−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Sālā)
itthaṁ
ca rājyaṁ na sukhaṁ na dharmaḥ
pūrve yathā jāta-ghṇā
narendrāḥ |
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
vayaḥ-prakarṣe
'parihārya-duḥkhe rājyāni muktvā
vanam-eva jagmuḥ || 9.42
9.42
No comfort, then, is
kingship, nor inabdicable dharma –
So that ancient kings
who felt disgust,
As the drag of getting old brought forth inevitable suffering,
Ceded their kingdoms
and retired nowhere else but to the forest.
COMMENT:
Today's verse, for a
start, gives us a bit more insight into what the buddha-to-be meant
by the Sanskrit word dharma, as a masculine noun, at least in certain
contexts. The first definition of dharma given in the MW dictionary
is “that which is established or
firm.” So the sense of a law which is unassailable or inviolable,
or of a duty which is not abdicable, seems to be inherent in the
original word dharma. This is why I have felt justified in
translating dharmaḥ in the 1st
pāda of today's verse as “inabdicable dharma” – though I am
not looking forward to reading that phrase aloud if and when I get as
far as making an audio recording of this translation.
The
other word in today's verse that strikes me as worthy of comment is
the emphatic eva in vanam-eva, which I have translated as “nowhere
else but to the forest.” The emphasis has the effect of reminding
me, for one, that whether I am sitting in France on the edge of an
area that is designated as a forêt domaniale, “a
national forest,” or sitting in middle England amid a cluster of
houses some of which have trees in their garden, the direction this
sitting is intended to take me in, is nowhere else but back to
nature.
Any
old lumberjack can go and feel at home in the forest. But how to sit
in such a way that the respiratory mechanism is allowed to work as
nature intended – that is more of a challenge.
Sitting
can be like a wooden stake fixed in the ground – like a stake to
which to tie a donkey for 10,000 years. Or sitting can be like a
growing tree, expanding upward and outward in all directions. Opting
for the former might be like being lost in the woods. Vanam-eva in
today's verse, as I read it, is a kind of reminder – insofar as we
have a choice in the matter – to opt for the latter, getting back to the forest.
According to the idea of the philosopher-king (an idea which we think of as rooted in Greek philosophy, but which may also have been current in ancient India), a person proceeds from enlightenment to the seat of government. The bodhisattva in today's verse, as in many verses in the present canto, is expressing his unwavering conviction that the right direction is the opposite direction, away from government of others and back to finding oneself in the forest.
VOCABULARY
ittham:
ind. (fr. id) thus , in this manner
id:
ind. even, just, only ; indeed , assuredly (especially , in
strengthening an antithesis)
ca:
and
rājyam
(nom. sg.): n. royalty , kingship , sovereignty , empire
na:
not
sukham
(nom. sg.): n. ease , easiness , comfort , prosperity , pleasure ,
happiness
na:
not
dharmaḥ
(nom. sg.): m. that which is established or firm , steadfast decree ,
statute , ordinance , law; dharma, duty
pūrve
(loc. sg.): mfn. (declined like a pron. when implying relative
position whether in place or time) being before or in front fore ,
first ; former , prior
yathā:
ind. so that
jāta-ghṛṇāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): feeling disgust
ghṛṇā:
f. a warm feeling towards others , compassion , tenderness ; f.
aversion , contempt ; horror, disgust
narendrāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): indras among men, kings
vayaḥ-prakarṣe
(loc. sg. m.): at the dragging along of age
vayas:
n. vigorous age , youth , prime of life , any period of life , age
prakarṣa:
m. pre-eminence , excellence , superiority , excess , intensity ,
high degree; length of time , duration
pra-
√kṛṣ: to draw or stretch forth , drag along or away
aparihārya-duḥkhe
(loc. sg. n.): inevitable suffering
aparihārya
mfn. not to be avoided , inevitable
rājyāni
(acc. pl.): n. kingship, empire; n. kingdom, realm
muktvā
= abs. muc: to release, let go of
vanam
(acc. sg.): n. the forest
eva:
(emphatic)
jagmuḥ
= 3rd pers. pl. perf. gam: to go
位高爲災宅 慧者所不居
古昔先勝王 見居國多愆
楚毒加衆生 厭患而出家
No comments:
Post a Comment