Shloka 15

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

Sanskrit

कं वा पश्यामि राजेन्द्र ! प्रधानमिदमावयोः ।

यतः परो हि क्षेत्रज्ञः सङ्घातो हि गुणात्मकः ॥

Transliteration

kaṃ vā paśyāmi rājendra ! pradhānamidamāvayoḥ |

yataḥ paro hi kṣetrajñaḥ saṅghāto hi guṇātmakaḥ ||

Translation

അപ്പോൾ, ഹേ രാജേന്ദ്രാ, ഞാൻ ആരെയാണ് കാണുന്നത്? നമ്മുടെ കാര്യത്തിൽ ഇത് വെറും പ്രധാനം (പ്രകൃതി) മാത്രമാണ്; കാരണം ക്ഷേത്രജ്ഞൻ അതിനെ അതിക്രമിച്ചവൻ, കൂടാതെ സംഘാതം (ദേഹം-മനസ്സിന്റെ സമുച്ചയം) ഗുണങ്ങളാൽ ഘടിതമാണ്.

Word by Word

• कम्: whom? what?
• कम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक-सर्वनाम

• वा: or
• वा: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (particle: or/indeed)

• पश्यामि: I see
• पश्यामि: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• राजेन्द्र: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—राज्ञां इन्द्रः

• प्रधानम्: Pradhāna (primordial nature)
• प्रधानम्: विशेष्य-निर्देश (Predicate/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सांख्य-तत्त्व (Prakṛti)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘this’

• आवयोः: of us two
• आवयोः: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन; ‘of us two’

• यतः: because/from which
• यतः: हेतु (Hetu/Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक/यत्-सम्बन्धी (relative adverb: because/from which)

• परः: distinct, beyond
• परः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्षेत्रज्ञस्य विशेषणम्

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• क्षेत्रज्ञः: the knower of the field (Self)
• क्षेत्रज्ञः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र + ज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक; ज्ञ < √ज्ञा (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—क्षेत्रं जानाति इति (upapada-tatpuruṣa)

• सङ्घातः: the aggregate (body-complex)
• सङ्घातः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्घात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात

• गुणात्मकः: constituted of the guṇas
• गुणात्मकः: विशेष्य-निर्देश (Predicate adjective of सङ्घातः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुण + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—गुणानाम् आत्मकः (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

Speakers

• Teacher (a Brahman/ṛṣi) addressing King Alarka

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Sāṅkhya: Pradhāna and Puruṣa
• Witness consciousness
• Guṇas
• Deconstruction of ‘personhood’

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

What we ordinarily ‘see’ as a person is a guṇa-made assemblage; the true knower is other than this and must be realized as distinct to end bondage.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Philosophical instruction (upadeśa) employing Sāṅkhya terminology; not genealogical/cosmic chronology.

What is the esoteric significance?

The rhetorical ‘whom do I see?’ undermines reification of ego. Seeing only prakṛti’s display while abiding as kṣetrajña is the pivot from saṃsāra to mokṣa.