3.42
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः ।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥
indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ
manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ
śrībhagavān (श्रीभगवान्) is speaking, and he builds a ladder above the senses he has just told him to seize.
The verse
They say the senses are high; higher than the senses is the mind; higher than the mind is the buddhi; and higher than the buddhi is he.
नेपालीमा
इन्द्रियहरू उच्च छन् भनिन्छ। इन्द्रियभन्दा मन उच्च छ, मनभन्दा बुद्धि उच्च छ, र बुद्धिभन्दा ऊ उच्च छ।
Where it sits
3.40 seated the enemy in the senses, the mind, and the buddhi, and this verse does not deny those rungs: it puts a person above the highest of them. 3.43 tells him to know that one, steady the self by the self, and kill the enemy from there.
Split: इन्द्रियाणि + पराणि + आहुः + इन्द्रियेभ्यः + परम् + मनः + मनसः + तु + परा + बुद्धिः + यः + बुद्धेः + परतः + तु + सः
indriyāṇi + parāṇi + āhuḥ + indriyebhyaḥ + param + manaḥ + manasaḥ + tu + parā + buddhiḥ + yaḥ + buddheḥ + parataḥ + tu + saḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| इन्द्रियाणि | indriyāṇi | nominative plural | the senses. |
| पराणि | parāṇi | nominative plural neuter | higher. |
| आहुः | āhuḥ | perfect, 3rd plural of ah (अह्) | they say. |
| इन्द्रियेभ्यः | indriyebhyaḥ | ablative plural | than the senses. |
| परम् | param | nominative neuter | higher. |
| मनः | manaḥ | nominative | the mind. |
| मनसः | manasaḥ | ablative | than the mind. |
| तु | tu | indeclinable | but, and. |
| परा | parā | nominative feminine | higher. Agrees with buddhiḥ (बुद्धिः). |
| बुद्धिः | buddhiḥ | nominative | the buddhi. |
| यः | yaḥ | nominative | who. |
| बुद्धेः | buddheḥ | ablative | than the buddhi. |
| परतः | parataḥ | indeclinable | beyond, higher. |
| तु | tu | indeclinable | and. |
| सः | saḥ | nominative | he. |
The phrases
indriyāṇi parāṇi āhuḥ (इन्द्रियाणि पराणि आहुः) is what people say, and the ladder starts by granting it. They say the senses are high. पराणि + आहुः parāṇi + āhuḥ is parāṇy āhuḥ (पराण्याहुः). आहुः + इन्द्रियेभ्यः āhuḥ + indriyebhyaḥ is āhur indriyebhyaḥ (आहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः).
इन्द्रियेभ्यः परम् मनः indriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ is the next rung. Higher than the senses is the mind. The ablative is "than."
manasaḥ tu parā buddhiḥ (मनसः तु परा बुद्धिः) is the rung after that. And higher than the mind is the buddhi. मनसः + तु manasaḥ + tu is manasas tu (मनसस्तु). बुद्धिः + यः buddhiḥ + yaḥ is buddhir yaḥ (बुद्धिर्यः), and yaḥ (यः) before buddheḥ (बुद्धेः) is yo (यो).
यः बुद्धेः परतः तु सः yaḥ buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ is the top. And he who is beyond the buddhi, that is he. परतः + तु parataḥ + tu is paratas tu (परतस्तु).
Sanskrit in this line
The ablative is the ladder's "than." indriyebhyaḥ (इन्द्रियेभ्यः) is "than the senses," manasaḥ (मनसः) is "than the mind," buddheḥ (बुद्धेः) is "than the buddhi." para (पर) and parataḥ (परतः) take that ablative. A genitive in the same shape would mean "of." The comparison is what decides the case, as karmaṇaḥ (कर्मणः) was decided in 3.1.
Say it back
Four rungs, in order: senses, mind, buddhi, and he. If saḥ (सः) is replaced by "the buddhi" again, the ladder has no top.