9.21
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं
क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति ।
एवं त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना
गतागतं कामकामा लभन्ते ॥
te taṃ bhuktvā svargalokaṃ viśālaṃ kṣīṇe puṇye martyalokaṃ viśanti
evaṃ trayīdharmam anuprapannā gatāgataṃ kāmakāmā labhante
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking to Arjuna (अर्जुन). The long line continues for one more verse. Meter: triṣṭubh (त्रिष्टुभ्). Four quarters, eleven syllables each, forty-four in the verse.
The verse
Having enjoyed that wide heaven, they enter the world of mortals when their merit is spent; thus followers of the three-Veda dharma, desiring desires, obtain going and coming.
नेपालीमा
त्यो विशाल स्वर्ग भोगेर, पुण्य सकिएपछि तिनीहरू मर्नेहरूको लोकमा पस्छन्। यसरी तीन वेदको धर्म मान्ने र इच्छाहरू चाहने मानिसहरूले जाने र आउने क्रम नै पाउँछन्।
Where it sits
Heaven in 9.20 was real, and it ends. The long line closes on the round trip. 9.22 will set another worshipper next to this one, the one who thinks of nothing else, and say what Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) himself carries for that person.
Split: ते + तम् + भुक्त्वा + स्वर्ग-लोकम् + विशालम् + क्षीणे + पुण्ये + मर्त्य-लोकम् + विशन्ति + एवम् + त्रयी-धर्मम् + अनुप्रपन्नाः + गत-आगतम् + काम-कामाः + लभन्ते
te + tam + bhuktvā + svarga-lokam + viśālam + kṣīṇe + puṇye + martya-lokam + viśanti + evam + trayī-dharmam + anuprapannāḥ + gata-āgatam + kāma-kāmāḥ + labhante
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| ते | te | nominative plural | they. The heaven-goers of 9.20. |
| तम् | tam | accusative | that. |
| भुक्त्वा | bhuktvā | gerund of bhuj (भुज्) | having enjoyed. |
| स्वर्ग-लोकम् | svarga-lokam | accusative | the heaven-world. |
| विशालम् | viśālam | accusative | wide, vast. |
| क्षीणे | kṣīṇe | locative | when it is exhausted. Past participle of kṣi (क्षि). |
| पुण्ये | puṇye | locative | when the merit is. With kṣīṇe (क्षीणे). |
| मर्त्य-लोकम् | martya-lokam | accusative | the world of mortals. martya (मर्त्य) is a mortal. |
| विशन्ति | viśanti | present, 3rd plural | they enter. viś (विश्). |
| एवम् | evam | indeclinable | thus. |
| त्रयी-धर्मम् | trayī-dharmam | accusative | the dharma of the three Vedas. trayī (त्रयी) is the triple Veda. |
| अनुप्रपन्नाः | anuprapannāḥ | nominative plural | having entered upon, following. anu-pra-pad (अनु-प्र-पद्). |
| गत-आगतम् | gata-āgatam | accusative | going and coming. |
| काम-कामाः | kāma-kāmāḥ | nominative plural | those whose desire is desires. kāma (काम) is desire. |
| लभन्ते | labhante | present, 3rd plural, middle | they obtain. labh (लभ्). |
The phrases
te taṃ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṃ viśālam (ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्ग-लोकं विशालम्) is the enjoyment of 9.20, finished. They have had that wide heaven.
kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṃ viśanti (क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्य-लोकं विशन्ति) is the return. When the merit is spent, they enter the mortal world. The two locatives time the entrance. They do not choose the moment. The merit does.
एवं त्रयी-धर्मम् अनुप्रपन्नाः evaṃ trayī-dharmam anuprapannāḥ names the road they followed, the dharma of the three Vedas. gata-āgataṃ kāma-kāmāḥ labhante (गत-आगतं काम-कामाः लभन्ते) is what desirers of desires obtain: a going and a coming.
Sanskrit in this line
kṣīṇe puṇye (क्षीणे पुण्ये) is a locative absolute. Two locatives, and no word for "when." The construction itself says "when the merit is exhausted." The main verb is viśanti (विशन्ति), "they enter." The locative tells you the time of that entering, and it has its own little subject, puṇye (पुण्ये).
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what happens when the merit is spent. If they stay in heaven, stay here.