Quiz · 6.33–6.47
The one who falls
Cover the answer. Read the Devanagari of the verse before you open it.
1
In 6.46, tapasvibhyaḥ (तपस्विभ्यः), jñānibhyaḥ (ज्ञानिभ्यः), and karmibhyaḥ (कर्मिभ्यः) stand with adhikaḥ (अधिकः). What case are they, and what does that case mean here?
Answer
Ablative plural. With adhikaḥ (अधिकः), the ablative is "than." The yogin is greater than the ascetics, greater even than the knowers, and greater than those who perform the rites. "Than" is the case, not a separate word.
2
na eva iha na amutra (न एव इह न अमुत्र) in 6.40 is recited naiveha nāmutra (नैवेह नामुत्र). How do the vowels join?
Answer
na (न) plus eva (एव) becomes naiva (नैव), because a (अ) plus e (ए) becomes ai (ऐ). naiva (नैव) plus iha (इह) becomes naiveha (नैवेह), because a (अ) plus i (इ) becomes e (ए). na (न) plus amutra (अमुत्र) becomes nāmutra (नामुत्र), because a (अ) plus a (अ) becomes ā (आ). The pair न एव … न na eva … na is "neither … nor."
3
What does 6.40 say happens to the man who fell?
Answer
His destruction is not found, neither here nor in the other world, for no one who does what is good goes to a bad path.
4
Where does 6.33–6.47 sit between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण)?
Answer
Arjuna says the mind is restless, like the wind, and asks what happens to the one who falls from the path. Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) says the mind is hard to hold, and that it is grasped by practice and by dispassion. No good effort is lost. The fallen man is born where he can strive again, and at last goes to the highest path. The chapter ends: be a yogin; the most yoked honors him with faith.
5
Say 6.40 back. Which word fails the sitting if the man is said to be destroyed?
Answer
na eva iha na amutra vināśaḥ tasya vidyate (न एव इह न अमुत्र विनाशः तस्य विद्यते). If vināśaḥ (विनाशः) is said as though it happens, the na (न) is gone. Stay on 6.40.