Shloka 4

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

Sanskrit

मार्जारभक्षिते दुःखं यादृशं गृहकुक्कुटे ।

न तादृङ्ममताशून्ये कलविङ्केऽथ मूषिके ॥

Transliteration

mārjārabhakṣite duḥkhaṃ yādṛśaṃ gṛhakukkuṭe |

na tādṛṅ mamatāśūnye kalaviṅke 'tha mūṣike ||

Translation

La peine éprouvée lorsque le coq d’un maître de maison est mangé par un chat n’est pas ressentie de la même manière pour un moineau ou une souris, car il n’y a envers eux aucun sentiment de « mien ».

Word by Word

• mārjāra-bhakṣite: in/for (one) eaten by a cat
• mārjāra-bhakṣite: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārjāra + √bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (mārjāreṇa bhakṣite = eaten by a cat); कृदन्तः—क्त (PPP) ‘bhakṣita’

• duḥkham: sorrow
• duḥkham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र ‘yādṛśam’ इत्यनेन सह—प्रथमा (the sorrow is such)

• yādṛśam: such as; of what kind
• yādṛśam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yādṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘duḥkham’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• gṛha-kukkuṭe: in the house-rooster
• gṛha-kukkuṭe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha + kukkuṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (gṛhasya kukkuṭaḥ)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• tādṛk: such (as that)
• tādṛk: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tādṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘duḥkham’ इत्यस्य अनुवृत्ति (such [sorrow])

• mamatā-śūnye: in one devoid of ‘mine-ness’
• mamatā-śūnye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mamatā + śūnya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (mamatayā śūnyaḥ = devoid of possessiveness)

• kalaviṅke: in a sparrow/chick-bird (kalaviṅka)
• kalaviṅke: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalaviṅka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• atha: and; then
• atha: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनन्तर-निपात (conjunction/then)

• mūṣike: in a mouse
• mūṣike: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

Speakers

• Jaḍa to Dattātreya

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Attachment as the measure of grief
• Everyday analogy
• Detachment

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Grief is proportional to identification/ownership, not to the bare event. Training the mind away from possessiveness reduces suffering without denying compassion.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

An instructional illustration (upamā) inside narrative; not directly pancalakṣaṇa data.

What is the esoteric significance?

The example exposes a hidden ‘value-assignment’ created by egoic appropriation; liberation involves undoing this superimposition (adhyāsa).