1.38
यद्यप्येते न पश्यन्ति लोभोपहतचेतसः ।
कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं मित्रद्रोहे च पातकम् ॥
yady apy ete na paśyanti lobhopahata-cetasaḥ
kulakṣaya-kṛtaṃ doṣaṃ mitradrohe ca pātakam
He starts a longer sentence. The "then" is 1.39. Do not translate this verse as if it were finished.
The verse
Even if these men, their minds struck down by greed, do not see the wrong in destroying a family and the crime in betraying friends —
नेपालीमा
लोभले मन थिचिएका यी मानिसहरूले कुल नाशमा रहेको दोष र मित्रलाई धोका दिने अपराध नदेखे पनि,
Where it sits
He grants them a moral blindness and explains it as greed, not as a counter-argument he needs to answer. lobha (लोभ) will be one of the three gates in chapter 16. Here it is already the reason the other side cannot be his guide. The sentence is unfinished. 1.39 says what people who do see should do.
Split: यदि + अपि + एते + न + पश्यन्ति + लोभ-उपहत-चेतसः + कुल-क्षय-कृतम् + दोषम् + मित्र-द्रोहे + च + पातकम्
yadi + api + ete + na + paśyanti + lobha-upahata-cetasaḥ + kula-kṣaya-kṛtam + doṣam + mitra-drohe + ca + pātakam
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| यदि | yadi | indeclinable | if. |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. With yadi (यदि), "even if." |
| एते | ete | nominative | these. The other side. |
| पश्यन्ति | paśyanti | present, 3rd plural | they see. |
| लोभ-उपहत-चेतसः | lobha-upahata-cetasaḥ | nominative plural, bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) | men whose minds are struck down by greed. |
| कुल-क्षय-कृतम् | kula-kṣaya-kṛtam | accusative | caused by the destruction of a family. kṣaya (क्षय) "destruction, waning." |
| दोषम् | doṣam | accusative | the fault, the wrong. |
| मित्र-द्रोहे | mitra-drohe | locative | in the injury of friends, in treason against friends. |
| पातकम् | pātakam | accusative | the crime, what causes a fall. |
The phrases
yadi api ete na paśyanti (यदि अपि एते न पश्यन्ति) is the concession. Even if these men do not see.
lobhopahatacetasaḥ (लोभोपहतचेतसः) says why they do not see. Their minds are wrecked by greed. One compound, a bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि), describing ete (एते). लोभ + उपहत lobha + upahata joins अ + उ a + u into o (ओ).
kulakṣayakṛtaṃ doṣam (कुलक्षयकृतं दोषम्) is the first thing they fail to see. The wrong that destroying a family commits.
mitradrohe ca pātakam (मित्रद्रोहे च पातकम्) is the second. And the crime in betraying friends. mitradrohe (मित्रद्रोहे) is locative: the crime located in that betrayal.
Sanskrit in this line
yadi api (यदि अपि) is "even if," and it announces that the speaker is about to set the concession aside. When a verse begins with it, look at the next verse for the real claim before you decide what he believes.
lobhopahatacetasaḥ (लोभोपहतचेतसः) is a bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) with three members. Read it from the end. cetas (चेतस्) "mind," of men whose mind is upahata (उपहत) "struck," and struck by lobha (लोभ) "greed." The ending --aḥ (अः) is nominative plural of the cetas (चेतस्) stem in this use, describing the men. The compound does not contain the verb paśyanti (पश्यन्ति). It only says what kind of men are failing to see.
Say it back
Even if who do not see what. Leave the sentence unfinished, and say so.