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Shloka 43

Adhyaya 23 — Ashvatara’s Vow for Madalasa and the Bestowal of Musical Science by Sarasvati

Sanskrit

अनादिमध्यानिधनं सदसन्न सदेव यत् ।

एकान्त्वनेकं नाप्येकं भवभेदसमाश्रितम् ॥

Transliteration

anādimadhyanidhanaṃ sadasanna sadeva yat /

ekantvanekaṃ nāpyekaṃ bhavabhedasamāśraitam

Translation

ज्याला न आरंभ, न मध्य, न अंत; जे भाव व अभाव दोन्ही असूनही सत्यतः सत् आहे; जे एक असूनही अनेक, केवळ एकच नाही—व्यक्त अस्तित्वाच्या भेदांवर आधारलेले।

Word by Word
an-ādi-madhya-ni-dhanamwithout beginning, middle, or end
an-ādi-madhya-ni-dhanam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootan (नञ्) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + ni (उपसर्ग) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (ādi+madhya+nidhana) with नञ्-पूर्वपद—‘आदि-मध्य-निधन-रहितम्’ (without beginning, middle, and end)
satbeing; existent
sat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootsat (प्रातिपदिक; from √as ‘to be’)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; here as part of paired expression ‘sat-asat’
asatnon-being; non-existent
asat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootasat (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + sat)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; paired with sat
nanot
na:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-निपात (negative particle)
satexistent
sat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootsat (प्रातिपदिक; from √as)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; with एव
evaindeed; just
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
Formअवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)
yatthat which
yat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootyad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; यद्-शब्दः (relative pronoun) referring to the described Brahman/Principle
ekamone
ekam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rooteka (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
tubut; and yet
tu:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
Formविरोध/अन्वय-निपात (adversative/contrast particle)
anekammany; not-one
anekam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootaneka (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
nanot
na:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-निपात
apieven; also
api:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootapi (अव्यय)
Formसमुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)
ekamone
ekam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rooteka (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
bhava-bheda-samāśritamassociated with distinctions of existence/becoming
bhava-bheda-samāśritam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootbhava (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक) + sam-ā-śrita (कृदन्त; √śri with उपसर्ग sam+ā)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘समाश्रित’ = past passive participle (क्त) of sam-ā-√śri (श्रि) ‘to resort to’; तत्पुरुषः—‘भवभेदं समाश्रितम्’ (resting on/associated with distinctions of becoming)
Speakers
Aśvatara (Nāga) praising Devī/Sarasvatī
Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities
SarasvatīDevī
Shakti Aspects
Devī as Nirguṇa and Saguṇa simultaneously
Key Themes
Advaita and pluralityCosmology (manifestation)Apophatic theologyShaktism

FAQs

Reality cannot be reduced to a simple category: the Goddess is beyond binary oppositions (sat/asat, one/many). Ethically, it encourages humility in metaphysical claims and devotion that transcends rigid conceptual frames.

It is theological-metaphysical teaching embedded in narrative (not a direct sarga/pratisarga account), yet it undergirds cosmology by defining the Absolute from which creation and dissolution proceed.

The paradox points to non-conceptual realization: Devī is the substratum where opposites reconcile; ‘differences of bhava’ arise in her power, not outside her.

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