SAUNDARANANDA 9.22: Exhortation Just to Do

balaM mahad vaa yadi vaa na manyase
kuruShva yuddhaM saha taavad indriyaiH
jayash ca te' tr' aasti mahac ca te balaM
paraajayash ced vitathaM ca te balaM

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9.22
Whether or not you think your strength great,

Just do battle against the senses!

If you are victorious in this, your strength is great;

If you are defeated, your strength is nothing.

COMMENT:
Containing the power of the senses is just the Buddha's teaching. Similarly, FM Alexander taught a means-whereby to bypass what he called "faulty sensory appreciation." Investigation of the latter teaching, I am sure, has helped me understand what the former teaching is, or at least what it is not: It is not striving after something. It is not acting in accordance with the lowly evolved end-gaining principle.

Lacking mastery of any skillful means which is subtle, conscious and indirect, the striving end-gainer (or end-gaining striver) goes for his end crudely, unconsciously, and directly.

In today's verse, as I read it, those elements of crudeness, unconsciousness and directness are all present.

Those elements are there in the black-and-white rhetoric of strength that is either great or nothing. When conscious consideration is given to the grey area of actual practice, There is less to fear from an enemy, or from fire, or from a snake, or from lightning, / Than there is from one's own senses; for through them one is forever being smitten. // [13.31]. This being so, contrary to the striver's opinion, there might be a kind of strength in persisting with practice here and now, notwithstanding the fact that one has just been defeated again by the power of the senses.

Above all, what the striver manifests here, like end-gainers everywhere, is a directness of approach. Hence, "Just do battle against the senses!"

Compare the more considered words that Ashvaghosha puts into the mouth of the Buddha in Canto 13:

And yet the power of the senses, though operative, need not become glued to an object, / So long as in the mind, with regard to that object, no fixing goes on.// [13.49]

Through effort of the highest order, therefore, contain the power of the senses; / For unguarded senses make for suffering and for becoming. [13.54]

The Buddha says kaaryaH saMvaraH, lit. "restraining/containing is to be done." The striver says kuruShva yuddham, lit. "Do battle!" or "Make war!"

In conclusion, then, though this verse sounds similar to the Buddha's teaching, when one bites into it, the similarity is the similarity between a cake of chalk and a cake of cheese. It is no similarity at all. It is the difference between doing and non-doing. Between striving to do the right thing and allowing the right thing to do itself.

For several years I strove to clarify this difference for others in a somewhat crude and unduly direct way, without much success. But since retreating into this translation work, I find unexpectedly that Ashvaghosha has already said everything that I have wanted and struggled to say about striving vs not striving, end-gaining vs means-whereby, doing vs non-doing. And the real-life character of the striver, who speaks just as strivers everywhere speak -- crudely, directly, seeing everything in black and white -- is instrumental in Ashvaghosha's clarification, which is very subtle, very indirect, very skillful.

EH Johnston:
Whether you think your physical strength great or the reverse, it is against your senses that you should wage war. If you conquer them, your strength is truly great: if you are defeated, your strength is no strength.

Linda Covill:
Whether or not you think your physical prowess great, make war against your senses. Your victory in that arena would be a great strength, but if defeated, your physical strength is futile;

VOCABULARY:
balam (acc. sg.): n. strength
mahat (acc. sg. n.): mfn. great
vaa... yadi... vaa... na: whether or not
manyase = 2nd pers. sg. man: to think ; to regard or consider any one or anything (acc.) as (acc.)

kuruShva = 2nd pers. sg. imperative kR: to do make
yuddham (acc. sg.): n. battle , fight , war
yudh: to fight , wage war , oppose or (rarely) overcome in battle
saha: with
taavat: ind. at once , now , just , first (very often connected with an imperative)
indriyaiH (inst. pl.): n. senses

jayaH (nom. sg.): m. ( √ ji) conquest , victory , triumph , winning , being victorious (indriyaaNaaM jaya, victory over or restraint of the senses)
ca: and
te (gen. sg.): of you, your
atra: ind. in this matter , in this respect
asti = 3rd pers. sg. as: to be
mahat (nom. sg.): n. great
ca: and
te: your
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength

paraajayaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. being conquered
paraa: ind. away , off , aside , along , on , (occurs only in -taram and -vat , and as a prefix to nouns and verbs )
paraa- √ ji : to be deprived of , suffer the loss of (acc.) , be conquered , succumb
ced: if
vitatham (nom. sg. n.): mfn. (fr. vi + tathaa , not so) untrue , false , incorrect , unreal , vain , futile
ca: and
te (gen. sg.): your
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength

SAUNDARANANDA 9.21: Power Trip?

ato viditvaa bala-viirya-maaninaaM
bal'-aanvitaanaam avamarditaM balaM
jagaj jaraa-mRtyu-vashaM vicaarayan
bale' bhimaanaM na vidhaatum arhasi

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9.21
Know, therefore, that the strength of powerful men,

Who fancy themselves imbued with strength and drive,
is ground down;

And do not,
as you survey a world in the sway of aging and death,

Take pride in strength.

COMMENT:
Just to be sure I haven't missed something, yesterday I reviewed every verse pertaining to Nanda in the previous eight cantos and could not find any verse that gives any indication that taking pride in strength was one of Nanda's failings. On the contrary, the verse that makes a mockery of the striver's chastizing, to quote it again, is the one in Canto 7 where Nanda bemoans his own weakness:

Hordes of gods, kings, and seers such as these have fallen by dint of desire into the thrall of women. / Being weak in understanding and inner strength, all the more discouraged, when I do not see my beloved, am I. // 7.46

In today's verse the striver uses the word balam (strength or power) no less than four times. Is the suggestion that the striver is on some kind of power trip?

When we look in real life at preachers of propriety, such as the striver is, those preachers very often are on some kind of power trip -- as opposed to making the nectar of deathlessness one's own.

As opposed to learning the backward step of turning and shining one's own light.

EH Johnston:
Therefore, knowing that the strength of those mighty ones who boasted of their heroism and strength was brought low, and seeing the world to be a prey to old age and death, do not fancy yourself strong.

Linda Covill:
Therefore recognize that physical capacity is ground down even in mighty men proud of their strength and valor. Reflect on the world under the sway of old age and death, and take no pride in strength!

VOCABULARY:
ataH: ind. from this, hence
viditvaa = abs. vid: to know , understand , perceive , learn , become or be acquainted with , be conscious of , have a correct notion
bala-viirya-maaninaam
bala: n. strength
viirya: n. manliness , valour , strength , power , energy; manly vigour , virility
maanin: mfn. haughty; (ifc.) thinking (esp. one's self) to be or have , appearing as or passing for

bal'-aanvitaanaam (gen. pl. m.): mfn. possessed of power , powerful , strong
avamarditam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. crushed , destroyed
ava- √ mRd: " to grind down " , crush , tread down
balam (acc. sg.): n. strength

jagat (acc. sg.): n. the world
jaraa-mRtyu-vasham: (acc. sg. n.): in the sway of aging and death
jaraa: f. the act of becoming old , old age
mRtyu: m. death, dying
vasha: m. authority , power , control , dominion
vicaarayan = nom. sg. m. pres. part. causative vi- √ car: to move hither and thither (in the mind) , ponder , reflect , consider ; to examine , investigate , ascertain

bale (loc. sg.): n. strength
abhimaanam (acc. sg.): m. high opinion of one's self , self-conceit , pride , haughtiness; conception (especially an erroneous one regarding one's self)
na: not
vidhaatum = infinitive vi- √ dhaa: to perform , effect , produce , cause , occasion , make , do Mn. MBh. &c (like √ kR to be translated variously in connection with various nouns)
arhasi = 2nd pers. sg. arh: ought

SAUNDARANANDA 9.20: Another Tale of Power

balaM kuruuNaaM kva ca tat tad" aabhavad
yudhi jvalitvaa taras" aujasaa ca ye
samit-samiddhaa jvalanaa iv' aadhvare
hat'-aasavo bhasmani paryavasthitaaH

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9.20
And where is the power once possessed by the Kurus

Who blazed in combat with speed and stamina

And then,
like sacrificial fires whose firewood has burned,

Lay in ashes, their life-breath snuffed out?

COMMENT:
The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is a battlefield at the onset of an Indian civil war. The battle is between two factions of the royal family of the Kurus (the Kauravas and the Pandavas). According to the Wikipedia entry on the Kurus, they brought into this war almost all the rulers of ancient India. The colossal destruction of life and wealth in this war led ancient India into a socio-economic depression (otherwise known as the Kali Yuga or the Dark Age) that lasted for a long period.

Talking of strength or power (balam), the whole of Saundara-nanda might be a tale of power -- the power of the Buddha's wisdom, prajNaa; the power of the confidence, shraddhaa, that Nanda finds in a better way; the power of strongly directing one's energy, viirya, (but do not call it striving); and ultimately the power of true yoga, with its twofold division into mindfulness, smRti, and balance, samaadhi.

The striver, however, seems to be unduly concerned with a different sort of power. This might be a fault in the striver. Failing to see it as such, however, the striver is grimly projecting it onto poor old innocent Nanda who at present is not at all interested in power or strength, but only in his absent lover.

So the striver, it seems to me, in his repeated negation of Nanda's non-existent tendency to take pride in strength or power, is somehow missing the essential point of the Buddha's teaching. For some unconscious reason, he is pursing another agenda. In this the character of the striver rings true to real life and is an excellent mirror for us who, despite the most heroic of intentions, go wrong in our effort to follow the Buddha's way. The striver is doing what many of us do in fact do: in our effort to be like a dragon finding water, we manifest ourselves as fake elephants. When we strive to follow a better way, our striving just ties us to our old way.

In this situation, it might be desirable to come back to the fundamental teaching of the four noble truths, as outlined in Canto 16, and stop striving.

EH Johnston:
And where has the strength of the Kurus gone? They blazed in the fight with energy and fury, yet they lost their lives and were turned to ashes, like fires heaped up with fuel in a sacrifice.

Linda Covill:
Where is the strength of the Kurus at war, blazing with energy and vigor? Like sacrificial fires stoked with fuel, they turned to ashes, their life-breath ended.

VOCABULARY:
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength
kuruuNaam (gen. pl.): the Kurus ; N. of a people of India and of their country (it was probably a country beyond the most northern range of the himaalaya , often described as a country of everlasting happiness, and considered by some to be the ancient home of the Aryan race).
kva: where? (with √bhuu , √as) how is it with? what has become of?
ca: and
tat (nom. sg. n.): that
tadaa: ind. at that time
abhavat = 3rd pers. sg. imperfect bhuu: to be, exist, be found, occur

yudhi (loc. sg.): f. war , fight , combat , struggle
jvalitvaa = abs. jval: to burn brightly , blaze , glow , shine
tarasaa (inst. sg.): n. rapid progress , velocity , strength , energy , efficacy
ojasaa (inst. sg.): n. bodily strength , vigour , energy , ability , power
ca: and
ye (nom. pl. m.): who

samit-samiddhaaH (nom. pl. m.): with their firewood set on fire
samit = in comp. for samidh: f. firewood , fuel , a log of wood , faggot , grass &c employed as fuel
samiddha: mfn. set alight or on fire , lighted , kindled , ignited , inflamed
jvalanaaH (nom. pl.): m. fire
iva: like
adhvare (loc. sg.): m. a sacrifice (especially the soma sacrifice)

hat'-aasavaH (nom. pl. m.): deprived of their life-breath
hata: mfn. struck , beaten (also said of a drum) , smitten , killed , slain , destroyed , ended , gone , lost (often ibc. = " destitute of " , " bereft of " , " -less ")
asu: m. ( √as, to be) breath , life
bhasmani (loc. sg.): n. "what is pulverized a or calcined by fire " , ashes
paryavasthitaaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. standing , stationed ; (with loc.) contained in
pary-ava- √ sthaa: to become firm or steady ; to fill or pervade

SAUNDARANANDA 9.19: Frailty Before Mighty Indra

diteH sutasy' aamara-roSha-kaariNash
camuu-rucer vaa namuceH kva tad balaM
yam aahave kruddham iv' aantakaM sthitaM
jaghaana phen'-aavayavena vaasavaH

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9.19
Where is the strength of Namuci son of Diti,

Light of an army and provoker of the gods?

He stood his ground in battle, furious as death,

But Indra slew him with a spattering of foam.

COMMENT:
Namuci, according to the Wikipedia entry on rakshasas (demons), is another name for our old friend Mara, king of demons.

"With waters' foam you tore off, Indra, the head of Namuci, subduing all contending hosts." [RV.VIII 14.13]

This reference in the Rg Veda to how Indra slew Namuci with foam on water, according to another Wikipedia entry, is the origin of a popular myth about the Hindu deity Narashima.

What is Ashvaghosha's purpose in causing not only Nanda but also the striver to refer at such length to these ancient Indian myths?

What difference might Ashvaghosha be intending to highlight here between the Brahmanic tradition and the Buddha's teaching?

Both Nanda and the striver look to the ancient Indian classics for evidence of human frailty, not to mention frailty of gods, royal seers, demons, and so on. Without such frailty, the narrative of the classics might be a lot less entertaining.

It is not only classic literature, and modern soap opera, that revolve around human frailty. In religions also, in general, God or gods up there are mighty and we human beings down here are frail. In today's verse, Namuci is weak, but Indra is mighty -- as in my favourite hymn, Guide Me O Thy Great Redeemer:

"I am weak, but Thou art mighty.
Hold me with Thy powerful hand."

In my susceptibility to that kind of sentiment, cultivated while watching Wales play rugby in Cardiff during the 1970s, I am indeed weak.

But what is the Buddha's teaching as regards human frailty? Is it the same as this religious feeling of weakness, of impotence before the Almighty? Or is the Buddha's teaching different?

If there is a similarity, it might be in the inability of a human subject to do an undoing -- hence "Thy will be done." That said, I think the Buddha's teaching is singularly different from religious teaching as regards human frailty before God or gods.

Standing in awe before almighty God or the mighty gods, religions generally encourage in us an attitude of belief or faith. But what Nanda finds under the Buddha's skillful guidance is not so much belief or faith as confidence -- confidence in a means-whereby that really works, a better way. Confidence in the operationally verifiable principle that when one stops doing the wrong thing, the right thing does itself. Finding this kind of confidence is in Saundara-nanda the beginning of Nanda's discovery of real strength -- RYU NO MIZU O URU GA GOTOKU, like a dragon finding water.

Thus, Ashvaghosha's subversion of cherished religious conceptions is not at all overt. Ashvaghosha's intention might rather be that each individual reader should dig below the surface and -- resisting the pull of the religious herd -- decide for himself or herself, "No, the Buddha's teaching is not that."


EH Johnston:
Where is the strength of Namuci, the son of Diti, who caused the immortals to rage as he shone in the battle array? Him Vasava slew in single combat with a piece of foam, though he opposed him furious as death.

Linda Covill:
Where is the strength of Namuchi son of Diti, light of the army and provoker of the gods? Furious as death he stood his ground in battle, but Vasava killed him with a morsel of foam.

VOCABULARY:
diteH (gen. sg.): m. Diti
sutasya (gen. sg.): m. son
amara-roSha-kaariNaH (gen. sg. m.): producer of anger in the gods
a-mara: mfn. undying , immortal ; m. a god
roSha: m. anger , rage , wrath , passion , fury
kaarin: mfn. doing , making , effecting , producing (mostly ifc.)

camuu-ruceH (gen. sg. m.): light of an army
camuu: f. an army or division of an army (129 elephants , as many cars , 2187 horse , and 3645 foot)
ruci: f. light , lustre , splendour , beauty
vaa: or
namuceH = gen. sg. namuci: m. N. of a demon slain by indra and the ashvins
kva: ind. where?
tat (nom. sg. n.): that
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength

yam (acc. sg. m.): whom
aahave (loc. sg.): m. challenge , provoking ; war, battle
kruddham (acc. sg. m.): mfn. irritated , provoked , angry with
iva: like
antakam (acc. sg.): m. death ; m. yama , king or lord of death ; mfn. making an end, causing death
sthitam (acc. sg. m.): mfn. standing ; standing firm (yuddhe , " in battle ")

jaghaana = 3rd pers. sg. perfect han: to smite , slay
phen'-aavayavena (inst. sg.): with a bit of foam
phena: m. foam , froth , scum
avayava: m. a limb , member , part , portion
vaasavaH (nom. sg.): mfn. (fr. vasu) relating or belonging to the vasus , derived or descended from them; m. N. of indra (as chief of the vasus)
vasu: mfn. good, excellent ; N. of the gods (as the "good or bright ones"); N. of a partic. class of gods (whose number is usually eight , and whose chief is indra)

SAUNDARANANDA 9.18: More Vedic Corroboration, of a False Premise

kva tad balaM kaMsa-vikarShiNo hares
turaMga-raajasya puT-aavabhedinaH
yam eka-baaNena nijaghnivaan jaraaH
kram'-aagata ruupam iv' ottamaM jaraa

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9.18
Where is the strength
of Hari 'Kamsa-tormentor' Krishna,

Who broke the Horse-King's jaw?

With one arrow from Jaras he was brought down,

Like utmost beauty brought down,
in due order, by old age.

COMMENT:
In line 3, jaraaH in the masculine is the name of a hunter who wounded Krishna. In line 4 the same word in the feminine means old age. I meddled a bit with the grammar of the second half in order to preserve the word order, so that old age comes, in due order, at the end.

EHJ notes that the story of how Krishna broke the jaw of the horse Keshin is recorded in the Bhagavata Purana.

In this verse, again, the striver looks to the vedas for corroboration of his view that strength (balam) is nothing to be proud of.

These are the words of an eloquent Buddhist monk who went forth at the time of the Buddha. What power do they have to inform us who are seeking to understand what the Buddha really intended? I think they do not have any such power. And that is precisely Ashvaghosha's point. The basis of the striver's words is his own faulty view, corroborated by revered texts.

If the striver had, with more integrity, looked not to the vedas but instead to the teaching of the Buddha whom he purports to follow, he might have found cause to doubt his view in the teaching of the five noble powers, namely: (1) shraddhaa: confidence; (2) viirya: directed energy; (3) smRti: mindfulness; (4) samaadhi: balance; (5) prajNaa: intuitive wisdom.

In Canto 17 Ashvaghosha describes these powers as a-pratima, unequalled, incomparable, without a match:

With the five incomparable noble powers (aaryair balaiH paNcabhir a-pratimaiH), he broke five uncultivated areas of mental ground [17.26].

Confidence, directed energy, mindfulness, balance, intuitive wisdom:

Because the great matter is only one, Dogen said, ZA-DAN SUBESHI. Cut them by sitting. Sit them away.

But never mind what Dogen said. The striver is here, as I hear him, to remind us by his false example that we are here primarily to make the nectar of deathlessness our own. Seeking corroboration of our views in texts -- be they religious, scientific, or Buddhist -- is not it.

EH Johnston:
Where is the strength of Krishna who slew Kamsa and broke the jaw of the lord of horses? Jaras struck him down with a single arrow, just as old age strikes down in due course beauty however great.

Linda Covill:
Where is the strength of Hari who tore apart Kansa and split the jaw of the Horse-King? Jaras struck him down with a single arrow, just as old age eventually strikes down even the rarest beauty.

VOCABULARY:
kva: ind. where
tat (nom. sg. n.): that
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength
kaMsa-vikarShiNaH (gen. sg. m.): causer of violent pain in the limbs to Kansa
kaMsa: m. N. of a king of mathuraa (son of ugra-sena and cousin of the devakii who was mother of kRShNa [ugra-sena being brother of devaka , who was father of devakii] ; he is usually called the uncle , but was really a cousin of kRShNa , and became his implacable enemy because it had been prophesied to kaMsa that he would be killed by a child of devakii ; as the foe of the deity he is identified with the asura kaalanemi ; and , as he was ultimately slain by kRShNa , the latter receives epithets like kaMsa-jit , conqueror of kaMsa , &c )
vikarShin: mfn. causing violent and acute pain in the limbs
hareH = gen. sg. hari: m. (esp.) N. of viShNu-kRShNa (in this sense thought by some to be derived from √ hR , " to take away or remove evil or sin ")

turaMga-raajasya (gen. sg.): the king of horses
turaM-ga: m. " going quickly " , a horse
raajan: m. a king , sovereign , prince , chief
puT-aavabhedinaH (gen. sg.): who split the hollow space [= jaw?]
puTa: mn. a fold , pocket , hollow space , slit
avabhedin: mfn. splitting , dividing
ava- √ bhid: to split , pierce
puTa-bhid: mfn. burst or cleft asunder
puTa-bheda: " parting of the eye-lids " , opening

yam (acc. sg. m.): whom
eka-baaNena (inst. sg.): with a single arrow
eka: one, a single
baaNa: m. a reed-shaft , shaft made of a reed , an arrow
ni-jaghnivaan = nom. sg. m. perfect active participle ni- √ han: to strike or hew down
jaraaH = nom. sg. m. jaras: N. of a hunter who wounded kRShNa

kram'-aagataa (nom. sg. f.): mfn. descended or inherited lineally , (anything) coming from one's ancestors in regular succession; successive , in due order
krama: m. step, course ; uninterrupted or regular progress , order , series , regular arrangement , succession
aagata: mfn. come, arrived, happened; n. anything that has taken place
krama-gata : mfn. descended or inherited lineally , (anything) coming from one's ancestors in regular succession ; successive , in due order
ruupam (acc. sg.): n. handsome form , loveliness , grace , beauty
iva: like
uttamam (acc. sg.): mfn. uppermost, best
jaraa = nom. sg. f. jaras: the becoming old , decay , old age

SAUNDARANANDA 9.17: Seeking Corroboration in the Vedas

kva kaarta-viiryasya bal'-aabhimaaninaH
sahasra-baahor balam arjunasya tat
cakarta baahuun yudhi yasya bhaargavo
mahaanti shRNgaaNy ashanir girer iva

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9.17
Where is the power of the son of Krta-virya,
thousand-armed Arjuna,

Who fancied himself to be so strong?

'Scion of the Bhrgus' Bhargava
severed his arms in battle

Like a thunderbolt
lopping off the lofty horns of a mountain.

COMMENT:
The striver here is doing what Nanda did in Canto 7 (see verses 7.24 to 7.46), i.e., seeking corroboration for his thesis in ancient Indian myths.

In this he is somewhat like a modern-day member of the academic priesthood who is versed in the methodology of citing the papers of other academics, regardless of whether the research of the other academic has got any real merit.

The thesis for which Nanda seeks corroboration in the vedas is that he is too weak to resist Sundari's pull: Hordes of gods, kings, and seers such as these have fallen by dint of desire into the thrall of women. / Being weak in understanding and inner strength, all the more discouraged, when I do not see my beloved, am I. [7.46]

Subsequent events recorded in Canto 17 show that Nanda's pessimistic thesis, though it seemed to find corroboration in the vedas, was not in fact true. It was a false conception.

The striver's thesis is that Nanda is wrong to take pride in his strength, and he finds support for this thesis in the myth that the mighty warrior Arjuna was defeated in battle by the brahmin Rama -- whose history is said to typify the class war between kshatriya warriors and brahmins. And the fundamental weakness in this thesis of the striver, as I see it and have stated several times already, is that Nanda shows no evidence of taking pride in his strength. Nanda's problem is that he feels he is too weak.

The striver might be likened to one of those research scientists commissioned by the tobacco industry to investigate the health effects of smoking. Their thesis was that the case against tobacco was not proven, and they would cite various academic papers, apparently ticking all the boxes of a bona fide scientist, to support a thesis that plainly flew in the face of the facts.

The striver sounds like a Buddhist and an educated Buddhist to boot. With his knowledge of the vedas, he sounds as if he knows what he is talking about. But if one stops and considers what the striver is actually saying, it does not add up at all. His whole analysis is based on a false assumption.

In the field of Buddhist studies, again, there are academics in whose opinion Ashvaghosha sought to portray the Buddha's teaching as the culmination of the Brahmanical tradition. But the actual fact, to anyone who has his own eyes, is totally contrary to this academic opinion. Ashvaghosha describes Nanda and the striver turning to the vedas for corroboration of ideas that are patently false.

Ashvaghosha is not a moralizer, at least not directly, but if we want to seek morals implicit in this part they might be: (1) don't rely on the vedas, and (2) don't judge a person by his uniform, even if it is a Buddhist uniform.

The lifeblood of the buddha-ancestors has to do with sitting. It has to do with an attitude in sitting. Or rather it has not to do with bringing any attitude to sitting. What it is nobody can say. But we can be clear what it is not. And so Ashvaghosha gives us the character of the striver, who harks back to snobbish, caste-ridden Brahmanist conceptions and tells Nanda who feels himself to be too weak that he must not take pride in strength. Whatever the lifeblood is, it is not that.


EH Johnston:
Where is the strength of the son of Krtavirya, the thousand-armed Arjuna, who boasted of his strength? The Bhargava seer lopped of his arms in battle, as the leyin brand lops the huge peaks of a mountain.

Linda Covill:
Where is the might of thousand-armed Arjuna Karta-virya, so proud of his power? Bhargava cut off his arms in battle as a thunderbolt cuts off a mountain's giant peaks.


VOCABULARY:
kva: ind. where
kaarta-viiryasya (gen. sg.): m. " son of kRta-viirya " , Kaarta-viirya, N. of arjuna (a prince of the haihayas , killed by parashu-raama)
bal'-aabhimaaninaH (gen. sg. m.): imagining himself to be powerful
bala: n. strength, power
abhimaanin: mfn. thinking of one's self , proud , self-conceited; (ifc.) imagining one's self to be or to possess , laying claim to , arrogating to one's self

sahasra-baahoH (gen. sg. m.): thousand-armed
sahasra: a thousand
baahu: m. the arm
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength, power
arjunasya (gen. sg.): m. Arjuna ; name of the third of the paaNDava princes
tat (nom. sg. n.): that

cakarta = 3rd pers. sg. kRt: to cut, cut off
baahuun (acc. pl.): m. arms
yudhi = loc. sg. yudh: f. war , fight , combat , struggle , contest
yasya (gen. sg.): of whom
bhaargavaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. relating to or coming from bhRgu; N. of parashu-raama: m. " rama with the axe " , N. of one of the three raamas (son of jamad-agni and sixth avataara of viShNu , he was a typical Brahman and his history typifies the contests between the brahmans and kShatriyas)

mahaanti (acc. pl. n.): mfn. great, large
shRNgaaNi (acc. pl.): n. the horn of an animal ; the top or summit of a mountain , a peak , crag
ashaniH (nom. sg.): f. the thunderbolt , a flash of lightning ; the tip of a missile
gireH (gen. sg.): m. a mountain
iva: like

SAUNDARANANDA 9.16: Nearly Sounding Like Buddha

tad evam aajNaaya shariiram aaturaM
balaanvito' sm' iiti na mantum arhasi
asaaram asvantam anishcitaM jagaj
jagaty anitye balam avyavasthitaM

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

9.16
So see a body as ailing

And do not think "I am possessed of strength."

The world is insubstantial, inauspicious, uncertain,

And in an impermanent world power is undependable.

COMMENT:
The striver was doing so well in this verse in his effort to parrot the Buddha's teaching... until he got to the penultimate word. Then he wrote balam. I think he would have more truly written jagat:

jagaty anitye jagad avyavasthitaM

"In an impermanent world the world is undependable."

That's for damn sure. The value of your investments can go down as well as up.

With fear rather than greed currently in the ascendancy among workers of the developed world, inflationary pressure from wages is low, enabling central banks to keep printing money without fear of fuelling inflation. In that situation, financial bubbles are liable to inflate and burst, in which circumstances some people will make a lot of money and some people will lose a lot.

In this situation, here is some investment advice direct from the Buddha's mouth: "Don't be greedy."

I heard a good joke apparently told by investment guru Warren Buffet (who, speaking of making money from bubbles, wisely bought a whole lot of silver when the price of silver was much lower than it is now). A successful gold prospector arrives at the gates of heaven only to be told by St. Peter that the quota of gold miners is full. The prospector calls out to a group of miners who have already got beyond the gate, "Gold has just been found in hell!" The miners all rush out, bound for hell. "OK," says St. Peter, "there is room now for you to come in." "No, thanks," says the old prospector, "I think I'll go and check out those hell rumours."

In an undependable world what, besides our human fear and greed, and besides the unreliability of the world itself, might be dependable?

The answer to this question, which Ashvaghosha as I hear him is nudging us towards, is strength itself, real power. The kind of strength or power that the striver is negating is muscular strength or worldly power. But what is really strong and dependable might be power of a different order.

That is to say, what is strong and dependable might be (1) the power of reasoning, the power of 2 + 2, which always equals 4, the power of "you cannot do an undoing"; (2) the power of balance, including balance of the autonomic nervous system ; (3) the strength to carry on, the power of working to a means-whereby principle and staying with a process; (4) the power of the sitting practice one who is awake, in other words, the power of the dharma of a buddha.

As Eric Clapton memorably sang on 461 Ocean Boulevard, sounding (unlike the striver) like he really meant it:

Dear Lord
Give me strength
To carry on...

Yes, please give me the strength of spirit to carry on with the practice of true yoga.

(And at the same time, please give me the power of reason by which to know, in an impermanent world, how many beans make five; along with the power of balance by which to ward off the faults of fear and greed.)

EH Johnston:
Therefore recognise the body to be diseased and do not consider yourself to be possessed of strength. The world is without substance or certainty and goes to an evil end ; since this world is transitory, strength is not durable.

Linda Covill:
So, observing that your body is diseased, do not imagine that you are replete with bodily well-being. The world is without substance, uncertain, and bodes ill; and since it is impermanent, the physical realm is unreliable.

VOCABULARY:
tad: ind. so, therefore
evam: ind. thus (sometimes evam is merely an expletive)
aajNaaya = abs. aa- √ jNaa: to mind , perceive , notice , understand
shariiram (acc. sg.): n. the body
aaturam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. suffering , sick (in body or mind) ; diseased

bal'-aanvitaH: mfn. possessed of power , powerful , strong
asmi = 1st pers. sg. as: to be
iti: "...," thus
na: not
mantum = infinitive man: to think
arhasi = 2nd pers. sg. arh: ought

asaaram (nom. sg. n.): mfn. sapless , without strength or value , without vigour , spoiled , unfit , unprofitable
asvantam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. ending ill , having an unfavourable issue
svanta: mfn. having a good end , terminating well ; auspicious , fortunate
anishcitam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. unascertained , not certain
nishcita: mfn. ascertained , determined , settled , decided
jagat (nom. sg.): n. that which moves or is alive , men and animals; n. the world

jagati (loc. sg.): n. the world
anitye (loc. sg. n.): mfn. impermanent
balam (nom. sg.): n. strength
avyavasthitam (nom. sg. n.): unsettled, uncertain
vy-avasthita: mfn. placed in order ; settled , established , fixed ; constant, unchanging