8.1
अर्जुन उवाच
किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम ।
अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ॥
arjuna uvāca
kiṃ tad brahma kim adhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣottama
adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktam adhidaivaṃ kim ucyate
Arjuna (अर्जुन) is speaking, to Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण). uvāca (उवाच) stands outside the meter. puruṣottama (पुरुषोत्तम) is the man he is speaking to, not a new subject.
The verse
Arjuna (अर्जुन) said: What is that brahman (ब्रह्म), what is adhyātma (अध्यात्म), what is action, O highest person, and what is declared to be adhibhūta (अधिभूत), what is called adhidaiva (अधिदैव)?
नेपालीमा
अर्जुनले भने, त्यो ब्रह्म के हो, अध्यात्म के हो, कर्म के हो, हे परम पुरुष, अनि अधिभूत के भनिन्छ, अधिदैव के भनिन्छ?
Where it sits
He stops the talk and asks for the meanings of words. Five names are on the table. He has not yet asked what to do, and he has not yet said death. That comes in 8.2, and the answers come back in this order.
Split: किम् + तत् + ब्रह्म + किम् + अधि-आत्मम् + किम् + कर्म + पुरुष-उत्तम + अधि-भूतम् + च + किम् + प्रोक्तम् + अधि-दैवम् + किम् + उच्यते
kim + tat + brahma + kim + adhi-ātmam + kim + karma + puruṣa-uttama + adhi-bhūtam + ca + kim + proktam + adhi-daivam + kim + ucyate
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| किम् | kim | nominative neuter | what. |
| तत् | tat | nominative neuter | that. |
| ब्रह्म | brahma | nominative of brahman (ब्रह्मन्) | brahman. Neuter. The ending does not show. |
| किम् | kim | nominative neuter | what. |
| अधि-आत्मम् | adhi-ātmam | nominative neuter | what concerns the self. adhi (अधि) "over," ātman (आत्मन्) "self." |
| किम् | kim | nominative neuter | what. |
| कर्म | karma | nominative of karman (कर्मन्) | action. |
| पुरुष-उत्तम | puruṣa-uttama | vocative | O highest person. puruṣa (पुरुष) "person," uttama (उत्तम) "highest." |
| अधि-भूतम् | adhi-bhūtam | nominative neuter | what concerns beings. bhūta (भूत) "a being." |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| किम् | kim | nominative neuter | what. |
| प्रोक्तम् | proktam | nominative neuter, past participle | declared. pra (प्र) + ukta (उक्त), from vac (वच्) "say." |
| अधि-दैवम् | adhi-daivam | nominative neuter | what concerns the gods. daiva (दैव) "divine." |
| किम् | kim | nominative neuter | what. |
| उच्यते | ucyate | present passive, 3rd singular | is called. From vac (वच्). |
The phrases
किं तत् ब्रह्म किम् अध्यात्मं किं कर्म kiṃ tad brahma kim adhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma is three questions with the same kim (किम्). That brahman (ब्रह्म). What adhyātma (अध्यात्म) is. What action is. The vocative sits in the middle of the line and does not answer any of them.
adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktam (अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तम्) is the fourth. "And what is declared to be adhibhūta (अधिभूत)." proktam (प्रोक्तम्) agrees with adhibhūtam (अधिभूतम्). Both are neuter. The thing and the word "declared" match.
अधिदैवं किम् उच्यते adhidaivaṃ kim ucyate is the fifth. A passive this time: "what is called adhidaiva." The sixth name, and the question about dying, are the next verse.
Sanskrit in this line
adhi (अधि) before a vowel-initial noun does not stay adhi (अधि). अधि + आत्मन् adhi + ātman: इ + आ i + ā becomes yā (या), so the recited word is adhyātmam (अध्यात्मम्). Before a consonant the prefix is unchanged. adhibhūtam (अधिभूतम्) and adhidaivam (अधिदैवम्) still begin with adhi (अधि). The prefix means "over, on the side of."
Say it back
Cover the English. Ask the five questions in order, and keep puruṣottama (पुरुषोत्तम) as the man being spoken to. If that word comes out as the subject of the sentence, stay here.