संसारकुहरादस्मान्निर्गन्तव्यं स्वयं बलात् । पौरुषं यत्नमाश्रित्य हरिणेवाऽरिपञ्जरात् ॥ १५ ॥
saṁsārakuharādasmānnirgantavyaṁ svayaṁ balāt | pauruṣaṁ yatnamāśritya hariṇēvā’ripañjarāt || 15 ||
Translation
One must get out of this pit of the world oneself, by force, relying on human effort, as a lion breaks out of the cage of its enemies.
Word by word
- saṁsāra
- of the world
- kuharād
- (kuharāt) the pit
- asmān
- (asmāt) this
- nirgantavyaṁ
- one must get out
- svayaṁ
- oneself
- balāt
- by force
- pauruṣaṁ
- human
- yatnam
- effort
- āśritya
- relying on
- hariṇā
- (hariṇā) a lion
- iva
- as
- ari
- of its enemies
- pañjarāt
- out of the cage
Meaning
The world (saṃsāra) is a pit (kuhara). One must climb out of it oneself (svayam) and by force (balāt), relying on effort, as a lion (hari) breaks out of a cage (pañjara) its enemies have set. The commentary: as Viṣṇu broke out of the cage of illusion cast by the demons, or as a lion caught by men breaks free of its bars. "Oneself" is the important word. No one else can do it. The lion in the cage is still a lion; its strength was never taken away, only forgotten.