14.21
अर्जुन उवाच
कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतान्
अतीतो भवति प्रभो ।
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्
त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥
arjuna uvāca
kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho
kimācāraḥ kathaṃ caitāṃs trīn guṇān ativartate
Arjuna (अर्जुन) is speaking to Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण), and uvāca (उवाच), he said, stands outside the meter.
The verse
Arjuna (अर्जुन) said: By what marks does one become one who has crossed these three strands, lord, of what conduct is he, and how does he cross these three strands?
नेपालीमा
अर्जुनले भने, कुन चिह्नले मानिस यी तीन गुण नाघेको हुन्छ, हे प्रभु, उसको आचरण कस्तो हुन्छ, र ऊ यी तीन गुण कसरी नाघ्छ।
Where it sits
14.20 said the crossing as a fact, and Arjuna (अर्जुन) now asks for the marks, the conduct, and the how.
Split: कैः + लिङ्गैः + त्रीन् + गुणान् + एतान् + अतीतः + भवति + प्रभो + किम्-आचारः + कथम् + च + एतान् + त्रीन् + गुणान् + अतिवर्तते
kaiḥ + liṅgaiḥ + trīn + guṇān + etān + atītaḥ + bhavati + prabho + kim-ācāraḥ + katham + ca + etān + trīn + guṇān + ativartate
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| कैः | kaiḥ | instrumental plural | by what. |
| लिङ्गैः | liṅgaiḥ | instrumental plural | by marks. liṅga (लिङ्ग) is a sign you can recognize him by. |
| त्रीन् | trīn | accusative plural | three. |
| गुणान् | guṇān | accusative plural | strands. |
| एतान् | etān | accusative plural | these. |
| अतीतः | atītaḥ | nominative | one who has crossed. Agrees with the man bhavati (भवति) speaks of. |
| भवति | bhavati | present, 3rd singular | he becomes, he is. |
| प्रभो | prabho | vocative of prabhu (प्रभु) | lord. |
| किम्-आचारः | kim-ācāraḥ | nominative, bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) | of what conduct. ācāra (आचार) is conduct. The compound names the man. |
| कथम् | katham | indeclinable | how. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| एतान् | etān | accusative plural | these. |
| त्रीन् | trīn | accusative plural | three. |
| गुणान् | guṇān | accusative plural | strands. |
| अतिवर्तते | ativartate | present, 3rd singular, middle | he crosses beyond. ati-vṛt (अति-वृत्). |
The phrases
कैः लिङ्गैः त्रीन् गुणान् एतान् अतीतः भवति kaiḥ liṅgaiḥ trīn guṇān etān atītaḥ bhavati is the first question. By what marks does a man become one who has crossed these three strands? The instrumentals are the marks he is asking to be shown. prabho (प्रभो) calls Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण).
किम्-आचारः कथं च एतान् त्रीन् गुणान् अतिवर्तते kim-ācāraḥ kathaṃ ca etān trīn guṇān ativartate is the other two questions, and they share the man. Of what conduct is he, and how does he cross these three strands? किम्-आचारः kim-ācāraḥ is a bahuvrīhi, "one whose conduct is what." katham (कथम्) asks for the manner of ativartate (अतिवर्तते).
Sanskrit in this line
एतान् + त्रीन् etān + trīn is recited etāṃs trīn (एतांस्त्रीन्). A final n (न्) before t (त्) becomes anusvara, and a s (स्) is heard between them: ṃs (ंस्). The quarter break falls on that join. The third quarter ends at caitāṃs (चैतांस्). The last quarter opens with trīn (त्रीन्). The word is still etān (एतान्), "these." The s (स्) is the sandhi, not part of trīn (त्रीन्).
Say it back
Cover the English. Ask his three questions in order: marks, conduct, how. If liṅgaiḥ (लिङ्गैः) comes out as "by qualities," the question has been changed into the answer. Stay here.