Shloka 11

Adhyaya 38 — Dattatreya on Non-Identification (Mamata) and the Path to Liberation

Sanskrit

संसाराध्वपरिश्रान्ता ये तच्छायां समाश्रिताः ।

भ्रान्तिज्ञानसुखाधीनास्तेषामात्यन्तिकं कुतः ॥

Transliteration

saṃsārādhvapariśrāntā ye tacchāyāṃ samāśritāḥ |

bhrāntijñānasukhādhīnāsteṣāmātyantikaṃ kutaḥ ||

Translation

Those who are wearied on the road of saṃsāra and take refuge in that (mere) shade—being dependent on pleasure born of deluded knowledge—how could they attain the absolute, final state (liberation)?

Word by Word

• संसाराध्वपरिश्रान्ताः: wearied on the road of saṃsāra
• संसाराध्वपरिश्रान्ताः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संसार + अध्वन् + परिश्रान्त (प्रातिपदिक; परिश्रान्त < √श्रम् (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—संसाराध्वनि परिश्रान्ताः (locative-tatpuruṣa sense)

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• तत्: of that
• तत्: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘तत्’ = तस्य (genitive)

• छायाम्: shade
• छायाम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छाया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समाश्रिताः: having taken refuge (resorted)
• समाश्रिताः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√श्रि (धातु) → समाश्रित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘having resorted to’

• भ्रान्तिज्ञानसुखाधीनाः: dependent on illusory knowledge and pleasure
• भ्रान्तिज्ञानसुखाधीनाः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रान्ति + ज्ञान + सुख + अधीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—भ्रान्तिज्ञानसुखेषु अधीनाः (locative-tatpuruṣa sense)

• तेषाम्: for them / of them
• तेषाम्: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• आत्यन्तिकम्: ultimate, absolute
• आत्यन्तिकम्: कर्म (Karma/Object; implied)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आत्यन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (elliptic: सुखम्/शान्तिः etc.)

• कुतः: whence? how (could it be)?
• कुतः: प्रश्न (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-निपात (interrogative particle/adverb)

Speakers

• Teacher (a Brahman/ṛṣi) instructing King Alarka (contextual; Alarka speaks explicitly from v.17 onward)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Moksha
• Viveka
• Detachment (vairāgya)
• Critique of pleasure-based life
• Sāṅkhya-Yoga

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Temporary consolations and pleasure grounded in error cannot yield final freedom; liberation requires clear knowledge (viveka) and non-dependence on sense-pleasure.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Not a pancalakṣaṇa topic (sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita) directly; it belongs to upadeśa (didactic philosophical instruction) embedded in the Purāṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

“Shade” symbolizes provisional shelters—ritual merit, social identity, or pleasant experiences—mistaken as the goal; the verse points to the need to seek the ‘sun’ of Self-knowledge rather than its shadows.