वह्नेरुष्णतरः शैलादपि कष्टतरक्रमः । वज्रादपि दृढो ब्रह्मन् दुर्निग्रहमनोग्रहः ॥ २१ ॥
vahnēruṣṇataraḥ śailādapi kaṣṭatarakramaḥ | vajrādapi dṛḍhō brahman durnigrahamanōgrahaḥ || 21 ||
Translation
Hotter than fire, harder to cross than a mountain, firmer than a diamond, brahmin, is the grip of the mind, so hard to restrain.
Word by word
- vahnēr
- (vahneḥ) than fire
- uṣṇataraḥ
- hotter
- śailād
- (śailāt) than a mountain
- api
- even
- kaṣṭatara
- harder
- kramaḥ
- to cross
- vajrād
- (vajrāt) than a diamond
- dṛḍhō
- (dṛḍhaḥ) firmer
- brahman
- brahmin
- durnigraha
- so hard to restrain
- manō
- (manaḥ) of the mind
- grahaḥ
- the grip
Meaning
The litany ends with a verse of three comparisons. The mind is hotter than fire, for fire burns only what it touches; harder to get over than a mountain; firmer than vajra, diamond or thunderbolt. Its graha, its "grip", is durnigraha, "hard to restrain". Graha also means a planet or demon that possesses a person: the mind is a possession. The previous verse said that this mind is unreal under inquiry; this verse says how real it feels until then. Both are true, and the reader is asked to hold them together: the difficulty is real, and so is the way out.