SAUNDARANANDA 13.4: Twenty-Four Carat Untaintedness

paaMsubhyaH kaaJcanaM jaatam
vishuddhaM nir-malaM shuci
sthitaM paaMsusv api yathaa
paaMsu-doShair na lipyate

= = = = - = = =
- = = = - = - -
- = = = - - - =
= - = = - = - =

13.4
Just as gold born from dirt

Is pure, spotless, gleaming,

And while lying in the dirt

Is not tarnished by the dirt's impurities,

COMMENT:
What is special about gold that Ashvaghosha uses it so often in his metaphors?

The first thing to note, as reflected in the first line of this verse and in the title of this blog, might be that gold is got from dirt, by an effort of mining, which consists of digging out earth and sifting through it so as to eliminate the dirt and get the gold.

The motivation for this effort, I think, is not so much the rarity of gold (for rarity, in 12.38, a jewel is the symbol); but rather gold's innate qualities of beauty and lack of reactivity.

According to chemistryexplained.com: At one time, gold was found in chunks or nuggets large enough to see. People mined gold by picking it out of streams and rivers. In fact, gold was once very common in some parts of the world. People valued it not because it was rare, but because it was so beautiful.

This beauty owes something to the reflectivity which is one of the salient physical properties of gold: both heat and light are said to reflect off gold very well.

That being so, when gold is shovelled up from a river bed and panned (as for example in this youtube clip),in sharp contrast to the black sand from which gold is born, beautiful flecks of gold stand out conspicuously -- pure, spotless, and gleaming.

Another quality of gold, which helps it to stay beautiful, is that (unlike yours truly) gold is not very reactive.

Generally speaking, gold is not very reactive. It does not combine with oxygen or dissolve in most acids. It does not react with halogens, such as chlorine or bromine, very easily. These chemical properties also account for some important uses of gold. Gold coins, for example, do not corrode (rust) or tarnish very easily. Neither does jewelry or artwork made of gold.


So the reason gold tends not to be tainted by contact with any of the chemical impurities contained in dirt, is gold's lack of reactivity. Gold is a real substance: it positively exists, but with a conspicuous negative attribute. Its inherent beauty and value has to do with its tendency NOT to react.

EH Johnston:
Just as gold, though produced from dirt, is pure, free from speck and clean, and, though mixed up with dirt, is not stained by the defects of dirt;

Linda Covill:
Just as gold originates in dirt, but is pure flawless and clean, and though it remains in the dirt it is not soiled by dust-spots,

VOCABULARY:
paaMsubhyaH = ablative, plural of paaMsu: m. crumbling soil , dust , sand (mostly pl.); dung , manure
kaaJcanam (accusative): gold
jaata: born ; grown , produced , arisen , caused , appeared

vishuddha: completely cleansed or purified (also in a ritual sense) , clean , clear , pure
nir-mala: spotless , unsullied , clean , pure , shining , resplendent, bright
shuci: shining , glowing , gleaming , radiant , bright ; brilliantly white , white ; clear , clean , pure

sthita: standing , staying , situated , resting or abiding or remaining in (loc.)
paaMsusu = ;ocative, plural of paaMsu: dirt
api: though
yathaa: just as

paaMsu: dirt
doShair = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault , vice , deficiency ; badness; damage , harm ;
na: not
lipyate = 3rd person singular, passive of lip: to be smear, stain , soil , taint , pollute , defile