Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 5, Shloka 23 (5.23)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक् शरीरविमोक्षणात्
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः
॥ 5.23 ॥
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṃ prāk śarīravimokṣaṇāt
kāmakrodhodbhavaṃ vegaṃ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
Translation
"One who, right here, before leaving the body, can hold back the surge arising from desire and anger — that one is a yogi, that one is a happy person."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya — "do not trust it until death". prāk … śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt ā maraṇāt — until death; why? Avaśyaṃbhāvi hi kāma-krodhodbhavo vegaḥ ananta-nimittavān hi saḥ iti yāvat maraṇaṃ tāvat na viśrambhaṇīyaḥ — the surge of desire and anger comes from countless causes, so until death do not trust (that it will not come again). His fine description:
- Desire: iṣṭe viṣaye śrūyamāṇe smaryamāṇe vā anubhūte sukha-hetau yā gardhiḥ tṛṣṇā — the craving for an object that causes pleasure, when it is experienced, heard of or remembered.
- Anger: pratikūleṣu duḥkha-hetuṣu … yo dveṣaḥ — aversion towards unfavourable things that cause pain.
- Bodily signs: the surge of desire — romāñcana-prahṛṣṭa-netra-vadanādi-liṅgaḥ (hair standing on end, shining eyes, a beaming face); the surge of anger — gātra-prakampa-prasveda-saṃdaṣṭoṣṭha-puṭa-rakta-netrādi-liṅgaḥ (a trembling body, sweat, bitten lips, red eyes).
Acharya Ramanuja. Śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt prāg iha eva sādhanānuṣṭhāna-daśāyām eva ātmānubhava-prītyā kāma-krodhodbhavaṃ vegaṃ soḍhuṃ niroddhuṃ yaḥ śaknoti — one who, already in the stage of practice, can hold back the surge out of love for the experience of the self; sa yuktaḥ ātmānubhavāya arhaḥ — is fit for the experience of the self; after death ātmānubhava-sukhaḥ saṃpatsyate.
The difference: Shankara — lifelong alertness (the enemy may return at any time); Ramanuja — love of the experience of the self is itself the power that holds back the surge.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.