Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Aṣṭāvakra (अध्याय १७) / 17.18
17.18
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
समाधानासमाधानहिताहितविकल्पनाः ।
शून्यचित्तो न जानाति कैवल्यमिव संस्थितः samādhānāsamādhānahitāhitavikalpanāḥ |
śūnyacitto na jānāti kaivalyam iva saṃsthitaḥ
The line
The empty minded one, abiding as if in aloneness, does not know the imaginings of poise and of its lack, of benefit and of harm.
नेपालीमा
कैवल्यमा रहे जस्तै स्थित शून्य चित्तको मानिसले समाधान र असमाधान, हित र अहितका कल्पना जान्दैन।
Where it sits
Astavakra is still speaking. One compound gathers the imaginings the empty mind does not know.
Split: samādhānāsamādhānahitāhitavikalpanāḥ (समाधानासमाधानहिताहितविकल्पनाः) + śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) + na (न) + jānāti (जानाति) + kaivalyam (कैवल्यम्) + iva (इव) + saṃsthitaḥ (संस्थितः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| samādhānāsamādhānahitāhitavikalpanāḥ (समाधानासमाधानहिताहितविकल्पनाः) | nominative plural, feminine | imaginings of poise and of no poise, of benefit and of harm. |
| śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) | nominative singular, masculine | one whose mind is empty. Recited śūnyacitto (शून्यचित्तो) before n (न्). |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| jānāti (जानाति) | present third person singular | knows. |
| kaivalyam (कैवल्यम्) | accusative singular, neuter | aloneness. |
| iva (इव) | indeclinable | as, as if. |
| saṃsthitaḥ (संस्थितः) | nominative singular, masculine | abiding. Agrees with śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः). |
The phrases
śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) is the subject of na jānāti (जानाति), and the long compound is the object, though it stands in the nominative as the things not known. saṃsthitaḥ (संस्थितः) agrees with śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः). iva compares that abiding to kaivalyam.
Sanskrit in this line
samādhāna (समाधान) asamādhāna (असमाधान) is samādhānāsamādhāna (समाधानासमाधान), and hita ahita joins the same compound. śūnyacittaḥ (शून्यचित्तः) before na is śūnyacitto (शून्यचित्तो).
Say it back
What does the empty minded one not know?