कोऽहं कस्य च संसार इत्यापद्यपि धीमता । चिन्तनीयं प्रयत्नेन सप्रतीकारमात्मना ॥ ३७ ॥
kō’haṁ kasya ca saṁsāra ityāpadyapi dhīmatā | cintanīyaṁ prayatnēna sapratīkāramātmanā || 37 ||
Translation
'Who am I, and whose is this saṁsāra?' The wise should ponder this with effort, by themselves, even in misfortune, together with the means that remedy it.
Word by word
- kō
- (kaḥ) who
- ahaṁ
- am I
- kasya
- whose
- ca
- and
- saṁsāra
- (saṁsāraḥ) is saṁsāra
- iti
- thus
- āpadi
- in misfortune
- api
- even
- dhīmatā
- by the wise
- cintanīyaṁ
- should be pondered
- prayatnēna
- with effort
- sapratīkāram
- together with the remedy
- ātmanā
- by themselves
Meaning
The first question of inquiry is stated before its definition at verse 50. The commentary takes 'even in misfortune' as even while caught in the snares of family and affairs, and the remedy as the practice of hearing the teaching and what follows from it. So the question is not left to idle hours. And it is not to be asked alone: it goes together with the means that turn the asking into release.