सच्छायो देहवृक्षोऽयं जीवपान्थगणास्पदः । कस्याऽऽत्मीयः कस्य पर आस्थानास्थे किलाऽत्र के ॥ ८ ॥
sacchāyō dēhavṛkṣō’yaṁ jīvapānthagaṇāspadaḥ | kasyā’’tmīyaḥ kasya para āsthānāsthē kilā’tra kē || 8 ||
Translation
this tree of the body, with its fair shade, is the resting place of the travellers, the living beings. Whose own is it, whose a stranger's? What trust or distrust can there be in it?
Word by word
- sacchāyō
- (sacchāyaḥ) with its fair shade
- dēha
- of the body
- vṛkṣō
- (vṛkṣaḥ) tree
- ayaṁ
- this
- jīva
- the living beings
- pāntha
- of the travellers
- gaṇa
- of the band
- āspadaḥ
- the resting place
- kasya
- whose
- ātmīyaḥ
- own
- para
- (paraḥ) a stranger's
- āsthā
- trust
- anāsthē
- or distrust
- kila
- indeed
- atra
- in it
- kē
- what
Meaning
A shady tree by the road gives rest to every traveller who passes; it belongs to none of them. The body is such a tree, and the jīvas, living beings, are its travellers. Then the question: whose is it? The commentary: there is no real relation between the body and the self, so to love or hate it is pointless; it belongs to no one, and so what trust or mistrust can there be? The reader may rest in the shade with gratitude, and walk on without claiming the tree.