व्यवहारसहस्राणि यान्युपायान्ति यान्ति च । यथाशास्त्रं विहर्तव्यं तेषु त्यक्त्वा सुखासुखे ॥ ३० ॥
vyavahārasahasrāṇi yānyupāyānti yānti ca | yathāśāstraṁ vihartavyaṁ tēṣu tyaktvā sukhāsukhē || 30 ||
Translation
Dealings by the thousand come and go. Among them one should move as scripture directs, giving up pleasure and pain.
Word by word
- vyavahāra
- dealings
- sahasrāṇi
- by the thousand
- yāny
- (yāni) which
- upāyānti
- come
- yānti
- go
- ca
- and
- yathāśāstraṁ
- as scripture directs
- vihartavyaṁ
- one should move
- tēṣu
- among them
- tyaktvā
- giving up
- sukha
- pleasure
- asukhē
- and pain
Meaning
After the heights of the debate, the ground of daily life. Business, duties, meetings, troubles: they arrive and leave by the thousand (vyavahāra-sahasrāṇi). Life is not going to stop bringing them, and the verse does not ask us to run from them. It asks for a way of moving among them: by the rule of scripture, without being tossed by the pleasure and pain each one brings. The commentary: gain and loss do happen in them; give up attachment and aversion, and act according to scripture. This is the spirit of the Gītā's teaching on action. Each thing that arrives asks only "what is right here?", and the question "how will this make me feel?" is set down. It brings surprising relief: the day is no longer a series of wins and losses, only a series of things to be done well.