दुष्कृते क्षयमापन्ने परमार्थविचारणे । काकतालीययोगेन बुद्धिर्जन्तोः प्रवर्तते ॥ ३२ ॥
duṣkṛtē kṣayamāpannē paramārthavicāraṇē | kākatālīyayōgēna buddhirjantōḥ pravartatē || 32 ||
Translation
when a person's evil deeds are worn away, then, as by the chance of the crow and the palm fruit, the mind turns to inquiry into the supreme.
Word by word
- duṣkṛtē
- evil deeds
- kṣayam
- worn away
- āpannē
- when ... are
- paramārtha
- into the supreme
- vicāraṇē
- to inquiry
- kākatālīya
- of the crow and the palm fruit
- yōgēna
- by the chance
- buddhir
- (buddhiḥ) the mind
- jantōḥ
- a person's
- pravartatē
- turns
Meaning
This is the doctrinal centre of the passage. Works do not produce knowledge. They wear away duṣkṛta, what obstructs it. The crow settles on a branch and a palm fruit falls: the proverb, kāka-tālīya, is about two things that coincide. The commentary says that the means come together by such a meeting, and concludes that the rise of inquiry, which leads to the wish to know Brahman, is rare. Anyone who has begun to ask these questions in earnest may therefore reflect on how much had to fall into place first.