Devanagari
जन्मादयस्तु देहस्य विक्रियानात्मन: क्वचित् ।
कलानामिव नैवेन्दोर्मृतिर्ह्यस्य कुहूरिव ॥ ४७ ॥
Verse text
janmādayas tu dehasya
vikriyā nātmanaḥ kvacit
kalānām iva naivendor
mṛtir hy asya kuhūr iva
Synonyms
janma
—
ādayaḥ — birth and so on
;
tu
—
but
;
dehasya
—
of the body
;
vikriyāḥ
—
transformations
;
na
—
not
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of the self
;
kvacit
—
ever
;
kalānām
—
of the phases
;
iva
—
as
;
na
—
not
;
eva
—
indeed
;
indoḥ
—
of the moon
;
mṛtiḥ
—
the death
;
hi
—
indeed
;
asya
—
of it
;
kuhūḥ
—
the new moon day
;
iva
—
as .
Translation
Birth and other transformations are undergone by the body but never by the self, just as change occurs for the moon’s phases but never for the moon, though the new-moon day may be called the moon’s “death.”
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Birth and other transformations are undergone by the body but never by the self, just as change occurs for the moon's phases but never for the moon, though the new-moon day may be called the moon's "death."
KB 10.54.47
“Therefore,” continued Balarāma, “the appearance and disappearance of the body have nothing to do with the living entity, just as the waxing and waning of the moon have nothing to do with the moon.” When the moon waxes we falsely think that the moon is developing, and when it wanes we think the moon is decreasing. Factually, the moon, as it is, is always the same; it has nothing to do with such visible activities of waxing and waning.
Purport
Lord Balarāma here explains how the conditioned souls identify with the body and how this identification should be given up. Certainly every ordinary person considers himself or herself young, middle-aged or old, healthy or sick. But such identification is an illusion, just as the waxing and waning of the moon is an illusion. When we identify ourselves with the material body, we lose our power to understand the soul.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Since the soul has no contact with birth and death, these must only be characteristics of the body. But how can that be, for the awareness of being born, being a child, of aging, is a perception of the self or soul, not the body. This is explained with an example. Just as there are birth and other many phases of the moon, but these is no the birth of the moon which has unlimited phases, and just as the new moon phase is not the death of the moon, so we talk about death of the self, but actually it is death of the body connected with the soul.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The moon, said to be a shadow of the sun and a disk of water, gradually increases and decreases in its phases. But it is always the moon. This is the comparison with the ātmā which remains while the body changes. There is another meaning. “Since I have been born in this family, why connection and disconnection with family members not occur for me?” If changes do not exist for the ātmā, what can be said of you, the svarūpa-śakti of the Lord, with a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss?
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Birth of the body is illustrated. Birth, existence, growth, change, decay and death are six transformations (vikriyā) of the body. Even perfected persons as a pastime sometimes manifest these changes. “The body, using the senses, definitely undergoes these changes, being non different from changes in one’s father etc. But the ātmā also dies at death since it appears that there is no consciousness.” There is even death of the moon. It seems that moon is destroyed since one does not see its disk at the dark moon phase. At other times it seems that the moon is born and undergoes changes because one can see the moon. Similarly the body, not having consciousness, dies at death but not the ātmā.
Or “At the dark moon there seems to be death of the moon, since the moon is not present.” The destruction of the phases of the moon is apparent death. It is not real death.