अन्तश्चित्तमशक्तस्य शीतातपनिवारणे । को विशेषो महाबुद्धे बालस्योर्वीरुहस्तथा ॥ २८ ॥
antaścittamaśaktasya śītātapanivāraṇē | kō viśēṣō mahābuddhē bālasyōrvīruhastathā || 28 ||
Translation
Wise one, what difference is there between a child and a tree, both unable to ward off cold and heat, though feeling them inwardly in the mind?
Word by word
- antaś
- (antaḥ) inwardly
- cittam
- in the mind
- aśaktasya
- unable
- śīta
- cold
- ātapa
- and heat
- nivāraṇē
- to ward off
- kō
- (kaḥ) what
- viśēṣō
- (viśeṣaḥ) difference
- mahābuddhē
- wise one
- bālasya
- between a child
- urvīruhas
- (urvīruhaḥ) and a tree
- tathā
- both
Meaning
A tree feels cold and heat, the Dwivedi note says, but cannot ward them off or tell anyone. So the child: it feels everything inside, as Dwivedi reads, "inwardly in the mind" (antaścittam), and is helpless against it. The commentary concludes: the child is as dull as a tree. The verse names the particular misery of being unable to act on one's own suffering. The reader who has ever felt helpless knows the tree's condition.