2.26
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् ।
तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
atha cainaṃ nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam
tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues, and he grants the other view for the space of this verse.
The verse
But if you think this one constantly born and constantly dead, even so, strong-armed one, you ought not to grieve in this way.
नेपालीमा
तर यदि तिमी यसलाई सधैँ जन्मेको र सधैँ मरेको मान्छौ भने पनि, हे ठूलो पाखुरा भएका, यसरी शोक गर्नु हुँदैन।
Where it sits
He lets the other view stand for a verse: even if birth and death keep happening, the grief he is sitting in is still not what he ought to do. The next verse says why.
Split: अथ + च + एनम् + नित्य-जातम् + नित्यम् + वा + मन्यसे + मृतम् + तथा + अपि + त्वम् + महा-बाहो + न + एवम् + शोचितुम् + अर्हसि
atha + ca + enam + nitya-jātam + nityam + vā + manyase + mṛtam + tathā + api + tvam + mahā-bāho + na + evam + śocitum + arhasi
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| अथ | atha | indeclinable | but, now if. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| एनम् | enam | accusative | this one. |
| नित्य-जातम् | nitya-jātam | accusative | constantly born. |
| नित्यम् | nityam | accusative | constantly. With mṛtam (मृतम्). |
| वा | vā | indeclinable | or. |
| मन्यसे | manyase | present, 2nd singular, middle of man (मन्) | you think. |
| मृतम् | mṛtam | accusative | dead. |
| तथा | tathā | indeclinable | so. |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. tathā api (तथा अपि) is "even so." |
| त्वम् | tvam | nominative | you. |
| महा-बाहो | mahā-bāho | vocative | you of great arms. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| एवम् | evam | indeclinable | in this way. |
| शोचितुम् | śocitum | infinitive of śuc (शुच्) | to grieve. |
| अर्हसि | arhasi | present, 2nd singular | you ought. |
The phrases
अथ च एनम् नित्यजातम् नित्यम् वा मन्यसे मृतम् atha ca enam nityajātaṃ nityam vā manyase mṛtam is the view he allows. But if you think this one constantly born, or constantly dead. च + एनम् ca + enam is cainam (चैनम्). The vā (वा) distributes nitya (नित्य): constantly born, or constantly dead.
तथा अपि त्वम् महाबाहो न एवम् शोचितुम् अर्हसि tathā api tvam mahābāho na evam śocitum arhasi is the conclusion that does not move. Even so, strong-armed one, you ought not to grieve in this way. तथा + अपि tathā + api is tathāpi (तथापि). न + एवम् na + evam is naivam (नैवम्).
Sanskrit in this line
atha (अथ) with manyase (मन्यसे), answered by tathā api (तथा अपि), is "but if you think … even so." It is not a story of what happened. atha (अथ) opens the supposed view. tathāpi (तथापि) says the command survives the supposition. naivam (नैवम्) points at the manner of the grief, the way he has been doing it. शोचितुम् अर्हसि śocitum arhasi is the same "you ought" as 2.25, with the prefix anu (अनु) left off.
Say it back
The view he is allowed to hold, and that the "ought not" still stands.