Chapter 23
किं धनैर्धनदैर्वा किं कामैर्वा कामदैरुत । मृत्युना ग्रस्यमानस्य कर्मभिर्वोत जन्मदै: ॥ २७ ॥
Transliteration
kiṁ dhanair dhana-dair vā kiṁ kāmair vā kāma-dair uta mṛtyunā grasyamānasya karmabhir vota janma-daiḥ
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
kim — of what use; dhanaiḥ — are different kinds of wealth; dhana-daiḥ — the givers of wealth; vā — or; kim — what is the use; kāmaiḥ — of the objects of sense gratification; vā — or; kāma-daiḥ — those who give such sense gratification; uta — or; mṛtyunā — by death; grasyamānasya — for one who is being seized; karmabhiḥ — by fruitive activities; vā uta — or else; janma-daiḥ — which give him his next birth.
Translation
“For one who is in the grips of death, what is the use of wealth or those who offer it, sense gratification or those who offer it, or, for that matter, any type of fruitive activity, which simply causes one to again take birth in the material world?”