अयःशलाकासदृशाः परस्परमसङ्गिनः । श्लिष्यन्ते केवलं भावा मनःकल्पनया स्वया ॥ ९ ॥
ayaḥśalākāsadṛśāḥ parasparamasaṅginaḥ | śliṣyantē kēvalaṁ bhāvā manaḥkalpanayā svayā || 9 ||
Translation
Like iron rods, things do not cling to one another. They are joined only by the mind's own imagining.
Word by word
- ayaḥ
- iron
- śalākā
- rods
- sadṛśāḥ
- like
- parasparam
- to one another
- asaṅginaḥ
- do not cling
- śliṣyantē
- are joined
- kēvalaṁ
- only
- bhāvā
- (bhāvāḥ) things
- manaḥ
- of the mind
- kalpanayā
- by imagining
- svayā
- its own
Meaning
This is the philosophical heart of the sarga. Iron rods laid side by side touch but do not hold together. So with things: "this is mine", "this will make me happy", "this causes that" are links the mind adds. The commentary explains: the relation of a thing to our pleasure, of a means to its end, is not in the thing but in kalpanā, imagining. Take away the imagining and the world falls apart into separate, neutral pieces, none of which can either bind or free us.