10-25-2006, 03:11 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+Oct 25 2006, 07:28 AM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ Oct 25 2006, 07:28 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Old age has decayed the body; hair have grayed; teeth have left; with cane one gets to walk; death knocks at the doors; and yet bondage of hopes have not left you? <b>Fire is ahead, and sun behind</b> ; those who sleep with chin done to knees; and those who beg spreading their palms; as well as those who sleep in open below the trees; are even those free from the bondage of hopes!!
I did not understand the part "fire ahead; and sun behind - ठà¤à¥à¤°à¥ वहिठपà¥à¤·à¥à¤ ॠà¤à¤¾à¤¨à¥à¤". For fire ahead, I imagine it indicates - pyre of death awaits ahead? But what does the sun behind mean in that context?
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Literally, the verse describes a bhikshuka living under a tree (Taruthala vaasa). The sun has set behind his back, night is falling, he is facing east warming himself by lighting some firewood. He does not have any possession - not even a plate to hold food - as he has food placed on his palm (Karathala Bhiksha). Even while he sits there with his legs drawn up and chin resting on his knees, with absolutely nothing to call his own, he cannot let go of his desires.
Figurative meaning is that Surya is the cause of health and virility. The Bhikshuka (signifying the reader someday) is bereft of health and virility, and the heydays are bygone, and he is now in a forlorn state looking forward to his physical death. Even in such a state, where everything else has forsaken him, he is unable to give up desires and hankering for the objects, name, fame, and the other mundane things.
I did not understand the part "fire ahead; and sun behind - ठà¤à¥à¤°à¥ वहिठपà¥à¤·à¥à¤ ॠà¤à¤¾à¤¨à¥à¤". For fire ahead, I imagine it indicates - pyre of death awaits ahead? But what does the sun behind mean in that context?
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Literally, the verse describes a bhikshuka living under a tree (Taruthala vaasa). The sun has set behind his back, night is falling, he is facing east warming himself by lighting some firewood. He does not have any possession - not even a plate to hold food - as he has food placed on his palm (Karathala Bhiksha). Even while he sits there with his legs drawn up and chin resting on his knees, with absolutely nothing to call his own, he cannot let go of his desires.
Figurative meaning is that Surya is the cause of health and virility. The Bhikshuka (signifying the reader someday) is bereft of health and virility, and the heydays are bygone, and he is now in a forlorn state looking forward to his physical death. Even in such a state, where everything else has forsaken him, he is unable to give up desires and hankering for the objects, name, fame, and the other mundane things.