इति तेन नियुक्तोऽहं पित्रा कमलयोनिना । इह राघव तिष्ठामि यावद्भूतपरम्परा ॥ ४३ ॥
iti tēna niyuktō’haṁ pitrā kamalayōninā | iha rāghava tiṣṭhāmi yāvadbhūtaparamparā || 43 ||
Translation
So appointed by my father, the lotus-born, I remain here, Rāghava, for as long as the line of beings lasts.
Word by word
- iti
- so
- tēna
- by that
- niyuktō
- (niyuktaḥ) appointed
- ahaṁ
- I
- pitrā
- father
- kamalayōninā
- the lotus-born
- iha
- here
- rāghava
- Rāghava
- tiṣṭhāmi
- remain
- yāvad
- (yāvat) as long as
- bhūta
- of beings
- paramparā
- the line
Meaning
Rāma's question, how you came to have this, is answered. Vasiṣṭha is not a court priest who happened to learn philosophy, but one sent to stay. Yāvad bhūta-paramparā, as long as the succession of beings continues; the commentary says, as long as there are people fit for it. His stay has no term other than our need. There is something here of the bodhisattva's vow. And it explains the tone he has taken with Rāma all along, the unhurried patience of someone who is in no hurry to leave. The teaching is still here because the appointment has not ended.