12. Balaṁ
Strength
(5 Verses)
151 [stm.]
Bāhubalañ-ca amaccaṁ, bhogaṁ abhijaccaṁ balaṁ,
imehi catubalehi paññā ve seṭṭhataṁ balaṁ.
Wisdom is the best of strengths, along with these four strengths: the strength of arms and counsel, the strength of riches and high birth.
There are four conventional strengths: physical might (arms), strategic counsel (ministers), material wealth and the social advantage of noble birth. These are the worldly bases of influence and security. However, wisdom is the supreme strength. Unlike the others, which can be lost, misused, or turned against one, wisdom is an inner, imperishable power. It guides the use of all other strengths toward beneficial ends, prevents their misuse, and provides the ultimate security of right understanding.
152 = Ln 118; = Vyāsa-subhāṣita-saṁgraha 90 [stm.]
Balaṁ pakkhīnam-ākāso, Ln: Pakkhīnaṁ balam-ākāso; with same meaning. macchānaṁ udakaṁ balaṁ,
dubbalassa balaṁ rājā, kumārānaṁ rudaṁ balaṁ.
For birds the sky is a strength, for fish water is a strength, for the weak a king is a strength, for children tears are a strength. A better translation might have been support in place of strength, but I do not find this meaning in the dictionaries for bala.
For birds, the open sky is their strength or support, it is the medium that allows them to exercise their power of flight. For fish, water is their strength or support. For a weak person, the protection and authority of a king becomes their strength or support. For a child, tears are a strength or support, as they effectively summon care and aid. Strength here is a skillful tool that enables a being to thrive or achieve its ends within its own sphere of existence.
Vyāsa-subhāṣita-saṁgraha 90
Pakṣīṇāṁ balam ākāśam, matsyānām udakaṁ balam,
durbalyasya balaṁ rājā, bālānāṁ ruditaṁ balam.
153 [stm.]
Balaṁ cando, balaṁ sūro, balaṁ samaṇabrahmaṇā,
balaṁ velaṁ samuddassa, balaṁ ti balam-itthiyā.
The moon is powerful, the sun is powerful, ascetics and Brahmins are powerful, the shore of the ocean is powerful, the strength of women is powerful.
The moon and sun provide the power of light, time and natural order. Ascetics and true Brahmins represent the power of morality, renunciation and spiritual knowledge which is the power to guide society toward righteousness. The shore is the power of the ocean, giving it definition, boundary and the strength of the tide. Finally, the strength of women is itself a formidable power, acknowledging the unique influence, resilience and capacity of women as a fundamental force in the world.
154 = Mhn 90 [stm.]
Sapādānaṁ balī sīho, tato puḷuvako balī,
tato kippilikā, naro, rājā sabbesam-antato.
The lion is strong amongst those with paws, a worm is stronger than that, an ant is stronger than that, a man is stronger than that, a king is stronger than all within the (kingdom’s) limits.
The lion is strongest among pawed animals in its jungle. But a tiny worm is stronger in the sense that it can consume the lion’s corpse, outlasting its physical power. The ant is stronger still due to its collective, relentless industry. A man is stronger than an ant, able to destroy its colonies. And a king is the strongest of all within his realm, as his command governs the lives of all men. Strength is thus contextual: it shifts from individual might, to the power of decay, to social organisation and finally to sovereign authority.
Mhn 90
Sapādānaṁ balī sīho, puḷuvako kipillikā
naro tato balī rājā, sabbesaṁ Antako balī.
The lion is strong amongst those with paws, a man is stronger than a worm or an ant, a king is stronger than that, (but) Death is stronger than all.
155 ≈ Pari 10, last verse [ana., stm.]
Gati migānaṁ pavanaṁ, ākāso pakkhinaṁ gati,
virāgo Parivāra Gāthāsaṅgaṇika, last verse reads: vibhāvo gati dhammānaṁ, with the same meaning. gati dhammānaṁ, Nibbānārahataṁ gati.
The destiny of animals is the forest, the destiny of birds is the sky, the destiny of phenomena is destruction, the destiny of the Arahat is Nibbāna.
Animals are destined for the forest, their realm of survival. Birds are destined for the sky, their element of freedom. All conditioned phenomena have destruction as their inevitable destiny, such is the law of impermanence. In sublime contrast, the destiny of the Arahat, the perfected one, is Nibbāna: the unconditioned, the deathless, the final liberation that is the cessation of all suffering. This verse ascends from physical habitats to the ultimate spiritual goal, framing Nibbāna as the true and final destination.