विच्छिन्नवासनाजालमूलत्वाद् दुर्लवाकृतिः । व्यायामविरसः कायवृक्षोऽयं न सुखाय मे ॥ १७ ॥
vicchinnavāsanājālamūlatvād durlavākṛtiḥ | vyāyāmavirasaḥ kāyavṛkṣō’yaṁ na sukhāya mē || 17 ||
Translation
hard to cut, its form, for its roots are the spreading net of tendencies, weary with toil: this tree of the body is no joy to me.
Word by word
- vicchinna
- spreading
- vāsanā
- of tendencies
- jāla
- the net
- mūlatvād
- (mūlatvāt) for its roots are
- durlava
- hard to cut
- ākṛtiḥ
- its form
- vyāyāma
- with toil
- virasaḥ
- weary
- kāya
- of the body
- vṛkṣō
- (vṛkṣaḥ) tree
- ayaṁ
- this
- na
- no
- sukhāya
- joy
- mē
- to me
Meaning
The tree's last feature is its roots: the vāsanās, the tendencies laid down by past action, spread out like a net underground. That is why it is "hard to cut" (durlava): one may cut the branches, desires and habits, and the roots send up new shoots. The commentary: because of its many roots in the nets of tendencies it cannot be pulled up, and the long labour of life has made it dry. Then the conclusion of the whole image (verses 12 to 17): "this tree of the body is no joy to me". The reader is pointed below the visible to the roots, where the real work lies.