The Song of the Avantī Brāhmaṇa
दु:खस्य हेतुर्यदि देवतास्तु किमात्मनस्तत्र विकारयोस्तत् । यदङ्गमङ्गेन निहन्यते क्वचित् क्रुध्येत कस्मै पुरुष: स्वदेहे ॥ ५१ ॥
Transliteration
duḥkhasya hetur yadi devatās tu kim ātmanas tatra vikārayos tat yad aṅgam aṅgena nihanyate kvacit krudhyeta kasmai puruṣaḥ sva-dehe
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
duḥkhasya — of suffering; hetuḥ — the cause; yadi — if; devatāḥ — the demigods (who rule over the different senses within the body); tu — but; kim — what; ātmanaḥ — for the soul; tatra — in that connection; vikārayoḥ — which pertain to the transformable (senses and their deities); tat — that (acting and being acted upon); yat — when; aṅgam — a limb; aṅgena — by another limb; nihanyate — is hurt; kvacit — ever; krudhyeta — should become angry; kasmai — at whom; puruṣaḥ — the living entity; sva-dehe — within his own body.
Translation
“If you say that the demigods who rule the bodily senses cause suffering, still, how can such suffering apply to the spirit soul? This acting and being acted upon are merely interactions of the changeable senses and their presiding deities. When one limb of the body attacks another, with whom can the person in that body be angry?”