न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा क्वचित् । सुधियस्तुच्छमप्येतद्यन्नयन्ति न रम्यताम् ॥ ७ ॥
na tadasti pṛthivyāṁ vā divi dēvēṣu vā kvacit | sudhiyastucchamapyētadyannayanti na ramyatām || 7 ||
Translation
There is nothing, on earth or in heaven or among the gods anywhere, which the wise, however worthless it is, cannot make delightful.
Word by word
- na
- not
- tad
- (tat) that
- asti
- there is
- pṛthivyāṁ
- on earth
- vā
- or
- divi
- in heaven
- dēvēṣu
- among the gods
- kvacit
- anywhere
- sudhiyas
- (sudhiyaḥ) the wise
- tuccham
- worthless
- api
- however
- ētad
- (etat) it
- yan
- (yat) which
- nayanti
- make
- ramyatām
- delightful
Meaning
A turn to hope, and a compliment to the sages present. The wise (sudhiyaḥ) can make anything lovely. The commentary gives examples of such power: Triśaṅku's curse turned into a lasting heaven, and the death decreed for Śunaḥśepa turned into long life, deeds of Viśvāmitra, who sits in the hall. The point is not magic but transformation: the same thing, seen and handled by a wise mind, becomes different. If so, the burnt world of the next verse need not be thrown away; it might be changed. The reader may remember a person who could make a poor room, a dull task, a bad day, somehow good, and wonder what they knew.