Shloka 44

परिव्राजक-आचारः (Conduct of the Wandering Renunciant) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 269

Devanagari script

एषैव निष्ठा सर्वत्र यत्‌ तदस्ति च नास्ति च । एतदन्त च मध्यं च सच्चासच्च विजानतः

Transliteration

eṣaiva niṣṭhā sarvatra yat tad asti ca nāsti ca | etad antaṁ ca madhyaṁ ca saccāsacca vijānataḥ ||

Translation

迦毗罗说：“此乃教法处处所安立之定论：凡所显现者，于其显现之时，权作有；然就最高智之立场，则被遮遣，故成无。对于能辨真实与非真实之知者而言，梵（Brahman）——就显现而言被言说为兼具‘有’与‘无’之性——乃此世界之始、中、终。”

Word by Word

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• निष्ठा: final doctrine/settled conclusion
• निष्ठा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निष्ठा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वत्र: everywhere/in all cases
• सर्वत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वत्र

• यत्: that which
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• अस्ति: is/exists
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

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

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अस्ति: is/exists
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

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

• एतत्: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• अन्तः: end
• अन्तः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• मध्यम्: middle
• मध्यम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

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

• सत्: being/real
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: सत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

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

• असत्: non-being/unreal
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: असत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• विजानतः: of (one) knowing/discerning
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + ज्ञा
• Form: Present active participle, Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kapila
• Brahman (implied as the principle described as beginning/middle/end)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse states a pan-śāstric conclusion: the world is experienced as existent while it appears, but from the standpoint of highest knowledge it is sublated; the wise discern the interplay of sat/asat and recognize Brahman as the ultimate ground—spoken of as the beginning, middle, and end of the cosmos.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse, Kapila instructs on liberation-oriented knowledge, emphasizing how a knower interprets worldly phenomena: valid for experience, yet not ultimately real, with Brahman as the underlying reality to be realized.