Mundaka Upanishad- Verse 7 - Mundaka-1-2-7-plavā hyete

Mundaka Upanishad – Mundaka 1 – Chapter 2 – Verse 7 « »

प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूपा
अष्टादशोक्तमवरं येषु कर्म ।
एतच्छ्रेयो येऽभिनन्दन्ति मूढा
जरामृत्युं ते पुनरेवापि यन्ति ॥ ७॥

plavā hyete adṛḍhā yajñarūpā
aṣṭādaśoktamavaraṃ yeṣu karma .
etacchreyo ye’bhinandanti mūḍhā
jarāmṛtyuṃ te punarevāpi yanti .. 7..

7 But frail indeed are those rafts of sacrifices, conducted by eighteen persons, upon whom rests the inferior work; therefore they are destructible. Fools who rejoice in them as the Highest Good fall victims again and again to old age and death.

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Sri Shankara’s Commentary (Bhashya) translated by S. Sitarama Sastri

Com.—This karma, devoid of knowledge, bears but this much fruit and being accomplished by ignorance, desire and action, is sapless and is the source of misery. Therefore it is condemned. “Plava” means ‘ephemeral’ because these are adridha, i.e., not permanent. Yajnarupa, the forms of sacrifice, i.e., necessary for the performance of the sacrifice. Eighteen in number, consisting of the sixteen Ritviks, the sacrificer and his wife. Karma stated in the sastras depends on these. Avaramkarma, i.e., mere karma devoid of knowledge; and as the performance of karma which is inferior depends on these eighteen who are not permanent. The karma done by them and its fruit are ephemeral, as, when the pot is destroyed, the destruction of milk, curd, etc., in it, follows. This being so, those ignorant persons who delight in this karma as the means of bliss, fall again into decay and death, after staying some time in Heaven.

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Various resources on the Mundakopanishad
Upanishad Series – Mundakopanishad Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda

Mundaka Upanishad – Verse 7 – Mundaka-1-2-7-plavā hyete – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Mundaka-1-2-7