⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑− Vaṁśastha
iyaṁ
tu cintā mama kīdśaṁ nu tā vapur-guṇaṁ
bibhrati tatra yoṣitaḥ |
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−
vane
yad-arthaṁ sa tapāṁsi tapyate śriyaṁ ca hitvā mama
bhaktim-eva ca || 8.65
8.65
But
this concern I do have –
What
kind of physical excellence
do those women possess who are there?
do those women possess who are there?
On
which account he undergoes austerities in the forest,
Having
abandoned not only royal power but also my loving devotion.
COMMENT:
Ostensibly
what is bothering Yaśodharā is jealous thoughts about apsarases in
Indra's heaven, so that tatra yoṣitaḥ means “the women in that
world,” and vapur-guṇam means physical attributes like upturned
breasts, lotus-like faces, and all the rest of it.
Another
way of reading today's verse is to understand that, below the
surface, tu (but) might be signalling a change of tack, so that
hitherto Yaśodharā has been wasting her breath lamenting, or at
least venting, on the basis of her ancient Indian conceptions of
dharma, but in today's verse her thinking takes a more constructive
turn.
In that case tatra
yoṣitaḥ, “women who are there,” are a symbol of the Zen
practitioners of the ten directions and three times who are in the
state towards which Yaśodharā's husband is now directing himself.
And in that case kīdṛśaṁ nu tā vapur-guṇaṁ bibhrati, “What
kind of physical excellence do they possess?” might be a very good
question.
FM Alexander described
Alexander work as the most mental thing there is. It is the most
mental thing there is because it centers on the decision not
to do (aka inhibiting) and the thinking of directions such as
“head to go forward and up” (aka directing). But the criterion
of success or failure in this inhibiting and directing is whether the
head keeps pulling back and down, or whether it is allowed to release
in the opposite direction (forward and up) so that the back can
lengthen and widen and so that breathing can happen freely and fully.
Now
when we stop and reflect on it, as I have just spent the last hour doing, this head and this back, and this act
of breathing out and breathing in, are never mental constructs.
That
being so, to sit upright with one's knees on a mat on the floor and
one's sitting bones drilling down into a round black cushion, is a
very excellent laboratory for testing out the relation between
thinking and physical criteria of excellence.
“What
kind of physical excellence do those possess who are there?”
For
a start, I would venture, in response to Yaśodharā's question, they
don't gasp in a panic-stricken manner for air, pulling their heads
back unduly in the process, and then on the out-breath stammer out a
load of old nonsense in a voice choking with emotion about dharma
having favourites....
But
lest this sounds too critical, I think Aśvaghoṣa's secret
intention behind today's verse is to credit Yaśodharā for asking a
question that is a valid concern (cintā), taking concern to mean “a
matter for consideration” rather than “anxious thought.” So the ostensible meaning of iyaṁ cintā in today's verse is "this anxious thought" but the real meaning might be "this matter for consideration" or "this thought."
VOCABULARY
iyam
(nom. sg. f.): this
tu:
but
cintā
(nom. sg.: f. thought , care , anxiety , anxious thought ;
consideration
mama
(gen. sg.): of mine
kīdṛśam
(acc. sg. m.): of what kind? what like? ; of what use? i.e. useless
nu:
ind. now, indeed ; sometimes it lays stress upon a preceding word ,
esp. an interr. pronoun or particle
tā
(nom. pl. f.): those [women]
vapur-guṇam
(acc. sg.): m. personal beauty [EBC: the attributes which belong to
bodies; EHJ: excellent beauty; PO: bodily splendor]
vapus:
mfn. having form or a beautiful form , embodied , handsome ,
wonderful ; n. form , figure , (esp.) a beautiful form or figure ,
wonderful appearance , beauty ; n. the body
guṇa:
m. a quality , peculiarity , attribute or property ; good quality ,
virtue , merit , excellence
bibhrati
= 3rd pers. pl. bhṛ: to bear , carry , convey , hold ;
to bear i.e. contain , possess , have , keep
tatra:
ind. there
yoṣitaḥ
(nom. pl.): f. a girl , maiden , young woman , wife
vane
(loc. sg.): n. the forest
yad-artham:
ind. on which account , for which purpose , wherefore , why
sa
(nom. sg. m.): he
tapāṁsi
(acc. pl.): n. ascetic practices, austerities
tapyate
= 3rd pers. sg. passive tap: to be heated or burnt ,
become hot ; to be purified by austerities (as the soul); to suffer
or feel pain ; to suffer pain voluntarily , undergo austerity (tapas)
śriyam
(acc. sg.): f. light , lustre , radiance , splendour , glory , beauty
; prosperity , welfare , good fortune , success , auspiciousness ,
wealth , treasure , riches (śriyā , " according to fortune or
wealth ") , high rank , power , might , majesty , royal dignity
ca:
and
hitvā
= abs. hā: to abandon, quit
mama
(gen. sg.): my
bhaktim
(acc. sg.): f. attachment , devotion , fondness for , devotion to
(with loc. , gen. or ifc.) , trust , homage , worship , piety , faith
or love or devotion
eva:
(emphatic)
ca:
and
爲何勝徳色 修習於苦行
No comments:
Post a Comment