प्रयच्छति परं जाड्यं परमालोकरोधिनी । मोहनीहारगहना तृष्णाजलदमालिका ॥ ३३ ॥
prayacchati paraṁ jāḍyaṁ paramālōkarōdhinī | mōhanīhāragahanā tṛṣṇājaladamālikā || 33 ||
Translation
She gives the greatest dullness, blocks the supreme light, thick with the mist of delusion: craving, a bank of clouds.
Word by word
- prayacchati
- she gives
- paraṁ
- the greatest
- jāḍyaṁ
- dullness
- param
- the supreme
- ālōka
- light
- rōdhinī
- blocks
- mōha
- of delusion
- nīhāra
- with the mist
- gahanā
- thick
- tṛṣṇā
- craving
- jalada
- of clouds
- mālikā
- a bank
Meaning
A row of clouds blocks the sun, fills the air with mist and brings a cold, dull heaviness. The commentary works the likeness: craving opposes the light of the Self, it is dense with the mist of delusion, and it gives only jāḍya, dullness, as clouds give cold. Notice "the supreme light" (param ālokam): what craving hides is not just clear thinking but the light of the Self itself. The reader may notice how wanting makes the mind dull, unable to see beyond its object.