2.18
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः शरीरिणः ।
अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत ॥
antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
anāśino 'prameyasya tasmād yudhyasva bhārata
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues, and the fight is commanded from the self for the first time in the teaching.
The verse
These bodies of the eternal, indestructible, immeasurable embodied one are said to have an end; therefore fight, Bhārata.
नेपालीमा
नित्य, अविनाशी, नाप्न नसकिने देहधारीका यी शरीरको अन्त्य हुन्छ भनिन्छ। त्यसैले हे भारत, लड।
Where it sits
The bodies end and the one in the body does not, and therefore he is told to fight. This is the teaching's first turn toward the battle, and his own dharma is still a later sentence.
Split: अन्तवन्तः + इमे + देहाः + नित्यस्य + उक्ताः + शरीरिणः + अनाशिनः + अप्रमेयस्य + तस्मात् + युध्यस्व + भारत
antavantaḥ + ime + dehāḥ + nityasya + uktāḥ + śarīriṇaḥ + anāśinaḥ + aprameyasya + tasmāt + yudhyasva + bhārata
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| अन्तवन्तः | antavantaḥ | nominative plural | having an end. anta (अन्त) plus the possessive --vat (वत्). |
| इमे | ime | nominative plural | these. |
| देहाः | dehāḥ | nominative plural | bodies. |
| नित्यस्य | nityasya | genitive | of the eternal one. |
| उक्ताः | uktāḥ | nominative plural | are said. Agrees with dehāḥ (देहाः). |
| शरीरिणः | śarīriṇaḥ | genitive of śarīrin (शरीरिन्) | of the one who has a body. |
| अनाशिनः | anāśinaḥ | genitive | of the indestructible one. |
| अप्रमेयस्य | aprameyasya | genitive | of the one who cannot be measured. |
| तस्मात् | tasmāt | ablative used as an indeclinable | from that, therefore. |
| युध्यस्व | yudhyasva | imperative, 2nd singular, middle of yudh (युध्) | fight. |
| भारत | bhārata | vocative | Bhārata. |
The phrases
antavantaḥ ime dehāḥ uktāḥ (अन्तवन्तः इमे देहाः उक्ताः) is what is said of the bodies. These bodies are said to have an end. अन्तवन्तः + इमे antavantaḥ + ime is recited antavanta ime (अन्तवन्त इमे). dehāḥ (देहाः) before the voiced n (न्) of nityasya (नित्यस्य) drops its visarga: dehā nityasya (देहा नित्यस्य).
nityasya śarīriṇaḥ anāśinaḥ aprameyasya (नित्यस्य शरीरिणः अनाशिनः अप्रमेयस्य) is whose bodies. Of the eternal, embodied, indestructible, immeasurable one. Four genitives, one person. नित्यस्य + उक्ताः nityasya + uktāḥ is nityasyoktāḥ (नित्यस्योक्ताः). अनाशिनः + अप्रमेयस्य anāśinaḥ + aprameyasya is anāśino 'prameyasya (अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य).
tasmāt yudhyasva bhārata (तस्मात् युध्यस्व भारत) is the consequence. Therefore fight. तस्मात् + युध्यस्व tasmāt + yudhyasva is tasmād yudhyasva (तस्माद्युध्यस्व), because त् + य् t + y becomes dy (द्य्).
Sanskrit in this line
अन्तवन्तः + इमे antavantaḥ + ime is recited antavanta ime (अन्तवन्त इमे). aḥ (अः) before a vowel other than a (अ) drops the visarga and leaves the short a (अ), and the following vowel stays. There is no avagraha, because ime (इमे) begins with i (इ), not a (अ). The word is still nominative plural, agreeing with dehāḥ (देहाः). Read antavanta (अन्तवन्त) as a bare stem and the bodies lose the word "ending."
Say it back
What has an end, the four genitives of the one in the body, and the command. yudhyasva (युध्यस्व).