Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Janaka (अध्याय १२) / 12.1
12.1
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
kāyakṛtyāsahaḥ pūrvaṃ tato vāgvistarāsahaḥ | atha cintāsahas tasmādएvam evāham āsthitaḥ
The line
Formerly unable to bear the work of the body, then the spread of speech, then thought, therefore I am settled just so.
नेपालीमा
पहिले कायको कृत्य, त्यसपछि वाणीको विस्तार, अनि चिन्तन सहन नसक्ने भएकाले म यसरी नै स्थित छु।
Where it sits
Janaka speaks. janaka uvāca (उवाच) is printed before the verse and is not numbered. Chapter 12 opens on this settling, which the chapter repeats.
Split: kāyakṛtyāsahaḥ (कायकृत्यासहः) + pūrvam (पूर्वम्) + tataḥ (ततः) + vāgvistarāsahaḥ (वाग्विस्तरासहः) + atha (अथ) + cintāsahaḥ (चिन्तासहः) + tasmāt (तस्मात्) + evam (एवम्) + eva (एव) + aham (अहम्) + āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| kāyakṛtyāsahaḥ (कायकृत्यासहः) | nominative singular, masculine | unable to bear the work of the body. Read from asahaḥ (असहः). |
| pūrvam (पूर्वम्) | accusative singular, neuter | formerly. Adverb. |
| tataḥ (ततः) | indeclinable | then. Recited tato (ततो) before vāgvistarāsahaḥ (वाग्विस्तरासहः). |
| vāgvistarāsahaḥ (वाग्विस्तरासहः) | nominative singular, masculine | unable to bear the spread of speech. Read from asahaḥ (असहः). vāc (वाच्) before vistara (विस्तर) is vāg (वाग्). |
| atha (अथ) | indeclinable | then, next. |
| cintāsahaḥ (चिन्तासहः) | nominative singular, masculine | unable to bear thought. Recited cintāsahas (चिन्तासह) before tasmāt (तस्मात्). |
| tasmāt (तस्मात्) | ablative singular, neuter | from that, therefore. Recited tasmād (तस्माद्) before evam (एवम्). |
| evam (एवम्) | indeclinable | thus. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | just. |
| aham (अहम्) | nominative singular | I. |
| āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः) | nominative singular, masculine | settled. Agrees with aham (अहम्). |
The phrases
Three stages in order: pūrvam (पूर्वम्) the body, tataḥ (ततः) speech, atha (अथ) thought, each asahaḥ (असहः) agreeing with aham (अहम्). tasmāt (तस्मात्) gives the ground of evam (एवम्) eva (एव) aham (अहम्) āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः).
Sanskrit in this line
vāc (वाच्) plus vistara (विस्तर) is vāgvistara (वाग्विस्तर). cintāsahaḥ (चिन्तासहः) before t (त्) is cintāsahas (चिन्तासह). tasmāt (तस्मात्) before evam (एवम्) is tasmād (तस्माद्), and this edition keeps the virama: the final consonant does not take the vowel of evam (एवम्). evam (एवम्) plus eva (एव) plus aham (अहम्) plus āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः) is evam (एवम्) evāham (एवाहम्) āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः).
Say it back
What three things, in what order, could he not bear?