Shloka 17

Adhyaya 43 — Portents of Death (Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇas) and the Yogin’s Response; Alarka Renounces Kingship

Sanskrit

नग्नं क्षपणकं स्वप्ने हसमानाṃ महाबलम् ।

एकं संविक्ष्य वल्गन्तं विद्याद्मृत्युमुपस्थितम् ॥

Transliteration

nagnaṃ kṣapaṇakaṃ svapne hasamānaṃ mahābalam / ekaṃ saṃvīkṣya valgantaṃ vidyānmṛtyumupasthitam

Translation

หากในความฝัน ผู้ใดเห็นกษปณกะเปลือย (นักบำเพ็ญตบะเปลือย) หัวเราะ—ทรงพลังและเดียวดาย—กระโดดโลดเต้นไปมา พึงรู้ว่า ความตายได้มาถึงแล้ว (อยู่ใกล้).

Word by Word

• नग्नम्: naked
• नग्नम्: विशेषण (to ‘क्षपणकम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नग्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• क्षपणकम्: a shaven ascetic (kṣapaṇaka)
• क्षपणकम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of ‘संविक्ष्य’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षपणक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्वप्ने: in a dream
• स्वप्ने: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वप्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• हसमाणम्: laughing
• हसमाणम्: विशेषण (to ‘क्षपणकम्’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हस् (धातु)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्यय (present middle participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• महाबलम्: very strong
• महाबलम्: विशेषण (to ‘क्षपणकम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + बल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: कर्मधारय (descriptive: ‘great strength’), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• एकम्: one (single)
• एकम्: विशेषण (to ‘क्षपणकम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• संविक्ष्य: having seen/observed
• संविक्ष्य: पूर्वकाल-क्रिया (Gerund; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + वीक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable form); उपसर्ग: सम्-

• वल्गन्तम्: leaping about, prancing
• वल्गन्तम्: विशेषण (to ‘क्षपणकम्’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वल्ग् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विद्यात्: should know
• विद्यात्: क्रिया (Verb/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; अर्थ: ‘should know/recognize’

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of ‘विद्यात्’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उपस्थितम्: arrived, imminent
• उपस्थितम्: विशेषण (to ‘मृत्युम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: उप-

Speakers

• Dialogue-context unspecified in given excerpt

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dream-omen
• Liminal figures (ascetic as portent)
• Death’s nearness

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The startling dream-image is meant to break complacency: worldly coverings fall away, and the ‘alone’ condition hints that one meets death individually—therefore cultivate inner readiness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary didactic material on nimittas; not a Pancalakṣaṇa classification.

What is the esoteric significance?

The naked ascetic can symbolize the stripping of ego and social identity at death; laughter and leaping signify the mind’s uncanny, destabilizing encounter with the threshold between embodied order and dissolution.