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Shloka 43

Adhyaya 23 — Ashvatara’s Vow for Madalasa and the Bestowal of Musical Science by Sarasvati

Sanskrit

अनादिमध्यानिधनं सदसन्न सदेव यत् ।

एकान्त्वनेकं नाप्येकं भवभेदसमाश्रितम् ॥

Transliteration

anādimadhyanidhanaṃ sadasanna sadeva yat /

ekantvanekaṃ nāpyekaṃ bhavabhedasamāśraitam

Translation

هو الذي لا بدايةَ له ولا وسطَ ولا نهاية؛ وهو وجودٌ ولاوجودٌ ومع ذلك فهو كائنٌ حقًّا؛ وهو في آنٍ واحدٍ واحدٌ وكثير، لا واحدًا فحسب—قائمٌ على تمايزات الوجودِ المتجلّي.

Word by Word
an-ādi-madhya-ni-dhanamwithout beginning, middle, or end
an-ādi-madhya-ni-dhanam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootan (नञ्) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + ni (उपसर्ग) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (ādi+madhya+nidhana) with नञ्-पूर्वपद—‘आदि-मध्य-निधन-रहितम्’ (without beginning, middle, and end)
satbeing; existent
sat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootsat (प्रातिपदिक; from √as ‘to be’)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; here as part of paired expression ‘sat-asat’
asatnon-being; non-existent
asat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootasat (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + sat)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; paired with sat
nanot
na:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-निपात (negative particle)
satexistent
sat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootsat (प्रातिपदिक; from √as)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; with एव
evaindeed; just
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
Formअवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)
yatthat which
yat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootyad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; यद्-शब्दः (relative pronoun) referring to the described Brahman/Principle
ekamone
ekam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rooteka (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
tubut; and yet
tu:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
Formविरोध/अन्वय-निपात (adversative/contrast particle)
anekammany; not-one
anekam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootaneka (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
nanot
na:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-निपात
apieven; also
api:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootapi (अव्यय)
Formसमुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)
ekamone
ekam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rooteka (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
bhava-bheda-samāśritamassociated with distinctions of existence/becoming
bhava-bheda-samāśritam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootbhava (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक) + sam-ā-śrita (कृदन्त; √śri with उपसर्ग sam+ā)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘समाश्रित’ = past passive participle (क्त) of sam-ā-√śri (श्रि) ‘to resort to’; तत्पुरुषः—‘भवभेदं समाश्रितम्’ (resting on/associated with distinctions of becoming)
Speakers
Aśvatara (Nāga) praising Devī/Sarasvatī
Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities
SarasvatīDevī
Shakti Aspects
Devī as Nirguṇa and Saguṇa simultaneously
Key Themes
Advaita and pluralityCosmology (manifestation)Apophatic theologyShaktism

FAQs

Reality cannot be reduced to a simple category: the Goddess is beyond binary oppositions (sat/asat, one/many). Ethically, it encourages humility in metaphysical claims and devotion that transcends rigid conceptual frames.

It is theological-metaphysical teaching embedded in narrative (not a direct sarga/pratisarga account), yet it undergirds cosmology by defining the Absolute from which creation and dissolution proceed.

The paradox points to non-conceptual realization: Devī is the substratum where opposites reconcile; ‘differences of bhava’ arise in her power, not outside her.

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