आयान्ति च न चाऽऽयान्ति प्रयान्ति च न यान्ति च । कुर्वन्त्यपि न कुर्वन्ति न वदन्ति वदन्ति च ॥ ४ ॥
āyānti ca na cā’’yānti prayānti ca na yānti ca | kurvantyapi na kurvanti na vadanti vadanti ca || 4 ||
Translation
They come, and they do not come; they go, and they do not go. Though they act they do not act; they do not speak, and they speak.
Word by word
- āyānti
- they come
- ca
- and
- na
- not
- prayānti
- they go
- yānti
- they go
- kurvanti
- they act
- api
- though
- vadanti
- they speak
Meaning
Both commentaries solve the riddle in the same way: seen by others they come and go, and in their own sight they do not. The first adds a line it gives as śruti: with eyes as if without eyes, with ears as if without ears, with a mind as if without a mind. There are two true descriptions here, from two standpoints. Rāma sees a man walking, and the man knows he is what does not walk. Neither view cancels the other within its own range.