ततः पक्वकषायेण नूनं विज्ञातवस्तुना । शुभोऽप्यसौ त्वया त्याज्यो वासनौघो निराधिना ॥ ४२ ॥
tataḥ pakvakaṣāyēṇa nūnaṁ vijñātavastunā | śubhō’pyasau tvayā tyājyō vāsanaughō nirādhinā || 42 ||
Translation
Then, when your impurities have ripened and fallen, the truth known and your distress gone, even this flood of good tendencies must be let go by you.
Word by word
- tataḥ
- then
- pakva
- ripened
- kaṣāyēṇa
- your impurities
- nūnaṁ
- surely
- vijñāta
- known
- vastunā
- the truth
- śubhō
- (śubhaḥ) good
- api
- even
- asau
- this
- tvayā
- by you
- tyājyō
- (tyājyaḥ) must be let go
- vāsanā
- of tendencies
- ōghō
- (oghaḥ) flood
- nirādhinā
- your distress gone
Meaning
After all that, the surprise. Even the good is to be let go. The commentary gives the image in kaṣāya: as a cloth cooked in lye loosens its stains, so attachment and the rest loosen, and truth is known. A boat is needed to cross the river. It is not carried up the far bank. Good tendencies are still tendencies, still a form of bondage however golden. But the order is everything. Dropping the good before the bad has gone would leave nothing but the bad. "Then" (tataḥ) is the most important word in the verse.