श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । तस्मात्प्राक्पौरुषाद्दैवं नाऽन्यत्तत्प्रोज्झ्य दूरतः । साधुसङ्गमसच्छास्त्रैर्जीवमुत्तारयेद् बलात् ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | tasmātprākpauruṣāddaivaṁ nā’nyattatprōjjhya dūrataḥ | sādhusaṅgamasacchāstrairjīvamuttārayēd balāt || 1 ||
Translation
Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: So fate is nothing other than one's own past effort. Cast it far away, and by the company of the good and by true scripture raise your soul, by force.
Word by word
- śrīvasiṣṭha
- Śrī Vasiṣṭha
- uvāca
- said
- tasmāt
- so
- prāk
- past
- pauruṣād
- (pauruṣāt) than effort
- daivaṁ
- fate
- na
- nothing
- anyat
- other
- tat
- it
- prōjjhya
- casting away
- dūrataḥ
- far
- sādhu
- of the good
- saṅgama
- by the company
- sacchāstrair
- (sac-chāstraiḥ) and by true scripture
- jīvam
- the soul
- uttārayēd
- (uttārayet) one should raise
- balāt
- by force
Meaning
The assembly has returned at dawn and Vasiṣṭha goes straight on. The last sarga proved that what is called fate (daiva) is only one's own past action; now he draws the conclusion. If fate is past effort (prāk-pauruṣa), then it is no power standing over us, and the thought "I am in the hands of fate" can be thrown out "from afar" (dūrataḥ), without first arguing with it at length. The commentary gives the thought to be cast away in plain words: "I depend on fate; I am not free." Two supports are named, the company of the good (sādhu-saṅgama) and true scripture (sac-chāstra), and the raising is to be done "by force" (balāt). The word is strong on purpose. No one drifts out of the ocean of saṁsāra. The verse asks the reader to notice the sentence "this is just how I am, this is my lot" when it next arises, and to treat it as a thing to be put down, not a fact to be accepted.