Shloka
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः |
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ||२-१४||Transliteration
mātrāsparśāstu kaunteya śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkhadāḥ .
āgamāpāyino.anityāstāṃstitikṣasva bhārata ||2-14||Translations
Dr.S.Sankaranarayan
2.14. O son of Kunti ! But the touches with the matras cause the [feelings of] cold and heat, pleasure and pain; they are of the nature of coming and going and are transient. Forbear them, O Descendent of Bharata !
Shri Purohit Swami
2.14 Those external relations which bring cold and heat, pain and happiness, they come and go; they are not permanent. Endure them bravely, O Prince!
Sri Abhinav Gupta
2.14 Matra etc. But the unwise lament even over those passing situations of cold and heat, pleasure and pain that are created by those touches i.e., the contacts of the sense-objects-referable with the term matra - with the Soul through the door of the sense-organs; but the wise do not do so. Thus says [the Lord]. Or, the passage may be interpreted as : The touches (contacts) of these objects are with the matras, i.e., with the sense-organs, and not directly with the Supreme Self, Coming : birth. Going : destruction, Those situations that have these two you must forbear i.e., put up with.
Sri Ramanuja
2.14 As sound, touch, form, taste and smell with their bases, are the effects of subtle elements (Tanmatras), they are called Matras. The contact with these through the ear and other senses gives rise to feelings of pleasure and pain, in the form of heat and cold, softness and hardness. The words ‘cold and heat’ illustrate other sensations too. Endure these with courage till you have discharged your duties as prescribed by the scriptures. The brave must endure them patiently, as they ‘come and go’. They are transient. When the Karmas, which cause bondage, are destroyed, this ‘coming and going’ will end.
The Lord now explains the purpose of this endurance:
Sri Shankaracharya
2.14 ‘In the case of a man who knows that the Self is eternal, although there is no possibility of delusion concerning the destruction of the Self, still delusion, as of ordinary people, caused by the experience of cold, heat, happiness and sorrow is noticed in him. Delusion arises from being deprived of happiness, and sorrow arises from contact with pain etc.’ apprehending this kind of a talk from Arjuna, the Lord said, ‘But the contacts of the organs,’ etc. Matra-sparsah, the contacts of the organs with objects; are sita-usna-sukha-duhkha-dah, producers of cold, heat, happiness and sorrow. Matrah means those by which are marked off (measured up) sounds etc., i.e. the organs of hearing etc. The sparsah, contacts, of the organs with sound etc. are matra-sparsah. Or, sparsah means those which are contacted, i.e. objects, viz sound etc. Matra-sparsah, the organs and objects, are the producers of cold, heat, happiness and sorrow. Cold sometimes produces pleasure, and sometimes pain. Similarly the nature of heat, too, is unpredictable. On the other hand, happiness and sorrow have definite natures since they do not change. Hence they are mentioned separately from cold and heat. Since they, the organs, the contacts, etc., agamapayinah, have a beginning and an end, are by nature subject to origination and destruction; therefore, they are anityah, transient. Hence, titiksasva, bear; tan, them cold, heart, etc., i.e. do not be happy or sorry with regard to them.
Swami Adidevananda
2.14 The contact of senses with their objects, O Arjuna, gives rise to feelings of cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go, never lasing long. Endure them, O Arjuna.
Swami Gambirananda
2.14 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.
Swami Sivananda
2.14 The contacts of the senses with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end; they are impermanent; endure them bravely, O Arjuna.
Commentaries
Swami Sivananda
2.14 मात्रास्पर्शाः contacts of senses with objects? तु indeed? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya (son of Kunti)? शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः producers of cold and heat? pleasure and pain? आगमापायिनः with beginning and end? अनित्याः impermanent? तान् them? तितिक्षस्व bear (thou)? भारत O Bharata.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)