8.23
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः ।
प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ॥
yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṃ caiva yoginaḥ
prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues. He announces a time he is about to declare. The declaration is 8.24 and 8.25.
The verse
The time at which yogins who have departed go to non-return, and the time at which they go to return, that time I shall declare, bull of the Bharatas.
नेपालीमा
गएका योगीहरू जुन बेला नफर्कनेतिर जान्छन्, र जुन बेला फर्कनेतिर जान्छन्, त्यो बेला म भन्नेछु, हे भरतहरूका वृषभ।
Where it sits
He opens the last movement of the chapter by promising a distinction the previous verses did not draw. Coming to him does not return. But among those who depart, there is a time of non-return and a time of return. 8.24 and 8.25 name the two.
Split: यत्र + काले + तु + अनावृत्तिम् + आवृत्तिम् + च + एव + योगिनः + प्रयाताः + यान्ति + तम् + कालम् + वक्ष्यामि + भरत-ऋषभ
yatra + kāle + tu + anāvṛttim + āvṛttim + ca + eva + yoginaḥ + prayātāḥ + yānti + tam + kālam + vakṣyāmi + bharata-ṛṣabha
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| यत्र | yatra | indeclinable | at which, where. |
| काले | kāle | locative | at a time. |
| तु | tu | indeclinable | and. |
| अनावृत्तिम् | anāvṛttim | accusative | non-return. an (अन्) "not," āvṛtti (आवृत्ति) "return." |
| आवृत्तिम् | āvṛttim | accusative | return. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | indeed. |
| योगिनः | yoginaḥ | nominative plural | yogins. The plural verb decides it. The genitive singular has the same shape. |
| प्रयाताः | prayātāḥ | nominative plural | those who have departed. |
| यान्ति | yānti | present, 3rd plural | they go. |
| तम् | tam | accusative | that. |
| कालम् | kālam | accusative | time. |
| वक्ष्यामि | vakṣyāmi | future, 1st singular of vac (वच्) | I shall declare. |
| भरत-ऋषभ | bharata-ṛṣabha | vocative | O bull of the Bharatas (भरत). ṛṣabha (ऋषभ) "bull," the best of the group. |
The phrases
यत्र काले तु अनावृत्तिम् आवृत्तिं च एव yatra kāle tu anāvṛttim āvṛttiṃ ca eva is the time in question, and it is two destinations. At which time they go to non-return, and to return. Both accusatives are goals of yānti (यान्ति).
yoginaḥ prayātāḥ yānti (योगिनः प्रयाताः यान्ति) is who. Yogins who have set out. prayātāḥ (प्रयाताः) is "having departed," nominative plural, agreeing with yoginaḥ (योगिनः). yānti (यान्ति) is plural, so yoginaḥ (योगिनः) is nominative plural, not the genitive singular you saw in 8.14.
taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi (तं कालं वक्ष्यामि) picks up yatra kāle (यत्र काले). That time I shall declare. bharatarṣabha (भरतर्षभ) is Arjuna (अर्जुन).
Sanskrit in this line
काले + तु + अनावृत्तिम् kāle + tu + anāvṛttim is recited kāle tv anāvṛttim (काले त्वनावृत्तिम्). उ + अ u + a becomes va (व), so tu a (तु अ) is tva (त्व). The same joint was inside लभ्यस्त्वन्यया labhyas tv ananyayā in 8.22. anāvṛttim (अनावृत्तिम्) keeps its negative. Do not let the v (व्) swallow the a (अ) of अन an and leave you with āvṛtti (आवृत्ति) twice.
Say it back
Two destinations, one promise to name the time. If anāvṛttim (अनावृत्तिम्) and āvṛttim (आवृत्तिम्) collapse into one goal, the next two verses have nothing to be about.