Shloka 12

Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga

Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

तस्मात्‌ सुनिषछिता: पूर्वे सर्वान्‌ कामांश्व लेभिरे

Transliteration

tasmāt suniśchitāḥ pūrve sarvān kāmāṁś ca lebhire

Translation

Ainsi, les anciens des temps passés, fermes dans leur résolution et d’un discernement limpide, atteignirent tous les buts qu’ils désiraient.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that (cause)
• तस्मात्: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, ablative, singular

• सुनिश्चिताः: well-determined, firmly resolved
• सुनिश्चिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुनिश्चित
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• पूर्वे: the ancients/earlier ones
• पूर्वे: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• कामान्: desires, wished-for objects
• कामान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• लेभिरे: obtained, attained
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ्
• Form: perfect (liṭ), third, plural, ātmanepada

Speaker

चुलाधार उवाच

Characters & Entities

• चुलाधार (Cūlādhāra)
• पूर्वे (the ancients/elders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steady, well-considered resolve (suniścaya) aligned with dharma is presented as the means by which the wise of old successfully attained their legitimate aims; clarity and firmness of judgment lead to fulfillment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Cūlādhāra draws an inference from the preceding discussion: citing the example of the ancients, he concludes that those who were firmly settled in understanding and conduct were able to obtain all they sought.