Chapter 1 · Prathamo’dhyāyaḥ (First Chapter)
Verse 41
दुःखाय यन्मे मनसः स्वचित्तायत्ततां विना। ममत्वं गतराज्यस्य राज्याङ्गेष्वखिलेष्वपि ॥ ४१ ॥
duḥkhāya yanmē manasaḥ svacittāyattatāṁ vinā | mamatvaṁ gatarājyasya rājyāṅgēṣvakhilēṣvapi || 41 ||
Translation
'Even though my mind is not under my own control, this sense of ownership in all the constituents of the kingdom—which causes sorrow to my mind—persists, even for one who has lost his kingdom.'
Word by word
- duḥkhāya
- for sorrow, causes sorrow
- yat
- that which
- mē
- my
- manasaḥ
- of the mind
- svacitta
- one's own mind
- āyattatām
- under control
- vinā
- without
- mamatvam
- sense of ownership, attachment
- gatarājyasya
- of one who has lost his kingdom
- rājyāṅgeṣu
- in the constituents of the kingdom (people, treasury, etc.)
- akhileṣu
- in all
- api
- even
Meaning
The king articulates the core of his suffering with great psychological insight. He identifies the problem as mamatva (attachment, 'mine-ness') which persists irrationally even after the object (rājya - kingdom) is lost. He also notes his helplessness—his mind is not under his control (svacittāyattatāṁ vinā), which is the very nature of attachment.