यथा जानासि भगवन् तथा मोहनिवृत्तये । ब्रूहि मे साधवो येन नूनं निर्दुःखतां गताः ॥ १९ ॥
yathā jānāsi bhagavan tathā mōhanivṛttayē | brūhi mē sādhavō yēna nūnaṁ nirduḥkhatāṁ gatāḥ || 19 ||
Translation
As you know it, lord, so tell it to me, for the ending of delusion: that by which the good have surely become free of sorrow.
Word by word
- yathā
- as
- jānāsi
- you know it
- bhagavan
- lord
- tathā
- so
- mōha
- of delusion
- nivṛttayē
- for the ending
- brūhi
- tell it
- mē
- to me
- sādhavō
- (sādhavaḥ) the good
- yēna
- that by which
- nūnaṁ
- surely
- nirduḥkhatāṁ
- free of sorrow
- gatāḥ
- have become
Meaning
The plea in its simplest form: as you know it (yathā jānāsi), tell me. Rāma does not ask for the teaching in general but for what Vasiṣṭha himself knows, the way by which the good (sādhavaḥ) became free of sorrow (nirduḥkhatā). The commentary reads verses 18 and 19 together: tell me what you know of the means by which many holy people have reached nirvāṇa. The word "surely" (nūnam) shows Rāma's trust that such people exist. The reader may notice the difference between asking for information and asking someone to tell what they know.