असदेवाऽङ्ग सदिव भाति पृथ्व्यादिवेदनात् । यथा बालस्य वेतालो ना भाति तदवेदनात् ॥ ४५ ॥
asadēvā’ṅga sadiva bhāti pṛthvyādivēdanāt | yathā bālasya vētālō nā bhāti tadavēdanāt || 45 ||
Translation
Unreal, dear one, it shines as if real from the knowing of earth and the rest, as a ghost shines for a child and not for a man, from his not knowing it so.
Word by word
- asad
- (asat) unreal
- ēva
- just
- aṅga
- dear one
- sad
- (sat) real
- iva
- as if
- bhāti
- it shines; does not shine for
- pṛthvī
- of earth
- ādi
- and the rest
- vēdanāt
- from the knowing
- yathā
- as
- bālasya
- for a child
- vētālō
- (vetālaḥ) a ghost
- nā
- a man
- tad
- (tat) it
- avēdanāt
- from not knowing
Meaning
The child sees a ghost in the dark because it believes in ghosts; the grown man, who does not, sees nothing.