Shloka 2

Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Sanskrit

पापाय वा महाभाग ! वर्जयित्वा तु भारतम् ।

इतः स्वर्गश्च मोक्षश्च मध्यञ्चान्तञ्च गम्यते ॥

Transliteration

pāpāya vā mahābhāga! varjayitvā tu bhāratam / itaḥ svargaś ca mokṣaś ca madhyañ cāntaṃ ca gamyate

Translation

O greatly fortunate one, apart from Bhārata—whether through sin or by some other cause—from there one attains heaven and also liberation (mokṣa), as well as the intermediate aims and the final aim.

Word by Word

• pāpāya: for sin / leading to sin
• pāpāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/dative purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; purpose/recipient sense

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; disjunctive particle (वा)

• mahābhāga: O greatly fortunate one
• mahābhāga: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; karmadhāraya (महान् भागः यस्य) used as address

• varjayitvā: having avoided
• varjayitvā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/gerundial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛj/√varj (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा), indeclinable verbal; prior action

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; emphatic/adversative particle

• bhāratam: Bhārata (India)
• bhāratam: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; name of land

• itaḥ: from here
• itaḥ: Apādāna (अपादान/source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: itaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; ablatival adverb (इतः = from here/from this)

• svargaḥ: heaven
• svargaḥ: Karma (कर्म/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (च)

• mokṣaḥ: liberation
• mokṣaḥ: Karma (कर्म/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• madhyam: the middle state/region
• madhyam: Karma (कर्म/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; here as goal/object

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• antam: the end/final state
• antam: Karma (कर्म/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; here as goal/object

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• gamyate: is attained / is gone to
• gamyate: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Ātmanepada, 3rd Person (प्रथम-पुरुष), Singular; passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोगः)

Speakers

• Krausṭuki continuing his inquiry/statement (as per sequence)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Karma-bhūmi doctrine
• Svarga and Mokṣa
• Human birth as spiritually consequential

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse reinforces Bhārata as the decisive theatre where actions bear fruit leading to the full range of human ends (including mokṣa), implying the urgency of dharmic living in human life.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Doctrinal elaboration embedded in cosmography: still closest to 'Sarga' (world and its functional zones), describing Bhārata’s special soteriological function.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘From here’ (itaḥ) points to embodiment as a launch-point: the human condition, with its tensions and moral polarity, becomes the lever by which consciousness can ascend (svarga) or transcend (mokṣa).