Word meanings
- mātrā-sparśāḥ
- contact of the senses with the sense objects
- tu
- indeed
- kaunteya
- Arjun, the son of Kunti
- śīta
- winter
- uṣṇa
- summer
- sukha
- happiness
- duḥkha
- distress
- dāḥ
- give
- āgama
- come
- apāyinaḥ
- go
- anityāḥ
- non-permanent
- tān
- them
- titikṣasva
- tolerate
- bhārata
- descendant of the Bharat
Translations
The contact of the senses with the objects, O son of Kunti, which causes heat and cold, pleasure and pain, has a beginning and an end; they are impermanent; endure them bravely, O Arjuna.
Those external relations that bring cold and heat, pain and happiness come and go; they are not permanent. Endure them bravely, O Prince!
But the contacts of the organs with the objects are the producers of cold and heat, happiness, and sorrow. They have a beginning and an end and are transient. Bear them, O descendant of Bharata.
हे कुन्तीनन्दन! इन्द्रियोंके जो विषय (जड पदार्थ) हैं, वो तो शीत (अनुकूलता) और उष्ण (प्रतिकूलता) - के द्वारा सुख और दुःख देनेवाले हैं तथा आने-जानेवाले और अनित्य हैं। हे भरतवंशोद्भव अर्जुन! उनको तुम सहन करो।Commentary
Cold is pleasant at one time and painful at another. Heat is pleasant in winter but painful in summer. The same object that gives pleasure at one time gives pain at another time. So the sensecontacts that give rise to the sensations of heat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go. Therefore, they are impermanent in nature. The objects come in contact with the senses or the Indriyas, viz., skin, ear, eye, nose, etc., and the sensations are carried by the nerves to the mind which has its seat in the brain.
It is the mind that feels pleasure and pain. One should try to bear patiently heat and cold, pleasure and pain and develop a balanced state of mind. (Cf.V.22)