Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Janaka asks (अध्याय १) / 1.15
1.15
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
निःसङ्गो निष्क्रियोऽसि त्वं स्वप्रकाशो निरञ्जनः ।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धः समाधिमनुतिष्ठसि niḥsaṅgo niṣkriyo 'si tvaṃ svaprakāśo nirañjanaḥ |
ayam eva hi te bandhaḥ samādhim anutiṣṭhasi
The line
You are without attachment, without action, self luminous, without stain. This alone is your bond: you keep practicing absorption.
नेपालीमा
तिमी निःसङ्ग, निष्क्रिय, आफैँ प्रकाश, दागरहित छौ। यही नै तिम्रो बन्धन हो, कि तिमी समाधिको अभ्यास गरिरहन्छौ।
Where it sits
Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) is still speaking. Absorption is named here as the bond, not as a task.
Split: niḥsaṅgaḥ (निःसङ्गः) + niṣkriyaḥ (निष्क्रियः) + asi (असि) + tvam (त्वम्) + svaprakāśaḥ (स्वप्रकाशः) + nirañjanaḥ (निरञ्जनः) + ayam (अयम्) + eva (एव) + hi (हि) + te (ते) + bandhaḥ (बन्धः) + samādhim (समाधिम्) + anutiṣṭhasi (अनुतिष्ठसि)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| niḥsaṅgaḥ (निःसङ्गः) | nominative singular, masculine | without attachment. Recited niḥsaṅgo (निःसङ्गो) before niṣkriyaḥ (निष्क्रियः). |
| niṣkriyaḥ (निष्क्रियः) | nominative singular, masculine | without action. Recited niṣkriyo (निष्क्रियो) before asi (असि). |
| asi (असि) | present second person singular | you are. |
| tvam (त्वम्) | nominative singular | you. |
| svaprakāśaḥ (स्वप्रकाशः) | nominative singular, masculine | self luminous. sva (स्व) is one's own. prakāśa (प्रकाश) is light. Recited svaprakāśo (स्वप्रकाशो) before nirañjanaḥ (निरञ्जनः). |
| nirañjanaḥ (निरञ्जनः) | nominative singular, masculine | without stain. |
| ayam (अयम्) | nominative singular, masculine | this. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | alone. |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for. |
| te (ते) | genitive singular | your. |
| bandhaḥ (बन्धः) | nominative singular, masculine | bond. |
| samādhim (समाधिम्) | accusative singular, masculine | absorption, a collected state. |
| anutiṣṭhasi (अनुतिष्ठसि) | present second person singular | you practice, you keep to. anu (अनु) plus sthā (स्था). |
The phrases
asi (असि) takes niḥsaṅgaḥ (निःसङ्गः), niṣkriyaḥ (निष्क्रियः), svaprakāśaḥ (स्वप्रकाशः), and nirañjanaḥ (निरञ्जनः), with tvam (त्वम्) as subject. ayam (अयम्) is bandhaḥ (बन्धः). The content of the bond is the clause samādhim anutiṣṭhasi (समाधिमनुतिष्ठसि).
Sanskrit in this line
niṣkriyaḥ (निष्क्रियः) plus asi is niṣkriyo (निष्क्रियो) 'si. The visarga of bandhaḥ (बन्धः) stays, because the half ends. samādhim (समाधिम्) plus anutiṣṭhasi (अनुतिष्ठसि) joins m to the vowel.
Say it back
What does the line call the bond?