परं प्राप्य विलीयन्ते सर्वा मननवृत्तयः । कल्पान्तार्कगणासंगात् कुलशैलशिला इव ॥ ९ ॥
paraṁ prāpya vilīyantē sarvā mananavṛttayaḥ | kalpāntārkagaṇāsaṁgāt kulaśailaśilā iva || 9 ||
Translation
On reaching the supreme, all the workings of the thinking mind dissolve, as the rocks of the great mountains dissolve at the touch of the massed suns at the end of an age.
Word by word
- paraṁ
- the supreme
- prāpya
- on reaching
- vilīyantē
- dissolve
- sarvā
- (sarvāḥ) all
- manana
- of the thinking mind
- vṛttayaḥ
- the workings
- kalpānta
- at the end of an age
- arka
- of the suns
- gaṇa
- massed
- āsaṁgāt
- at the touch
- kula
- great
- śaila
- of the mountains
- śilā
- (śilāḥ) the rocks
- iva
- as
Meaning
Not only outer dealings end, says the commentary, but inner ones too. The great fire of the end of an age burns even the mountain ranges. The commentary sets beside this the Upaniṣad's verse: when the highest is seen, the knot of the heart is broken, all doubts are cut, and one's actions wane (Muṇḍaka 2.2.8). Manana-vṛtti here means the workings of the mind in general. Note the verb: they dissolve, vilīyante. They are not fought down. What stands so solid, the mountain range of one's thinking, has no strength against what it meets at last.