9.11
अवजानन्ति मां मूढा
मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम् ।
परं भावमजानन्तो
मम भूतमहेश्वरम् ॥
avajānanti māṃ mūḍhā mānuṣīṃ tanum āśritam
paraṃ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūtamaheśvaram
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking to Arjuna (अर्जुन).
The verse
The confused slight me, dwelling in a human body, not knowing my higher being, the great lord of beings.
नेपालीमा
मोहितहरूले मानिसको शरीरमा बसेको मलाई तुच्छ ठान्छन्, मेरो उच्च भाव नचिनी, जुन भूतहरूको महान् प्रभु हो।
Where it sits
The opening told who he is in the world. This verse tells who cannot see it. A human body is enough for them, and the slight follows. The next verse is what that slight does to their hope, their work, and their knowledge.
Split: अवजानन्ति + माम् + मूढाः + मानुषीम् + तनुम् + आश्रितम् + परम् + भावम् + अजानन्तः + मम + भूत-महेश्वरम्
avajānanti + mām + mūḍhāḥ + mānuṣīm + tanum + āśritam + param + bhāvam + ajānantaḥ + mama + bhūta-maheśvaram
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| अवजानन्ति | avajānanti | present, 3rd plural | they slight, they look down. ava-jñā (अव-ज्ञा): jñā (ज्ञा) is "know," and ava (अव) turns it downward. |
| माम् | mām | accusative | me. |
| मूढाः | mūḍhāḥ | nominative plural | the confused. From muh (मुह्), "be bewildered." |
| मानुषीम् | mānuṣīm | accusative feminine | human. Agrees with tanum (तनुम्). |
| तनुम् | tanum | accusative | a body. |
| आश्रितम् | āśritam | accusative | having resorted to, dwelling in. ā-śri (आ-श्रि). Agrees with mām (माम्). |
| परम् | param | accusative | higher, supreme. |
| भावम् | bhāvam | accusative | being, way of being. |
| अजानन्तः | ajānantaḥ | nominative plural | not knowing. jānat (जानत्) is "knowing," with a- (अ-). |
| मम | mama | genitive | my. |
| भूत-महेश्वरम् | bhūta-maheśvaram | accusative | the great lord of beings. īśvara (ईश्वर) is lord. maha (मह) is great. |
The phrases
avajānanti māṃ mūḍhāḥ (अवजानन्ति मां मूढाः) is the slight. The confused look at him and think small of him.
मानुषीं तनुम् आश्रितम् mānuṣīṃ tanum āśritam is what they look at: him, as one who has taken a human body. The body is the whole of what they see.
परं भावम् अजानन्तः paraṃ bhāvam ajānantaḥ is what they miss. They do not know his higher being. mama bhūta-maheśvaram (मम भूत-महेश्वरम्) names that being: my great lordship over beings.
Sanskrit in this line
ava (अव) on jñā (ज्ञा) does not mean "know from below" as a compliment. avajānanti (अवजानन्ति) is "they slight." The participle in the same verse, ajānantaḥ (अजानन्तः), is the plain negative, "not knowing." Keep the two prefixes apart. mūḍhāḥ (मूढाः) before mānuṣīm (मानुषीम्) is recited mūḍhā (मूढा): āḥ (आः) before a voiced consonant drops its visarga.
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what the confused do when they see the body. If avajānanti (अवजानन्ति) comes out as "they do not notice," stay here.