A birthday gift for Benjamin - Shloka from Adi Shankara

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

It is good to know that today is Benjamin’s birthday.

Happy Birthday, Ben. Here is an intellectual birthday gift

to you, because I know you would enjoy a gift (challenge)

of this kind . This ‘gift’ is a shloka from Adi Shankara’s

‘Shata-shloki’ (Poem of 100 verses). This is the 35th

shloka in that work.

 

jIvantam jAgrati-iha sva-janam-atha mRtaM svapna-kAle

nirIkshhya

nirvedaM yAty-akasmAn-mRtam-amRtam-amuM vIkshhya harshhaM

prayAti /

smRtvAp-yetasya jantor-nidhanam-asuyutiM bhAshate tena

sAkaM

satyevaM bhAti bhUyo’lpaka-samaya-vashAt satyatA vA

mRshhAtvaM //

 

yAti : (One) is filled with

akasmAt nirvedaM : grief, suddenly,

svapna-kAle : in (one’s) dream,

svajanaM mRtaM nirIkshhya :on seeing the death of a

relation

jAgrati jIvantaM : who lives in (one’s) waking state.

 

atha harshhaM prayAti : So too does one feel happy

amRtaM vIkshhyta : by seeing alive

(svapna-kAle) : (in one’s dream)

amuM mRtaM : one that was dead (in the waking state).

 

smRtvA api : And although one remembers (in the waking

state)

nidhanaM : the death (in dream)

etasya jantoH : of this person

tena sAkaM bhAshhate: (one) converses with him (in the

waking state)

asuyutiM: as if he were alive.

 

(smRtvA api) : And although one remembers in the dream

(nidhanaM) : the death (in the waking state)

(etasya jantoH) : of this person

(tena sAkaM bhAshhate) : (one) converses with him (in the

dream)

(asuyutiM) : as if he were alive.

 

Evam sati : That being so

satyatA : reality

vA mRshhAtvaM : or unreality

bhAti : depends

bhUyaH alpaka-samaya-vashAt : on the length or shortness of

time.

 

Can we look for a better interpretation of this shloka?

 

 

praNAms to all seekers of Truth.

profvk

 

 

 

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Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

Also see the webpages on Paramacharya's Soundaryalahari :

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html