4.38
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते ।
तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति ॥
na hi jñānena sadṛśaṃ pavitram iha vidyate
tat svayaṃ yogasaṃsiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna.
The verse
Nothing here is found so cleansing as knowledge; the one who has come to completion in yoga finds that, himself, in the self, in time.
नेपालीमा
ज्ञान जत्तिको पवित्र पार्ने यहाँ अरू केही पाइँदैन। योगमा सिद्ध भएको मानिसले समयमा त्यो आफैँ आत्मामा पाउँछ।
Where it sits
4.37 burned the actions, and this verse says why knowledge can do that: as a cleanser it has no match, and the person whose yoga has come through finds it in the self, in time. 4.39 names the faith and the held senses that obtain it.
Split: न + हि + ज्ञानेन + सदृशम् + पवित्रम् + इह + विद्यते + तत् + स्वयम् + योग-संसिद्धः + कालेन + आत्मनि + विन्दति
na + hi + jñānena + sadṛśam + pavitram + iha + vidyate + tat + svayam + yoga-saṃsiddhaḥ + kālena + ātmani + vindati
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| हि | hi | indeclinable | indeed. |
| ज्ञानेन | jñānena | instrumental singular | by knowledge, to knowledge. The thing sadṛśam (सदृशम्) is matched with. |
| सदृशम् | sadṛśam | nominative neuter | a match, an equal. |
| पवित्रम् | pavitram | nominative neuter | a cleanser, what makes clean. |
| इह | iha | indeclinable | here. |
| विद्यते | vidyate | present, 3rd singular, middle | is found, exists. From vid (विद्). |
| तत् | tat | accusative | that. The knowledge. |
| स्वयम् | svayam | indeclinable | himself, of himself. |
| योग-संसिद्धः | yoga-saṃsiddhaḥ | nominative | one who has come to completion in yoga. saṃsiddha (संसिद्ध) is "fully accomplished." |
| कालेन | kālena | instrumental singular | by time, in the course of time. |
| आत्मनि | ātmani | locative singular | in the self. |
| विन्दति | vindati | present, 3rd singular | he finds. From vid (विद्), a different present from vetti (वेत्ति) and from vidyate (विद्यते). |
The phrases
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रम् इह विद्यते na hi jñānena sadṛśaṃ pavitram iha vidyate is the claim of rank. Nothing is found here so cleansing as knowledge. There is no cleanser that is its match. पवित्रम् इह pavitram iha is pavitram iha (पवित्रमिह).
tat svayam yogasaṃsiddhaḥ kālena ātmani vindati (तत् स्वयम् योगसंसिद्धः कालेन आत्मनि विन्दति) is how a person comes to it. The one completed in yoga finds that, himself, in the self, in time. tat svayam (तत् स्वयम्) is tat svayam (तत्स्वयम्). kālena ātmani (कालेन आत्मनि) is kālenātmani (कालेनात्मनि).
Sanskrit in this line
sadṛśam (सदृशम्) takes the instrumental of the thing it matches. jñānena sadṛśam (ज्ञानेन सदृशम्) is "a match for knowledge," not "knowledge" as the subject. The subject is pavitram (पवित्रम्), a cleanser. na vidyate (न विद्यते) says no such cleanser is found. If you make jñānena (ज्ञानेन) the thing that "exists," you have swapped the cases.
Say it back
What has no match, and who finds it, and where. If ātmani (आत्मनि) is missing, the finding has no place.