Aṣṭāvakra Gītā / Aṣṭāvakra (अध्याय १८) / 18.78
18.78
the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (अष्टावक्र गीता)
क्व तमः क्व प्रकाशो वा हानं क्व च न किञ्चन ।
निर्विकारस्य धीरस्य निरातङ्कस्य सर्वदा kva tamaḥ kva prakāśo vā hānaṃ kva ca na kiñcana |
nirvikārasya dhīrasya nirātaṅkasya sarvadā
The line
Where is darkness, or where is light? Where is loss, and where is the saying that there is not anything? For the steady one without change and without alarm, always, they have no place.
नेपालीमा
अन्धकार कहाँ, प्रकाश कहाँ, हानि कहाँ, अनि केही छैन भन्ने कुरा कहाँ? विकाररहित, आतङ्करहित धीरको लागि सधैँ ती कतै छैनन्।
Where it sits
Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) is still speaking, and the one who finds no opening to speak is now the steady one for whom dark and light have no place.
Split: kva (क्व) + tamaḥ (तमः) + kva (क्व) + prakāśaḥ (प्रकाशः) + vā (वा) + hānam (हानम्) + kva (क्व) + ca (च) + na (न) + kiñcana (किञ्चन) + nirvikārasya (निर्विकारस्य) + dhīrasya (धीरस्य) + nirātaṅkasya (निरातङ्कस्य) + sarvadā (सर्वदा)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| kva (क्व) | indeclinable | where? |
| tamaḥ (तमः) | nominative singular, neuter | darkness. |
| kva (क्व) | indeclinable | where? |
| prakāśaḥ (प्रकाशः) | nominative singular, masculine | light. Recited prakāśo (प्रकाशो) before v (व्). |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or. |
| hānam (हानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | loss, decrease. |
| kva (क्व) | indeclinable | where? |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| kiñcana (किञ्चन) | nominative singular, neuter | anything. With na (न), the claim that there is not anything. |
| nirvikārasya (निर्विकारस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | of the one without change. |
| dhīrasya (धीरस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | of the steady one. |
| nirātaṅkasya (निरातङ्कस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | of the one without alarm. ātaṅka (आतङ्क) is alarm. Agrees with dhīrasya (धीरस्य). |
| sarvadā (सर्वदा) | indeclinable | always. |
The phrases
Three kva (क्व) questions, the nouns nominative, and no finite verb. vā (वा) sits with prakāśaḥ (प्रकाशः). na (न) kiñcana (किञ्चन) is itself one of the things asked about. The three genitives name one person, the steady one, and sarvadā (सर्वदा) holds for him.
Sanskrit in this line
prakāśaḥ (प्रकाशः) before v (व्) is prakāśo (प्रकाशो). A visarga before a voiced consonant is recited as o (ओ).
Say it back
For the steady one without alarm, which opposites, and which denial, have no place?