5.20
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम् ।
स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ॥
na prahṛṣyet priyaṃ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthirabuddhir asammūḍho brahmavid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues. The man who stands in brahman is given two things he does not do when a pleasant or an unpleasant thing arrives.
The verse
He should not rejoice having got the pleasant, nor be shaken having got the unpleasant: the man of steady intellect, unbewildered, the knower of brahman, standing in brahman.
नेपालीमा
प्रिय पाएर हर्ष मान्नु हुँदैन, न अप्रिय पाएर विचलित हुनु हुँदैन। स्थिर बुद्धि भएको, मोह नभएको, ब्रह्म जान्ने ऊ ब्रह्ममा अडेको हुन्छ।
Where it sits
5.19 set him in brahman because his mind was even. This verse shows that evenness when something actually arrives. The pleasant and the unpleasant are the pair. He does not move for either.
Split: न + प्रहृष्येत् + प्रियम् + प्राप्य + न + उद्विजेत् + प्राप्य + च + अ-प्रियम् + स्थिर-बुद्धिः + अ-सम्मूढः + ब्रह्म-वित् + ब्रह्मणि + स्थितः
na + prahṛṣyet + priyam + prāpya + na + udvijet + prāpya + ca + a-priyam + sthira-buddhiḥ + a-sammūḍhaḥ + brahma-vit + brahmaṇi + sthitaḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| प्रहृष्येत् | prahṛṣyet | optative, 3rd singular of pra-hṛṣ (प्र-हृष्) | he should rejoice. |
| प्रियम् | priyam | accusative singular | the pleasant. |
| प्राप्य | prāpya | gerund of प्र-आप pra-āp | having got. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| उद्विजेत् | udvijet | optative, 3rd singular of ud-vij (उद्-विज्) | he should be shaken. |
| प्राप्य | prāpya | gerund | having got. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| अ-प्रियम् | a-priyam | accusative singular | the unpleasant. |
| स्थिर-बुद्धिः | sthira-buddhiḥ | nominative singular, bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) | one whose intellect is steady. |
| अ-सम्मूढः | a-sammūḍhaḥ | nominative singular | unbewildered. |
| ब्रह्म-वित् | brahma-vit | nominative singular | the knower of brahman. |
| ब्रह्मणि | brahmaṇi | locative singular | in brahman. |
| स्थितः | sthitaḥ | nominative singular | standing. |
The phrases
na prahṛṣyet priyam prāpya (न प्रहृष्येत् प्रियम् प्राप्य) is the first rule. He should not rejoice when he has got the pleasant. na udvijet prāpya ca apriyam (न उद्विजेत् प्राप्य च अप्रियम्) is the pair of it. He should not be shaken when he has got the unpleasant. prāpya (प्राप्य) is used twice, once for each arrival.
sthirabuddhiḥ asammūḍhaḥ brahmavit brahmaṇi sthitaḥ (स्थिरबुद्धिः असम्मूढः ब्रह्मवित् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः) is the man the rule is for. Steady intellect, unbewildered, knower of brahman, standing in brahman. He is the subject of both optatives.
na udvijet (न उद्विजेत्) is recited nodvijet (नोद्विजेत्). ca apriyam (च अप्रियम्) is recited cāpriyam (चाप्रियम्). sthirabuddhiḥ asammūḍhaḥ (स्थिरबुद्धिः असम्मूढः) is recited sthirabuddhir asammūḍho (स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो).
Sanskrit in this line
prahṛṣyet (प्रहृष्येत्) and udvijet (उद्विजेत्) are optative. The ending --et (एत्) is third person singular, and the mood is "should" rather than "does." The verse is a rule for the knower, held out in front of him. A present tense would have been a report of his habit. The optative is Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) telling Arjuna (अर्जुन) the shape of the man who stands in brahman.
Say it back
Give both arrivals, pleasant and unpleasant, each with its optative. If either verb comes out as a present, "he rejoices," the mood of the verse is lost.