1.35
एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन ।
अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते ॥
etān na hantum icchāmi ghnato 'pi madhusūdana
api trailokyarājyasya hetoḥ kiṃ nu mahīkṛte
The verb the list was waiting for. He does not want to kill them.
The verse
I do not want to kill these men even if they strike me, Madhusūdana (मधुसूदन), even for the sake of sovereignty over the three worlds — how much less for the sake of the earth.
नेपालीमा
हे मधुसूदन, यिनीहरूले मलाई हाने पनि म यिनीहरूलाई मार्न चाहन्न, तीनै लोकको राज्यका लागि पनि। पृथ्वीका लागि त भन्नै पर्दैन।
Where it sits
ghnato 'pi (घ्नतो ऽपि) is the fairest sentence he says. He is not pretending they are unarmed. He grants their attack and still refuses. The scale अपि … किम् नु api … kim nu is a real piece of reasoning: the greater prize would not justify it, so the smaller prize cannot. Chapter 2 will not answer him by disputing the arithmetic. It will dispute the thing he thinks is being killed.
Split: एतान् + न + हन्तुम् + इच्छामि + घ्नतः + अपि + मधुसूदन + अपि + त्रैलोक्य-राज्यस्य + हेतोः + किम् + नु + मही-कृते
etān + na + hantum + icchāmi + ghnataḥ + api + madhusūdana + api + trailokya-rājyasya + hetoḥ + kim + nu + mahī-kṛte
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| एतान् | etān | accusative plural | these. The people of 1.34. |
| हन्तुम् | hantum | infinitive | to kill. |
| इच्छामि | icchāmi | present, 1st singular | I want. |
| घ्नतः | ghnataḥ | accusative plural of the present participle | striking, killing. "Them, even while they kill." |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. |
| मधुसूदन | madhusūdana | vocative | slayer of Madhu. Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण). |
| त्रैलोक्य-राज्यस्य | trailokya-rājyasya | genitive | of the sovereignty of the three worlds. |
| हेतोः | hetoḥ | genitive, used as "for the sake of" | for the sake. A cause. |
| नु | nu | indeclinable | then, indeed. With kim (किम्), "how much less." |
| मही-कृते | mahī-kṛte | locative, or indeclinable in effect | for the sake of the earth. |
The phrases
एतान् न हन्तुम् इच्छामि etān na hantum icchāmi is the refusal. These, I do not want to kill. एतान् + न etān + na is recited etānna (एतान्न). The infinitive is the act refused. icchāmi (इच्छामि) is the wanting.
ghnato 'pi (घ्नतो ऽपि) concedes the other side's weapons. Even while they are striking. घ्नतः + अपि ghnataḥ + api becomes ghnato 'pi (घ्नतो ऽपि).
madhusūdana (मधुसूदन) is the vocative. He calls Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) "slayer of Madhu" in the sentence where he himself refuses to slay.
api trailokyarājyasya hetoḥ (अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः) raises the stakes and still refuses. Even for the sake of kingship over the three worlds.
kiṃ nu mahīkṛte (किं नु महीकृते) brings the stakes back down to this field. How much less for the sake of the earth. If he would not do it for three worlds, he would not do it for this one kingdom.
Sanskrit in this line
hantum (हन्तुम्) is the infinitive of han (हन्), beside the gerund hatvā (हत्वा) you already have. Gerund: the act as a frame, "having killed." Infinitive: the act as what someone wants or ought, "to kill." icchāmi (इच्छामि) takes the infinitive. na icchāmi hantum (न इच्छामि हन्तुम्) is "I do not want to kill."
अपि … अपि api … api sets two "evens" in one speech. Even if they kill. Even for three worlds. The second api (अपि) is at the start of the second line, which is an unusual place for it, and it means the concession is starting over at a higher price.
kim nu (किम् नु) after a greater case means "how much less" in the smaller case. The grammar is just "what, then." The scale is in the order of the two prizes.
Say it back
The refusal, the concession that they are armed, and the two prizes, greater then smaller.