भोक्ता तृप्यति नाऽभोक्ता गन्ता गच्छति नाऽगतिः । वक्ता वक्ति न चाऽवक्ता पौरुषं सफलं नृणाम् ॥ १७ ॥
bhōktā tṛpyati nā’bhōktā gantā gacchati nā’gatiḥ | vaktā vakti na cā’vaktā pauruṣaṁ saphalaṁ nṛṇām || 17 ||
Translation
He who eats is satisfied, not he who does not eat. He who walks gets there, not he who does not walk. He who speaks says something, not he who does not speak. Human effort bears fruit.
Word by word
- bhōktā
- he who eats
- tṛpyati
- is satisfied
- na
- not
- abhōktā
- he who does not eat
- gantā
- he who walks
- gacchati
- gets there
- agatiḥ
- he who does not walk
- vaktā
- he who speaks
- vakti
- says something
- ca
- and
- avaktā
- he who does not speak
- pauruṣaṁ
- effort
- saphalaṁ
- bears fruit
- nṛṇām
- human
Meaning
Perhaps the plainest verse in the whole teaching, and it needs no commentary. Three pairs: eating and hunger, walking and staying, speaking and silence. In each the result belongs to the one who acts, without exception, and no one has ever seen it otherwise. The commentary spells it out only to draw the conclusion: effort bears fruit and fate does not. The verse's simplicity is the argument. The great questions about destiny are answered from the dinner table. Whoever has been sitting with a hunger of the spirit, wondering why it is not fed, might start here.