7.3
मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥
manuṣyāṇāṃ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṃ kaścin māṃ vetti tattvataḥ
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is speaking, to Arjuna (अर्जुन).
The verse
Among thousands of humans, someone strives for the attainment. Even among those strivers who have reached it, someone knows me as I am.
नेपालीमा
हजारौं मानिसमध्ये कोही सिद्धिका लागि प्रयास गर्छ। त्यो सिद्धि पुगेका प्रयास गर्नेहरूमध्ये पनि कोही मलाई जस्तो छु त्यस्तै चिन्छ।
Where it sits
7.2 said that after this knowing, nothing remains to be known. This verse says how few come to it. The chapter will later name the ones who do come, and the ones who do not.
Split: मनुष्याणाम् + सहस्रेषु + कः + चित् + यतति + सिद्धये + यतताम् + अपि + सिद्धानाम् + कः + चित् + माम् + वेत्ति + तत्त्वतः
manuṣyāṇām + sahasreṣu + kaḥ + cit + yatati + siddhaye + yatatām + api + siddhānām + kaḥ + cit + mām + vetti + tattvataḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| मनुष्याणाम् | manuṣyāṇām | genitive plural | of humans. |
| सहस्रेषु | sahasreṣu | locative plural | among thousands. |
| कः | kaḥ | nominative singular | who. With cit (चित्), "someone." |
| चित् | cit | indeclinable | a particle that makes the question-word indefinite. |
| यतति | yatati | present, 3rd singular | strives. From yat (यत्). |
| सिद्धये | siddhaye | dative of siddhi (सिद्धि) | for success, for the attainment. |
| यतताम् | yatatām | genitive plural, present participle | of those who are striving. |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. |
| सिद्धानाम् | siddhānām | genitive plural | of those who have reached it. |
| कः | kaḥ | nominative singular | someone. Again with cit (चित्). |
| चित् | cit | indeclinable | the same indefinite particle. |
| माम् | mām | accusative | me. |
| वेत्ति | vetti | present, 3rd singular | knows. From vid (विद्). |
| तत्त्वतः | tattvataḥ | indeclinable | as it really is. tattva (तत्त्व) is "that-ness," the thing as it is. |
The phrases
manuṣyāṇām sahasreṣu kaḥ cit yatati siddhaye (मनुष्याणाम् सहस्रेषु कः चित् यतति सिद्धये) is the first scarcity. Among thousands of people, someone strives to arrive.
यतताम् अपि सिद्धानाम् कः चित् माम् वेत्ति तत्त्वतः yatatām api siddhānām kaḥ cit mām vetti tattvataḥ is the second. Even among the strivers who have arrived, someone knows him as he is. The genitives are "among," and api (अपि) presses them: even there, it is rare.
Sanskrit in this line
कः + चित् kaḥ + cit is recited kaścit (कश्चित्). aḥ (अः) before the voiceless c (च्) becomes ś (श्).
That cit (चित्) then changes again, and the two changes are different. Before y (य्) the t (त्) is voiced to d (द्): kaścid yatati (कश्चिद् यतति). Before m (म्) the t (त्) becomes the nasal n (न्): kaścin mām (कश्चिन् माम्). One little word, two recitations. The split puts cit (चित्) back both times.
Say it back
Say the two scarcities, the striving and the knowing. If tattvataḥ (तत्त्वतः) comes out as "a doctrine," stay here.