श्रीराम उवाच । हार्दान्धकारशर्वर्या तृष्णयेह दुरन्तया । स्फुरन्ति चेतनाकाशे दोषाः कौशिकपङ्क्तयः ॥ १ ॥
śrīrāma uvāca | hārdāndhakāraśarvaryā tṛṣṇayēha durantayā | sphuranti cētanākāśē dōṣāḥ kauśikapaṅktayaḥ || 1 ||
Translation
Śrī Rāma said: In this world, through craving, the endless night of the heart's darkness, the faults flit about in the sky of consciousness like flocks of owls.
Word by word
- śrī
- Śrī
- rāma
- Rāma
- uvāca
- said
- hārda
- of the heart's
- andhakāra
- darkness
- śarvaryā
- the night
- tṛṣṇayā
- through craving
- iha
- in this world
- durantayā
- endless
- sphuranti
- flit about
- cētanā
- of consciousness
- ākāśē
- in the sky
- dōṣāḥ
- the faults
- kauśika
- of owls
- paṅktayaḥ
- like flocks
Meaning
After the ego and the mind, Rāma names the force that drives them both: tṛṣṇā, literally "thirst", craving, the wanting that is never satisfied. It is a night, the darkness of the heart; the commentary explains: the darkness that hides the Self, which is what the heart most loves. And it is "endless" (duranta), hard to bring to an end. In that night the faults, desire, anger and the rest, come out like owls, which fly only in the dark. The image says that faults are not independent enemies to be fought one by one; they are creatures of the night, and the night is craving. Where craving lifts, they have nowhere to fly. The reader may notice when their own owls come out: in the hours when they want most.