3.21
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः ।
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥
yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṃ kurute lokas tad anuvartate
śrībhagavān (श्रीभगवान्) is speaking, and he says why a śreṣṭha (श्रेष्ठ) cannot treat his own action as private.
The verse
Whatever the best person does, that is what other people do; the standard he sets, the world follows.
नेपालीमा
श्रेष्ठ मानिसले जे गर्छ, अरू मानिसले त्यही गर्छन्। उसले जुन मानक राख्छ, लोक त्यसैलाई पछ्याउँछ।
Where it sits
lokasaṃgraham (लोकसंग्रहम्) in 3.20 is the reason the person in front is the measure others copy. From 3.22, Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) puts himself under that rule: nothing to gain, and still he acts, because the world follows.
Split: यत् + यत् + आचरति + श्रेष्ठः + तत् + तत् + एव + इतरः + जनः + सः + यत् + प्रमाणम् + कुरुते + लोकः + तत् + अनुवर्तते
yat + yat + ācarati + śreṣṭhaḥ + tat + tat + eva + itaraḥ + janaḥ + saḥ + yat + pramāṇam + kurute + lokaḥ + tat + anuvartate
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| यत् | yat | accusative neuter | what, whatever. |
| यत् | yat | accusative neuter | whatever. The doubling is "whatever, in each case." |
| आचरति | ācarati | present, 3rd singular | he does, he practices. |
| श्रेष्ठः | śreṣṭhaḥ | nominative | the best person, the one out in front. |
| तत् | tat | accusative neuter | that. |
| तत् | tat | accusative neuter | that very thing. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | indeed. |
| इतरः | itaraḥ | nominative | the other. |
| जनः | janaḥ | nominative | person. |
| सः | saḥ | nominative | he. The best person. |
| यत् | yat | accusative | what. |
| प्रमाणम् | pramāṇam | accusative | a standard, the measure others take. |
| कुरुते | kurute | present, 3rd singular, middle of kṛ (कृ) | he makes. |
| लोकः | lokaḥ | nominative | the world, people. |
| तत् | tat | accusative | that. |
| अनुवर्तते | anuvartate | present, 3rd singular, middle | follows. |
The phrases
यत् यत् आचरति श्रेष्ठः yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ is the pattern. Whatever the best person does. The second yat (यत्) before ā (आ) has voiced: yad ācarati (यदाचरति). श्रेष्ठः + तत् śreṣṭhaḥ + tat is śreṣṭhas tat (श्रेष्ठस्तत्).
तत् तत् एव इतरः जनः tat tad eva itaraḥ janaḥ is the copy. That very thing, the other person does. एव + इतरः eva + itaraḥ is evetaraḥ (एवेतरः). itaraḥ (इतरः) before janaḥ (जनः) is itaro (इतरो).
स यत् प्रमाणम् कुरुते लोकः तत् अनुवर्तते sa yat pramāṇaṃ kurute lokaḥ tat anuvartate says the same thing as a standard rather than as a copy. What he sets up as the measure, the world follows. sa (स) is saḥ (सः) before y (य्). लोकः + तत् lokaḥ + tat is lokas tat (लोकस्तत्), and tat (तत्) before the vowel is tad (तद्).
Sanskrit in this line
yat yat (यत् यत्) with tat tat (तत् तत्) is the distributive pair. "Whatever, in each case" and "that, in each case." One yat (यत्) would be a single thing. The doubling is what makes it a habit the world copies, not one famous deed.
Say it back
What the best person does, and what the world does with it. If śreṣṭhaḥ (श्रेष्ठः) becomes "a king" only, you have narrowed a verse about anyone the others are watching.