Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Janaka asks (अध्याय १) / 1.8
1.8
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
अहं कर्तेत्यहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशितः ।
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखं चर ahaṃ kartety ahaṃmānamahākṛṣṇāhidaṃśitaḥ |
nāhaṃ karteti viśvāsāmṛtaṃ pītvā sukhaṃ cara
The line
Bitten by the great black snake of the conceit that I am the doer, drink the nectar of the trust that I am not the doer, and move at ease.
नेपालीमा
म कर्ता हुँ भन्ने अहंकाररूपी महाकालो सर्पले डसिएका तिमी, म कर्ता होइन भन्ने विश्वासको अमृत पिएर सुखसँग हिँड।
Where it sits
Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) is still speaking. The doer denied in the previous line is now the content of a conceit.
Split: aham (अहम्) + kartā (कर्ता) + iti (इति) + ahaṃmānamahākṛṣṇāhidaṃśitaḥ (अहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशितः) + na (न) + aham (अहम्) + kartā (कर्ता) + iti (इति) + viśvāsāmṛtam (विश्वासामृतम्) + pītvā (पीत्वा) + sukham (सुखम्) + cara (चर)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| aham (अहम्) | nominative singular | I. |
| kartā (कर्ता) | nominative singular, masculine | the doer. |
| iti (इति) | indeclinable | thus. It marks the words just said. |
| ahaṃmānamahākṛṣṇāhidaṃśitaḥ (अहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशितः) | nominative singular, masculine | bitten by the great black snake of the conceit I. Read from the end: daṃśita (दंशित) is bitten, ahi (अहि) a snake, kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) black, mahā (महा) great, ahaṃmāna (अहंमान) the conceit I. |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| aham (अहम्) | nominative singular | I. |
| kartā (कर्ता) | nominative singular, masculine | the doer. |
| iti (इति) | indeclinable | thus. |
| viśvāsāmṛtam (विश्वासामृतम्) | accusative singular, neuter | the nectar of trust. viśvāsa (विश्वास) is trust. amṛta (अमृत) is nectar. |
| pītvā (पीत्वा) | absolutive | having drunk. From pā (पा). |
| sukham (सुखम्) | accusative singular, neuter | at ease. |
| cara (चर) | imperative second person singular | move. From car (चर्). |
The phrases
The first aham kartā iti (अहम् कर्ता इति) is the quote inside the long compound, which is the predicate of the one addressed. The second quote, na aham kartā iti (न अहम् कर्ता इति), names the trust. pītvā (पीत्वा) takes viśvāsāmṛtam (विश्वासामृतम्). cara (चर) is the command, and sukham (सुखम्) is its manner.
Sanskrit in this line
kartā (कर्ता) plus iti is karteti, and iti plus aham is ity aham, so the recital is kartety aham. na plus aham is nāham (नाहम्). kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) plus ahi inside the compound is kṛṣṇāhi (कृष्णाहि).
Say it back
Which sentence is the snake, and which sentence is the nectar?