प्राक्तनश्चैहिकश्चेमौ पुरुषार्थौ फलद्द्रुमौ । संजातौ पुरुषारण्ये जयत्यभ्यधिकस्तयोः ॥ २५ ॥
prāktanaścaihikaścēmau puruṣārthau phaladdrumau | saṁjātau puruṣāraṇyē jayatyabhyadhikastayōḥ || 25 ||
Translation
The past and the present, these two efforts, are fruit-bearing trees grown up in the forest of a person. Of the two, the greater wins.
Word by word
- prāktanaś
- (prāktanaḥ) the past
- ca
- and
- aihikaś
- (aihikaḥ) the present
- imau
- these two
- puruṣārthau
- efforts
- phalad
- (phalad) fruit-bearing
- drumau
- trees
- saṁjātau
- grown up
- puruṣa
- of a person
- araṇyē
- in the forest
- jayaty
- (jayati) wins
- abhyadhikas
- (abhyadhikaḥ) the greater
- tayōḥ
- of the two
Meaning
The two rams now become two trees, and the change of picture adds something. Rams clash in a moment; trees compete slowly, for the same soil and light. Both past and present effort grow in "the forest of man" (puruṣāraṇya), the one life that feeds them both. The commentary reads the victory in terms of the tree: when one is cut at the root and dries up, the other's sprouting is its victory. This tells us how the past is really beaten. One does not fight it head on. One feeds the other tree: what we water grows, and what goes unwatered withers in time. A new habit strengthened daily takes the ground from under the old one.