सा हि स्वेन प्रयत्नेन यस्मिन्नेव निपात्यते । कूले तेनैव वहति यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥ ३४ ॥
sā hi svēna prayatnēna yasminnēva nipātyatē | kūlē tēnaiva vahati yathēcchasi tathā kuru || 34 ||
Translation
It flows along whichever bank it is thrown towards by one's own effort. As you wish, so do.
Word by word
- sā
- it
- hi
- indeed
- svēna
- by one’s own
- prayatnēna
- effort
- yasmin
- whichever
- ēva
- indeed
- nipātyatē
- it is thrown towards
- kūlē
- bank
- tēna
- along that
- vahati
- it flows
- yathā
- as
- icchasi
- you wish
- tathā
- so
- kuru
- do
Meaning
The commentary: by one's own effort the other bank is blocked, and the river runs along the bank it is turned towards. The tendency is not destroyed by effort. It is directed. And the choice is put to Rāma plainly: as you wish, so do. The whole argument about fate and effort in the earlier sargas is behind this short sentence.