Real meaning of Dukrunj Karane

Courtesy:http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2006-August/017245.html

The reference to 'DukRnj karaNe' in Sri Sankara's Bhajagovindam  in this  list recently prompted me to make this submission. As has already been  pointed out by one of the members, this expression appears in pANini's  dhAtupATha with reference to the verbal root kR meaning 'to do'. This can be  taken as a reference to the subject of grammar as a whole. The meaning of  the particular line in Bhajagovindam would then be, "Grammar will not save  you when your end comes". Does this mean that Sankara considers the study of  grammar to be useless? That cannot be, because the knowledge of grammar is  essential for understanding the meaning of the SAstras. It means only that  the study of grammar will not save one from samsAra. But why grammar alone?  What about other subjects? Can they save a person from samsAra? Here  'grammar' is 'upalakshaNa' (an indicative word) for all the SAstras,  including even the vedas. The Mundakopanishad says that there are two kinds  of knowledge—the higher (parA vidyA) and the lower (aparA vidyA). The lower  knowledge includes the four Vedas, the science of pronunciation, the code of  rituals, grammar, etymology, metre, and astrology (including astronomy). The  higher knowledge is that by which the Immutable (Brahman) is realized. The  lower knowledge is necessary for all worldly purposes, but it is only the  higher knowledge that will deliver one from the continuous chain of births  and deaths. Sankara says in vivekachUDAmaNi, sloka 61, "The mere study of  all the SAstras is fruitless if the supreme Reality is not known; if the  supreme Reality is known then too the study of the SAstras is of no use  (they are no longer necessary)". This profound truth is what is implied by  the statement  "grammar will not save you". Of course there is also an  exhortation to worship Govinda because devotion is an essential means to  liberation.        The word 'mUDhamate' in the first sloka is generally translated as  'fool'. The meaning of this word is not just 'a person deficient in  intelligence'. The word 'mUDha' is derived from the verb 'muh' which means  'to be deluded'. So the word 'mUDhamate' means 'one who is deluded'. Every  one in this world, including the most brilliant scientists, is deluded by  mAyA, until one realizes the Self. So 'mUDhamate' refers to 'all persons who  have not realized the Self'.     In a later sloka the last line is 'bhAryA bibhyati tasmin kAye'. This is  generally translated as 'even his wife is afraid of his (dead) body'. But  the snag here is that the verb 'bibhyati'  is in the plural (though it looks  like singular because it ends in 'ti' and not 'nti'. 'bibhyati' is the third  person plural of the root 'bhI'. So the word ' bhAryA' is in the plural  (bhAryAH) with the visarga at the end getting dropped because it is followed  by the letter 'bi'. The meaning of the word 'bhAryAH' here is therefore not  'wives' but all those who were supported by him, i.e. all his dependents.      S.N.Sastri