Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Janaka (अध्याय १४) / 14.1
14.1
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
प्रकृत्या शून्यचित्तो यः प्रमादाद् भावभावनः ।
निद्रितो बोधित इव क्षीणसंस्मरणो हि सः prakṛtyā śūnyacitto yaḥ pramādād bhāvabhāvanaḥ |
nidrito bodhita iva kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇo hi saḥ
The line
He who by nature has an empty mind, and who from heedlessness builds states, is indeed like one asleep and one awakened, his remembering thinned away.
नेपालीमा
जो स्वभावले शून्य चित्तको छ र प्रमादबाट भाव बनाउँछ, ऊ नै निदाएको र ब्युँझेको जस्तै, सम्झना क्षीण भएको मानिस हो।
Where it sits
Janaka speaks. janaka uvāca (उवाच) is printed before the verse and is not numbered. Chapter 14 opens on the one whose mind is empty.
Split: prakṛtyā (प्रकृत्या) + śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) + yaḥ (यः) + pramādāt (प्रमादात्) + bhāvabhāvanaḥ (भावभावनः) + nidritaḥ (निद्रितः) + bodhitaḥ (बोधितः) + iva (इव) + kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇaḥ (क्षीणसंस्मरणः) + hi (हि) + saḥ (सः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| prakṛtyā (प्रकृत्या) | instrumental singular, feminine | by nature. |
| śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) | nominative singular, masculine | one whose mind is empty. Read from cittaḥ (चित्तः). Recited śūnyacitto (शून्यचित्तो) before yaḥ (यः). |
| yaḥ (यः) | nominative singular, masculine | who. |
| pramādāt (प्रमादात्) | ablative singular, masculine | from heedlessness. Recited pramādād (प्रमादाद्) before bhāvabhāvanaḥ (भावभावनः). |
| bhāvabhāvanaḥ (भावभावनः) | nominative singular, masculine | one who builds states. Read from bhāvanaḥ (भावनः). Agrees with yaḥ (यः). |
| nidritaḥ (निद्रितः) | nominative singular, masculine | asleep. Recited nidrito (निद्रितो) before bodhitaḥ (बोधितः). |
| bodhitaḥ (बोधितः) | nominative singular, masculine | awakened. The visarga is dropped before iva (इव). |
| iva (इव) | indeclinable | as if, like. |
| kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇaḥ (क्षीणसंस्मरणः) | nominative singular, masculine | one whose remembering has thinned away. Read from saṃsmaraṇaḥ (संस्मरणः). Recited kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇo (क्षीणसंस्मरणो) before hi (हि). |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | indeed. |
| saḥ (सः) | nominative singular, masculine | he. Correlates with yaḥ (यः). |
The phrases
yaḥ (यः) is śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) prakṛtyā (प्रकृत्या) and bhāvabhāvanaḥ (भावभावनः) pramādāt (प्रमादात्). saḥ (सः) is nidritaḥ (निद्रितः) like bodhitaḥ (बोधितः), and kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇaḥ (क्षीणसंस्मरणः). hi (हि) marks the identification.
Sanskrit in this line
śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) before yaḥ (यः) is śūnyacitto (शून्यचित्तो). pramādāt (प्रमादात्) before bh (भ्) is pramādād (प्रमादाद्). nidritaḥ (निद्रितः) before bodhitaḥ (बोधितः) is nidrito (निद्रितो), and bodhitaḥ (बोधितः) before iva (इव) drops the visarga. kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇaḥ (क्षीणसंस्मरणः) before hi (हि) is kṣīṇasaṃsmaraṇo (क्षीणसंस्मरणो).
Say it back
By what is his mind empty, and from what does he build states?