6.13
समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ॥
samaṃ kāyaśirogrīvaṃ dhārayann acalaṃ sthiraḥ
samprekṣya nāsikāgraṃ svaṃ diśaś cānavalokayan
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking. These are the participles of the man who will sit in 6.14.
The verse
Holding body, head, and neck even and unmoving, steady, looking at the tip of his own nose and not looking about at the directions.
नेपालीमा
ऊ शरीर, टाउको र घाँटी समान र निश्चल राख्छ, स्थिर, आफ्नै नाकको टुप्पो हेर्छ, दिशातिर हेरेर डुल्दैन।
Where it sits
This is the posture the chapter actually teaches. Not a sequence of poses. A still body, and a gaze that stays put. The mind is named in the next verse, and that is where the finite verb is.
Split: समम् + काय-शिरस्-ग्रीवम् + धारयन् + अचलम् + स्थिरः + सम्प्रेक्ष्य + नासिका-अग्रम् + स्वम् + दिशः + च + अनवलोकयन्
samam + kāya-śiras-grīvam + dhārayan + acalam + sthiraḥ + samprekṣya + nāsikā-agram + svam + diśaḥ + ca + anavalokayan
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| समम् | samam | accusative singular | even, level. |
| काय-शिरस्-ग्रीवम् | kāya-śiras-grīvam | accusative singular | body, head, and neck. |
| धारयन् | dhārayan | present participle, nominative | holding. |
| अचलम् | acalam | accusative singular | unmoving. |
| स्थिरः | sthiraḥ | nominative singular | steady. The man. |
| सम्प्रेक्ष्य | samprekṣya | gerund | having looked. |
| नासिका-अग्रम् | nāsikā-agram | accusative singular | the tip of the nose. |
| स्वम् | svam | accusative singular | his own. |
| दिशः | diśaḥ | accusative plural | the directions. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| अनवलोकयन् | anavalokayan | present participle, nominative | not looking about. |
The phrases
समम् कायशिरोग्रीवम् धारयन् अचलम् samaṃ kāyaśirogrīvam dhārayan acalam is the body. He holds body, head, and neck level and unmoving. sthiraḥ (स्थिरः) is he himself, steady.
samprekṣya nāsikāgram svam (सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रम् स्वम्) is the gaze: the tip of his own nose. diśaḥ ca anavalokayan (दिशः च अनवलोकयन्) takes the eyes off the directions. He does not look about.
धारयन् अचलम् dhārayan acalam is dhārayann acalam (धारयन्नचलम्). diśaḥ ca (दिशः च) is diśaś ca (दिशश्च), and ca anavalokayan (च अनवलोकयन्) is cānavalokayan (चानवलोकयन्). śiras (शिरस्) inside the compound, before grīva (ग्रीव), is śiro (शिरो).
Sanskrit in this line
dhārayan (धारयन्) and anavalokayan (अनवलोकयन्) are present participles, nominative, agreeing with the man who is sthiraḥ (स्थिरः). A participle does the work of "while." There is still no finite verb. When a participle in --n (न्) meets a vowel, the n (न्) doubles: dhārayann acalam (धारयन्नचलम्).
Say it back
What is held level, and where the eyes are. If diśaḥ (दिशः) is where he looks, the negative anavalokayan (अनवलोकयन्) has been lost.