Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Janaka asks (अध्याय १) / 1.7
1.7
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
एको द्रष्टासि सर्वस्य मुक्तप्रायोऽसि सर्वदा ।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धो द्रष्टारं पश्यसीतरम् eko draṣṭāsi sarvasya muktaprāyo 'si sarvadā |
ayam eva hi te bandho draṣṭāraṃ paśyasītaram
The line
You are the one seer of all. You are nearly free, always. This alone is your bond: you see the seer as another.
नेपालीमा
तिमी एक छौ, सबैका द्रष्टा छौ, सधैँ लगभग मुक्त छौ। यही नै तिम्रो बन्धन हो, कि अर्को द्रष्टा देख्छौ।
Where it sits
Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) is still speaking. The bond is named after the claim that one is already nearly free.
Split: ekaḥ (एकः) + draṣṭā (द्रष्टा) + asi (असि) + sarvasya (सर्वस्य) + muktaprāyaḥ (मुक्तप्रायः) + asi (असि) + sarvadā (सर्वदा) + ayam (अयम्) + eva (एव) + hi (हि) + te (ते) + bandhaḥ (बन्धः) + draṣṭāram (द्रष्टारम्) + paśyasi (पश्यसि) + itaram (इतरम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| ekaḥ (एकः) | nominative singular, masculine | one. Recited eko (एको) before draṣṭā (द्रष्टा). |
| draṣṭā (द्रष्टा) | nominative singular, masculine | the seer. |
| asi (असि) | present second person singular | you are. |
| sarvasya (सर्वस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | of all. |
| muktaprāyaḥ (मुक्तप्रायः) | nominative singular, masculine | nearly free. prāya (प्राय) is the greater part. Recited muktaprāyo (मुक्तप्रायो) before asi (असि). |
| asi (असि) | present second person singular | you are. |
| sarvadā (सर्वदा) | indeclinable | always. |
| ayam (अयम्) | nominative singular, masculine | this. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | alone, indeed. |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for, indeed. |
| te (ते) | genitive singular | your. |
| bandhaḥ (बन्धः) | nominative singular, masculine | bond. Recited bandho (बन्धो) before draṣṭāram (द्रष्टारम्). |
| draṣṭāram (द्रष्टारम्) | accusative singular, masculine | the seer. |
| paśyasi (पश्यसि) | present second person singular | you see. From dṛś (दृश्). |
| itaram (इतरम्) | accusative singular, masculine | another. Agrees with draṣṭāram (द्रष्टारम्). |
The phrases
ekaḥ (एकः) and draṣṭā (द्रष्टा) are predicates of the first asi (असि), and sarvasya (सर्वस्य) depends on draṣṭā (द्रष्टा). muktaprāyaḥ (मुक्तप्रायः) is the predicate of the second asi (असि). ayam (अयम्) is bandhaḥ (बन्धः). paśyasi (पश्यसि) takes both draṣṭāram (द्रष्टारम्) and itaram (इतरम्).
Sanskrit in this line
ekaḥ (एकः) before a voiced consonant is eko. draṣṭā (द्रष्टा) plus asi is draṣṭāsi (द्रष्टासि). muktaprāyaḥ (मुक्तप्रायः) plus asi is muktaprāyo (मुक्तप्रायो) 'si. paśyasi (पश्यसि) plus itaram is paśyasītaram (पश्यसीतरम्).
Say it back
What does the line call the bond?