उपेक्षते गतं वस्तु संप्राप्तमनुवर्तते । न क्षुब्धो न च वाऽक्षुब्धो भाति पूर्ण इवाऽर्णवः ॥ ३४ ॥
upēkṣatē gataṁ vastu saṁprāptamanuvartatē | na kṣubdhō na ca vā’kṣubdhō bhāti pūrṇa ivā’rṇavaḥ || 34 ||
Translation
He lets what has gone go, and goes along with what has come. Neither stirred nor unstirring, he shines like the full ocean.
Word by word
- upēkṣatē
- he lets go
- gataṁ
- what has gone
- vastu
- the thing
- saṁprāptam
- what has come
- anuvartatē
- goes along with
- na
- neither
- kṣubdhō
- (kṣubdhaḥ) stirred
- ca
- and
- vā
- nor
- akṣubdhō
- (akṣubdhaḥ) unstirring
- bhāti
- he shines
- pūrṇa
- full
- iva
- like
- arṇavaḥ
- the ocean
Meaning
The commentary draws the comparison from the churning of the ocean. The ocean pays no heed to Lakṣmī, the Kaustubha gem and the other treasures that went out of it, and carries on with the jewels it still holds. It is not stirred so far as to break its shores, and it is not motionless either. So he does not strive after what is gone, and he takes part in what comes. He has not stopped acting; he has stopped being disturbed.