The works of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya

Praśnottararatnamālikā

Verse 65

किं जन्म विषयसङ्गः किमुत्तरं जन्म पुत्रः स्यात् ।कोऽपरिहार्यो मृत्युः कुत्र पदं विन्यसेच्च दृक्पूते ॥ ६४ ॥

In plain words

What truly constitutes birth? Entanglement with the senses. What is the answer to birth? Having a son. What cannot be evaded? Death. And where should one set one's foot? Where the gaze has purified the path.

Close to the Sanskrit

What is birth? Attachment to sense-objects. What is the answer to birth? A son might be. What is unavoidable? Death. Where should one place the foot? On a purified-by-sight place.