटीं नस्तां मळ मूत्र वोक । मरोन जाती सकळ लोक । जाला राव अथवा रंक । पोटीं विष्ठा चुकेना ॥ २६॥

If the belly stopped producing excrement, urine, and vomit, everyone would die; whether one is a king or a pauper, no one's belly can escape holding filth.

निर्मळपणें काढूं जातां । तरी देह पडेल तत्वतां । एवं देहाची वेवस्था । ऐसी असे ॥ २७॥

If one tried to remove this filth entirely, the body itself would die; such, in truth, is the very constitution of the body.

ऐसा हा धड असतां । येथाभूत पाहों जातां । मग ते दुर्दशा सांगतां । शंका बाधी ॥ २८॥

Even while this body is whole and healthy, if one truly examines its real nature, describing its wretched condition itself begins to unsettle the mind.

ऐसिये कारागृहीं वस्ती । नवमास बहु विपत्ती । नवहि द्वारें निरोधती । वायो कैंचा तेथें ॥ २९॥

In this prison-like place one must dwell for nine months, enduring immense hardship; with all nine bodily openings sealed shut, how could any air even reach there?

वोका नरकाचे रस झिरपती । ते जठराग्नीस्तव तापती । तेणें सर्वहि उकडती । अस्तिमांस ॥ ३०॥

There, foul, sickening fluids seep through, heated by the mother's digestive fire, and in that heat the child's very bones and flesh feel as if they are being cooked.

त्वचेविण गर्भ खोळे । तंव मातेसी होती डोहळे । कटवतिक्षणें सर्वांग पोळे । तया बाळकाचें ॥ ३१॥

While the fetus's skin is still forming, the mother develops cravings; the instant she eats something sharp, sour, or pungent, the child's whole body is scorched by it.

बांधलें चर्माचें मोटाळें । तेथें विष्ठेचें पेटाळें । रसौपाय वंकनाळें । होत असे ॥ ३२॥

The child is bound up as if in a bag of skin, right beside a store of filth, and it is fed through the crooked channel of the umbilical cord.

विष्ठा मूत्र वांती पीत । नाकीं तोंडीं निघती जंत । तेणें निर्बुजलें चित्त । आतिशयेंसीं ॥ ३३॥

Surrounded by excrement, urine, vomit and bile, with worms coming out of its nose and mouth, the child's mind grows utterly stifled and terrified.

ऐसिये कारागृहीं प्राणी । पडिला अत्यंत दाटणीं । कळवळोन म्हणे चक्रपाणी । सोडवीं येथून आतां ॥ ३४॥

Trapped in this prison, utterly suffocated, the soul cries out in anguish to God, "Free me from this place, now."

देवा सोडविसी येथून । तरी मी स्वहित करीन । गर्भवास हा चुकवीन । पुन्हां न ये येथें ॥ ३५॥

"O God, if you free me from here, I will surely work for my own true good; I will escape this dwelling in the womb and never come back here again."

ऐसी दुखवोन प्रतिज्ञा केली । तंव जन्मवेळ पुढें आली । माता आक्रंदों लागली । प्रसूतकाळीं ॥ ३६॥

While it makes this sorrowful vow, the time of birth draws near, and at the hour of delivery the mother begins to cry out in pain.

नाकीं तोंडीं बैसलें मांस । मस्तकद्वारें सांडी स्वास । तेंहि बुजलें निशेष । जन्मकाळीं ॥ ३७॥

Flesh presses against nose and mouth, and the child struggles to breathe through the passage of its head, but at the moment of birth even that path becomes completely blocked.

मस्तकद्वार तें बुजलें । तेणें चित्त निर्बुजलें । प्राणी तळमळूं लागलें । चहूंकडे ॥ ३८॥

With the head's passage blocked, its mind grows utterly bewildered, and the being writhes in anguish on every side.

स्वास उस्वास कोंडला । तेणें प्राणी जाजावला । मार्ग दिसेनासा जाला । कासावीस ॥ ३९॥

With its breathing choked off, the being grows utterly distressed; no way out is visible to it, and it becomes desperately restless.

चित्त बहु निर्बुजलें । तेणें आडभरीं भरलें । लोक म्हणती आडवें आलें । खांडून काढा ॥ ४०॥

Utterly bewildered, the child gets stuck crosswise in the birth canal; the people around say, "It has come out sideways, cut it out."

मग ते खांडून काढिती । हस्तपाद छेदून घेती । हातां पडिलें तेंचि कापिती । मुख नासिक उदर ॥ ४१॥

Then they cut the child out, severing its hands and feet, cutting whatever comes to hand, be it mouth, nose, or belly.

ऐसे टवके तोडिले । बाळकें प्राण सोडिले । मातेनेंहि सांडिलें । कळिवर ॥ ४२॥

Cut apart piece by piece like this, the child gives up its life, and the mother too abandons her body; she dies as well.

मृत्य पावला आपण । मतेचा घेतला प्राण । दुःख भोगिलें दारुण । गर्भवासीं ॥ ४३॥

The child itself dies, and in dying takes the mother's life as well; such is the terrible suffering endured in the womb.

तथापी सुकृतेंकरूनी । मार्ग सांपडला योनी । तर्ह्हीं आडकला जाउनी । कंठस्कंदीं मागुता ॥ ४४॥

Still, if by some past merit the child does find its way properly through the birth passage, even then it may get stuck again at the neck or shoulders on the way out.

तये संकोचित पंथीं । बळेंचि वोढून काढिती । तेणें गुणें प्राण जाती । बाळकाचे ॥ ४५॥

Through that narrow passage it is forcibly pulled out, and because of this the child's life is sometimes lost.

बाळकाचे जातां प्राण । अंतीं होये विस्मरण । तेणें पूर्वील स्मरण । विसरोन गेला ॥ ४६॥

Just as the child's life-breath passes into birth, forgetfulness overtakes it, and so it loses all memory of the knowledge and the vow it held while still in the womb.

गर्भीं म्हणे सोहं सोहं । बाहेरी पडतां म्हणे कोहं । ऐसा कष्टी जाला बहु । गर्भवासीं ॥ ४७॥

While in the womb the soul repeats "So'ham, So'ham", meaning I am That, but the moment it is born it says "Ko'ham", who am I; such is the great suffering it undergoes in the womb, ending in the loss of its own self-knowledge.

दुःखा वरपडा होता जाला । थोरा कष्टीं बाहेरी आला । सवेंच कष्ट विसरला । गर्भवासाचे ॥ ४८॥

Having suffered so much, it comes out into the world only after great hardship, but no sooner is it born than it forgets all the suffering of the womb.

सुंन्याकार जाली वृत्ती । कांहीं आठवेना चित्तीं । अज्ञानें पडिली भ्रांती । तेणें सुखचि मानिलें ॥ ४९॥

Its awareness becomes as if blank; nothing at all is remembered. Out of sheer ignorance a delusion arises, and this very delusion it mistakes for happiness.

देह विकार पावलें । सुखदुःखें झळंबळे । असो ऐसें गुंडाळलें । मायाजाळीं ॥ ५०॥

The body begins to undergo change, tossed about by pleasure and pain; and so, in this way, the soul becomes entangled in the net of maya.

ऐसें दुःख गर्भवासीं । होतें प्राणीमात्रांसीं । म्हणोनियां भगवंतासी । शरण जावें ॥ ५१॥

Such suffering in the womb is undergone by every living being without exception; therefore one should take refuge in God.

जो भगवंताचा भक्त । तो जन्मापासून मुक्त । ज्ञानबळें बिरक्त । सर्वकाळ ॥ ५२॥

Whoever is a true devotee of God, remaining ever detached through the strength of true knowledge, becomes free from the cycle of birth.

ऐशा गर्भवासीं विपत्ती । निरोपिल्या येथामती । सावध हो‍ऊन श्रोतीं । पुढें अवधान द्यावें ॥ ५३॥

In this way the sufferings of the womb have been described as best as possible; let the listeners now stay attentive for what follows.