10.12
अर्जुन उवाच
परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान् ।
पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यमादिदेवमजं विभुम् ॥
arjuna uvāca
paraṃ brahma paraṃ dhāma pavitraṃ paramaṃ bhavān
puruṣaṃ śāśvataṃ divyam ādidevam ajaṃ vibhum
arjuna (अर्जुन) is speaking. uvāca (उवाच) stands outside the meter. He does not argue with what he has heard. He names it back.
The verse
Arjuna said: You, sir, are the supreme brahman, the supreme abode, the pure, the supreme — the eternal divine person, the god at the beginning, unborn, pervading.
नेपालीमा
अर्जुनले भने, तपाईं परम ब्रह्म, परम धाम, पवित्र र परम हुनुहुन्छ। तपाईं शाश्वत दिव्य पुरुष, आदिका देव, अजन्मा र व्याप्त हुनुहुन्छ।
Where it sits
Arjuna speaks for the first time in the chapter. He accepts the speech of 10.1–10.11 by saying it back in names. The request has not started. The acceptance has.
Split: परम् + ब्रह्म + परम् + धाम + पवित्रम् + परमम् + भवान् + पुरुषम् + शाश्वतम् + दिव्यम् + आदि-देवम् + अजम् + विभुम्
param + brahma + param + dhāma + pavitram + paramam + bhavān + puruṣam + śāśvatam + divyam + ādi-devam + ajam + vibhum
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| परम् | param | nominative singular neuter | supreme. Agrees with brahma (ब्रह्म). |
| ब्रह्म | brahma | nominative singular neuter | brahman. The great reality. |
| परम् | param | nominative singular neuter | supreme. Agrees with dhāma (धाम). |
| धाम | dhāma | nominative of dhāman (धामन्) | abode. Dwelling. |
| पवित्रम् | pavitram | nominative singular neuter | the pure. What cleanses. |
| परमम् | paramam | nominative singular neuter | the supreme. |
| भवान् | bhavān | nominative of bhavant (भवन्त्) | you, sir. A respectful "you," with third-person grammar. |
| पुरुषम् | puruṣam | accusative singular | the person. |
| शाश्वतम् | śāśvatam | accusative singular | perpetual. Eternal. Agrees with puruṣam (पुरुषम्). |
| दिव्यम् | divyam | accusative singular | divine. |
| आदि-देवम् | ādi-devam | accusative singular | the god who is the beginning. The first god. |
| अजम् | ajam | accusative singular | unborn. The same word as in 10.3. |
| विभुम् | vibhum | accusative singular | the pervading one. |
The phrases
paraṃ brahma paraṃ dhāma pavitraṃ paramaṃ bhavān (परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान्) is the first line, and it has a subject. bhavān (भवान्) is "you, sir." The neuter words are what he is: supreme brahman, supreme abode, the pure, the supreme.
पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यम् आदिदेवम् अजं विभुम् puruṣaṃ śāśvataṃ divyam ādidevam ajaṃ vibhum is a string of accusatives. They have no verb in this verse. āhuḥ tvām (आहुः त्वाम्) in 10.13 will take them: "they call you" these. The verse is one naming, broken across a case boundary. Read it with the next verse.
Sanskrit in this line
bhavān (भवान्) is how one says "you" with respect. The verb that belongs to it is third person, as if one were speaking of a sir rather than to a peer. The finite verb is still a verse away. The accusatives of the second line are masculine, so they cannot be predicates of a neuter brahma (ब्रह्म). They wait for tvām (त्वाम्).
Say it back
The names of the first line, with bhavān (भवान्) as the subject. If bhavān (भवान्) comes out as a third person who is not Arjuna's "you," stay here.