−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−−¦¦−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−− Praharṣiṇī
tat-snehād-atha
npateś-ca bhaktitas-tau sāpekṣaṁ pratiyayatuś-ca
tasthatuś-ca |
−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−−¦¦−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−−
dur-dharṣaṁ
ravim-iva dīptam-ātma-bhāsā taṁ draṣṭuṁ
na hi pathi śekatur-na moktum
|| 9.81
9.81
Out of affection for
him, and out of devotion to the king,
The two went worriedly
on their way, and then the two stood still;
For, as he blazed with
his own light, like the blinding sun,
They were able neither
to behold him on the road nor to let him go.
COMMENT:
In this penultimate verse of the Canto, the metre switches again, this time to the praharṣiṇī (lit. “gladdening”) metre. The
first 71 verses were in the 11-syllable upajāti metre; the next nine
verses were in the 12-syllable vaṁśastha metre; and these last two
verses are in the 13-syllable praharṣiṇī metre.
So what? So the point
is that this work, though my own plodding translation may cause you
never to have guessed, is originally a poem.
Last week I heard on
the radio an Oxford professor of English named John Carey relate how
the poet WH Auden told him over an Oxford college dinner, that
sometimes Auden would first hear a poem as rhythm, and then look for
the words.
So the point is that
Aśvaghoṣa was not only a Zen patriarch for whom the most important
thing was mokṣa (i.e., liberation, or neuro-muscular release, or
freedom from the slavery of unconscious habit); Aśvaghoṣa was also
a poet. Some have postulated that it might have been difficult for
Aśvaghoṣa to wear these two hats, of monk and of poet, at the same time.
But I don't agree with those postulations. On the contrary, I think
the fact that Aśvaghoṣa had such a facility for writing in verse
made him uniquely suitable to lay down an authentic record of the
Buddha's teaching that would stand the test of time. What thus sets Aśvaghoṣa's writing apart, in my book, even from the still more ancient Pali suttas, is that Aśvaghoṣa's writing is (1) owned
by Aśvaghoṣa's appending to it of his own name, and (2) at least
partly safeguarded from corruption by the strictures of Sanskrit kāvya
poetry.
Aside from its poetic
merits, today's verse as I read it describes dithering which is in
contrast with the bodhisattva's resolute decisiveness. Whereas the
bodhisattva declares that no way is he going home unenlightened, and
acts in accordance with that declared intent, getting up and moving
off, the two royal emissaries do not know whether to stick or twist.
The description of them thus brings to mind a similar memorable
description of Nanda, when he is caught in two minds, at the end of
SN Canto 4:
taṁ gauravaṁ
buddha-gataṁ cakarṣa bhāryānurāgaḥ punar-ācakarṣa /
Reverence for the
Buddha drew him on; love for his wife drew him back:
so 'niścayān-nāpi
yayau na tasthau turaṁs-taraṅgeṣv-iva rāja-haṁsaḥ // 4.42
//
Irresolute, he neither
stayed nor went,
like a king-goose pushing forwards against the
waves.
VOCABULARY
tat-snehāt
(abl. sg.): because of affection for him
atha:
and
nṛpateḥ
(gen. sg.): m. the lord of men, king
ca:
and
bhaktitaḥ:
through devotion
bhakti:
f. attachment , devotion , fondness for , devotion to (with loc. ,
gen. )
tau
(nom. dual): the two of them
sāpekṣam
(acc. sg. n.): mfn. having regard or respect to (loc. or acc. with
prati)
apekṣā:
f. looking round or about , consideration of , reference , regard to
; looking for , expectation , hope , need , requirement
pratiyayatur
= 3rd pers. dual perf. prati- √ yā: to come or go to ;
to go or come back ,
ca:
and
tasthatuḥ
= 3rd pers. dual perf. sthā: to stand , stand firmly ;
to stay, remain
ca:
and
dur-dharṣam
(acc. sg. m.) mfn. difficult to be assaulted or laid hold of ,
inviolable , inaccessible , unconquerable , dangerous , dreadful ,
awful ; haughty, distant
√ dhṛṣ:
to dare to attack , treat with indignity (acc.)
ravim
(acc. sg.): m. the sun
iva
like
dīptam
(acc. sg. m.): mfn. blazing , flaming , hot , shining , bright ,
brilliant , splendid
ātma-bhāsā
(inst. sg.): f. with his own light, with the light of himself
tam
(acc. sg. m.): him
draṣṭum
= infinitive dṛś: to see , behold , look at , regard
na:
not
hi:
for
pathi
(loc. sg.): m. a way , path , road , course
śekatur
= 3rd pers. dual perf. śak: to be able to
na:
not
moktum
= infinitive muc: to let go
深敬嘆太子 不敢強逼留
敬奉王命故 不敢速疾還
徘徊於中路 行邁顧遲遲
敬奉王命故 不敢速疾還
徘徊於中路 行邁顧遲遲
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