कथञ्च धीरवर्याऽग्नौ पतताऽपि न दह्यते । पावके पारदेनेव रसेन रसशालिना ॥ १३ ॥
kathañca dhīravaryā’gnau patatā’pi na dahyatē | pāvakē pāradēnēva rasēna rasaśālinā || 13 ||
Translation
And how, best of the steadfast, is one not burnt though falling into the fire, as mercury, rich in its essence, is not in the flame?
Word by word
- kathañ
- (katham) how
- ca
- and
- dhīra
- of the steadfast
- varya
- best
- agnau
- into the fire
- patatā
- though falling
- api
- though
- na
- not
- dahyatē
- is burnt
- pāvakē
- in the flame
- pāradēna
- mercury
- iva
- as
- rasēna
- essence
- rasa
- in its essence
- śālinā
- rich
Meaning
Mercury (pārada) in the old alchemy, when properly prepared, could stand in fire without being consumed; its essence (rasa) made it proof against the flame. The commentary: as mercury, rich in its essence, does not burn in fire, so the man adorned with the nectar of knowledge does not burn in the fire of the world; by what means? The word rasa carries the answer: mercury is "the rasa", and the knower is full of a rasa, a taste, a sap, of his own, which the fire cannot reach. The reader may consider that what protects is not distance from the fire but something within that the fire does not touch.