Probably, he may have recited a verse like Bhagavadgītā 6-45:

prayatnād yatamanas tu 
yogi saṃśuddha-kilbiśaḥ 
aneka-janma-samsiddhas 
tato yāti parām gatim

Madhav Deshpande

On Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 8:50 AM, Patrick Olivelle <jpo@uts.cc.utexas.edu> wrote:

Dear All:

An anthropologist friend of mine recalls a Sanskrit verse or proverb told him by a Kashmiri Brahmin regarding the significance of rebirth. I could not place it, and wonder whether there is anything in the literature that strikes a bell.

"A village Brahmin was holding forth to me on the virtues of rebirth, saying it takes a long, long time in this Kali Yuga to complete the good works that one can and should do. For good effect, he rounded off in Sanskrit, which I did not take down carefully, explaining in Kashmiri: "We shall have to take birth time and again, and again". Now, what must he have said?"

Thanks.


Patrick
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--
Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA

--
Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA