तदन्तरेऽन्ये पुरुषास्तेषामन्तस्तथेतरे । संसार इति भान्तीमे कदलीदलपीठवत् ॥ १६ ॥
tadantarē’nyē puruṣāstēṣāmantastathētarē | saṁsāra iti bhāntīmē kadalīdalapīṭhavat || 16 ||
Translation
Within that, other persons; within them, others again: so these shine as the world, like the layers of a plantain stem.
Word by word
- tad
- (tat) that
- antarē
- within
- anyē
- other
- puruṣās
- (puruṣāḥ) persons
- tēṣām
- them
- antas
- (antaḥ) within
- tathā
- so
- itarē
- others again
- saṁsāra
- (saṃsāraḥ) the world
- iti
- as
- bhānti
- shine
- imē
- these
- kadalī
- of a plantain
- dala
- the layers
- pīṭha
- stem
- vat
- like
Meaning
Worlds within worlds. Within one soul's world are other persons, each with its own world, and within theirs, others again. The image is the plantain (kadalī) stem, which is nothing but layer within layer of sheath, with no solid core. The commentary: within the latent impressions, many bodies one inside another, so these beings shine in the world like the skins of a banana stem. The image is precise. Peel the plantain and you find only more sheaths, and finally nothing. So with the world: look for its solid core and there are only further appearances.