Text 47
vartamāno ’nyayoḥ kālo
guṇābhijñāpako yathā
evaṁ janmānyayor etad
dharmādharma-nidarśanam
vartamānaḥ — the present; anyayoḥ — of the past and future; kālaḥ — time; guṇa-abhijñāpakaḥ — making known the qualities; yathā — just as; evam — thus; janma — birth; anyayoḥ — of the past and future births; etat — this; dharma — religious principles; adharma — irreligious principles; nidarśanam — indicating.
Just as springtime in the present indicates the nature of springtimes in the past and future, so this life of happiness, distress or a mixture of both gives evidence concerning the religious and irreligious activities of one’s past and future lives.
Our past and future are not very difficult to understand, for time is under the contamination of the three modes of material nature. As soon as spring arrives, the usual exhibition of various types of fruits and flowers automatically becomes manifest, and therefore we may conclude that spring in the past was adorned with similar fruits and flowers and will be so adorned in the future also. Our repetition of birth and death is taking place within time, and according to the influence of the modes of nature, we are receiving various types of bodies and being subjected to various conditions.