agner yathÄ dÄru-viyoga-yogayor
adṛṣá¹ato 'nyan na nimittam asti
evaá¹ hi jantor api durvibhÄvyaḥ
Å›arÄ«ra-saá¹yoga-viyoga-hetuḥ
agneḥ - of a fire in the forest; yathÄ - as; dÄru - of wood; viyoga-yogayoḥ - of both the escaping and the capturing; adṛṣá¹ataḥ - than unseen providence; anyat - some other reason or accident; na - not; nimittam - a cause; asti - there is; evam - in this way; hi - certainly; jantoḥ - of the living being; api - indeed; durvibhÄvyaḥ - cannot be found out; Å›arÄ«ra - of the body; saá¹yoga - of the accepting; viyoga - or of the giving up; hetuḥ - the cause.
When there is a fire in a village, the fire sometimes jumps over one house and burns another. Similarly, when there is a forest fire, the fire sometimes jumps over one tree and catches another. Why this happens, no one can say. One may set forth some imaginary reason why the nearest tree or house did not catch fire whereas a tree or house in a distant place did, but actually the reason is destiny. This reason also applies to the transmigration of the soul, by which a prime minister in one life may become a dog in the next. The work of unseen destiny cannot be ascertained by practical experimental knowledge, and therefore one must be satisfied by reasoning that everything is done by supreme providence.