Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Aṣṭāvakra (अध्याय १८) / 18.77
18.77
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
ज्ञानाद् गलितकर्मा यो लोकदृष्ट्यापि कर्मकृत् ।
नाप्नोत्यवसरं कर्तुं वक्तुमेव न किञ्चन jñānād galitakarmā yo lokadṛṣṭyāpi karmakṛt |
nāpnoty avasaraṃ kartuṃ vaktum eva na kiñcana
The line
He whose action has dropped away from knowledge, though by people's seeing he is a doer of action, does not find an opening to do, nor even to say, anything.
नेपालीमा
ज्ञानले कर्म खसेको जो लोकको दृष्टिले कर्म गर्ने देखिन्छ, उसले केही गर्न पनि भन्न पनि अवसर पाउँदैन।
Where it sits
Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) is still speaking, and the slow one who still craves is set beside the one whose action has already dropped away.
Split: jñānāt (ज्ञानात्) + galitakarmā (गलितकर्मा) + yaḥ (यः) + lokadṛṣṭyā (लोकदृष्ट्या) + api (अपि) + karmakṛt (कर्मकृत्) + na (न) + āpnoti (आप्नोति) + avasaram (अवसरम्) + kartum (कर्तुम्) + vaktum (वक्तुम्) + eva (एव) + na (न) + kiñcana (किञ्चन)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| jñānāt (ज्ञानात्) | ablative singular, neuter | from knowledge. Recited jñānād (ज्ञानाद्) before g (ग्). |
| galitakarmā (गलितकर्मा) | nominative singular, masculine | one whose action has dropped away. karma (कर्म) is action. galita (गलित) is dropped, melted off. Agrees with yaḥ (यः). |
| yaḥ (यः) | nominative singular, masculine | who. Recited yo (यो) before l (ल्). |
| lokadṛṣṭyā (लोकदृष्ट्या) | instrumental singular, feminine | by the seeing of people. dṛṣṭi (दृष्टि) is seeing. loka (लोक) is people. Joined with api (अपि) as lokadṛṣṭyāpi (लोकदृष्ट्यापि). |
| api (अपि) | indeclinable | even. |
| karmakṛt (कर्मकृत्) | nominative singular, masculine | a doer of action. Agrees with yaḥ (यः). |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. Joined with āpnoti (आप्नोति) as nā (ना). |
| āpnoti (आप्नोति) | present third person singular | finds, obtains. From āp (आप्). Recited āpnoty (आप्नोत्य्) before the vowel. |
| avasaram (अवसरम्) | accusative singular, masculine | an opening, a chance. Object of āpnoti (आप्नोति). |
| kartum (कर्तुम्) | infinitive | to do. |
| vaktum (वक्तुम्) | infinitive | to say. Joined by m (म्) to eva (एव). |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | even. |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| kiñcana (किञ्चन) | accusative singular, neuter | anything. |
The phrases
yaḥ (यः) is galitakarmā (गलितकर्मा) because of jñānāt (ज्ञानात्), and api (अपि) with lokadṛṣṭyā (लोकदृष्ट्या) concedes that people still see him as karmakṛt (कर्मकृत्). na (न) āpnoti (आप्नोति) is the main verb, avasaram (अवसरम्) its object, and kartum (कर्तुम्) plus vaktum (वक्तुम्) eva (एव) say what the opening would have been for. na (न) kiñcana (किञ्चन) is the object of both infinitives.
Sanskrit in this line
jñānāt (ज्ञानात्) before g (ग्) is jñānād (ज्ञानाद्). yaḥ (यः) before l (ल्) is yo (यो). lokadṛṣṭyā (लोकदृष्ट्या) plus api (अपि) is lokadṛṣṭyāpi (लोकदृष्ट्यापि). na (न) plus āpnoti (आप्नोति) is nāpnoti (नाप्नोति), and āpnoti (आप्नोति) plus avasaram (अवसरम्) is āpnoty (आप्नोत्य्) avasaram (अवसरम्). vaktum (वक्तुम्) plus eva (एव) joins m (म्) to e (ए).
Say it back
What opening does the one whose action has dropped away fail to find?