14.23
उदासीनवदासीनो
गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं
योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥
udāsīnavad āsīno guṇair yo na vicālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṃ yo 'vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna (अर्जुन).
The verse
Who sits like one seated apart and is not shaken by the strands, and who stays with "the strands are at work" and does not waver.
नेपालीमा
जो अलग बसेको जस्तै बस्छ र गुणले हल्लिँदैन, र गुणहरूले काम गरिरहेका छन् भन्ने कुरामै रहन्छ र डगमगाउँदैन।
Where it sits
14.22 said he does not hate them and does not miss them, and this verse says where he sits while they move. The yaḥ (यः) clauses stay open until saḥ (सः) at 14.25.
Split: उदासीनवत् + आसीनः + गुणैः + यः + न + विचाल्यते + गुणाः + वर्तन्ते + इति + एवम् + यः + अवतिष्ठति + न + इङ्गते
udāsīnavat + āsīnaḥ + guṇaiḥ + yaḥ + na + vicālyate + guṇāḥ + vartante + iti + evam + yaḥ + avatiṣṭhati + na + iṅgate
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| उदासीनवत् | udāsīnavat | indeclinable | like one who sits apart. udāsīna (उदासीन) is the one seated to neither side. --vat (वत्) means "like." |
| आसीनः | āsīnaḥ | nominative | seated. ās (आस्). |
| गुणैः | guṇaiḥ | instrumental plural | by the strands. |
| यः | yaḥ | nominative | who. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| विचाल्यते | vicālyate | present causative passive, 3rd singular | he is shaken. vi-cal (वि-चल्), made to move. |
| गुणाः | guṇāḥ | nominative plural | the strands. |
| वर्तन्ते | vartante | present, 3rd plural, middle | they are at work, they move. vṛt (वृत्). |
| इति | iti | indeclinable | thus. It closes the thought he holds. |
| एवम् | evam | indeclinable | so, in this way. |
| यः | yaḥ | nominative | who. |
| अवतिष्ठति | avatiṣṭhati | present, 3rd singular | he stays. ava-sthā (अव-स्था). |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| इङ्गते | iṅgate | present, 3rd singular, middle | he wavers. iṅg (इङ्ग्). |
The phrases
उदासीनवत् आसीनः गुणैः यः न विचाल्यते udāsīnavat āsīnaḥ guṇaiḥ yaḥ na vicālyate is the first "who." Seated like one who sits apart, he is not shaken by the strands. udāsīnavat (उदासीनवत्) tells the manner of the sitting. He is not on a side the strands can pull.
guṇāḥ vartante iti evam yaḥ avatiṣṭhati na iṅgate (गुणाः वर्तन्ते इति एवम् यः अवतिष्ठति न इङ्गते) is the second "who," and it is the thought he stays with. "The strands are at work." He stays so, and he does not waver. The strands keep moving. He does not stop them. He stands aside from the moving.
Sanskrit in this line
वर्तन्ते + इति vartante + iti is recited vartanta iti (वर्तन्त इति). e (ए) before a vowel other than a (अ) becomes short a (अ), and the following vowel stays: ए + इ e + i becomes अ + इ a + i, with a gap. There is no avagraha, because the vowel that followed was i (इ), not a (अ). The word is still vartante (वर्तन्ते), "they are at work." A reciter who hears vartanta (वर्तन्त) as a different verb has lost the strand's predicate. Then इति + एवम् iti + evam is ity evam (इत्येवम्): इ + ए i + e becomes ye (ये).
Say it back
Cover the English. Say how he sits, and the sentence he holds. If guṇāḥ vartante (गुणाः वर्तन्ते) comes out as "he has stopped the strands," stay here.