15.1
श्रीभगवानुवाच
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखम्
अश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि
यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca
ūrdhvamūlam adhaḥśākham aśvatthaṃ prāhur avyayam
chandāṃsi yasya parṇāni yas taṃ veda sa vedavit
śrībhagavān (श्रीभगवान्) is speaking to Arjuna (अर्जुन), and the n (न्) of bhagavān (भगवान्) joins uvāca (उवाच) outside the meter, so the line is recited śrībhagavānuvāca (श्रीभगवानुवाच).
The verse
They speak of an imperishable aśvattha (अश्वत्थ), roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the meters, and who knows that tree is a knower of the Veda.
नेपालीमा
तिनीहरू नाश नहुने अश्वत्थको कुरा गर्छन्, जरा माथि र हाँगा तल, जसका पात छन्द हुन्, र जसले त्यो रूख जान्छ ऊ वेद जान्ने हो।
Where it sits
Chapter 14 closed on crossing the three guṇa (गुण). This chapter opens with a tree. Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) does not yet say "cut it." He says what is spoken of, and he ties knowing that tree to knowing the Veda.
Split: ऊर्ध्व-मूलम् + अधः-शाखम् + अश्वत्थम् + प्राहुः + अव्ययम् + छन्दांसि + यस्य + पर्णानि + यः + तम् + वेद + सः + वेद-वित्
ūrdhva-mūlam + adhaḥ-śākham + aśvattham + prāhuḥ + avyayam + chandāṃsi + yasya + parṇāni + yaḥ + tam + veda + saḥ + veda-vit
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| ऊर्ध्व-मूलम् | ūrdhva-mūlam | accusative singular neuter, bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) | having its root above. ūrdhva (ऊर्ध्व) is above. mūla (मूल) is the root. |
| अधः-शाखम् | adhaḥ-śākham | accusative singular neuter, bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) | having its branches below. adhaḥ (अधः) is below. śākhā (शाखा) is a branch. |
| अश्वत्थम् | aśvattham | accusative singular | the aśvattha (अश्वत्थ), the sacred fig. |
| प्राहुः | prāhuḥ | perfect, 3rd plural of brū (ब्रू) with pra (प्र) | they say. They call it so. The perfect āhuḥ (आहुः) is the ordinary word for "they say." |
| अव्ययम् | avyayam | accusative singular | imperishable. a (अ) undoes vyaya (व्यय), the wasting away. |
| छन्दांसि | chandāṃsi | nominative plural of chandas (छन्दस्) | the meters. A Vedic hymn is measured in them, and the word names both. |
| यस्य | yasya | genitive singular of yad (यद्) | whose. Of that tree. |
| पर्णानि | parṇāni | nominative plural of parṇa (पर्ण) | leaves. |
| यः | yaḥ | nominative singular | who. |
| तम् | tam | accusative singular | it. The tree. |
| वेद | veda | present, 3rd singular of vid (विद्) | knows. |
| सः | saḥ | nominative singular | he. |
| वेद-वित् | veda-vit | nominative singular | a knower of the Veda. vit (वित्) is "who knows," from vid (विद्). |
The phrases
ऊर्ध्वमूलम् अधःशाखम् अश्वत्थम् ūrdhvamūlam adhaḥśākham aśvattham is the thing they speak of. A tree, root above, branches below. Read each compound from the end: a root that is above, branches that are below. The m (म्) of śākham (शाखम्) joins the a (अ) of aśvattham (अश्वत्थम्) when the quarters are said straight through: adhaḥśākham aśvattham (अधःशाखमश्वत्थम्).
prāhuḥ avyayam (प्राहुः अव्ययम्) is the saying. They call that tree imperishable. uḥ (उः) before a (अ) becomes ur (उर्): प्राहुः + अव्ययम् prāhuḥ + avyayam is recited prāhur avyayam (प्राहुरव्ययम्).
chandāṃsi yasya parṇāni (छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि) names the leaves. The meters are its foliage. yaḥ tam veda saḥ vedavit (यः तम् वेद सः वेदवित्) is the person this picture is for. Who knows that tree is a knower of the Veda. यः + तम् yaḥ + tam is yas tam (यस्तम्), and saḥ (सः) before a consonant is recited sa (स).
Sanskrit in this line
A bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) names something by a part it has. ūrdhva-mūla (ऊर्ध्व-मूल) does not mean "the upper root" as a thing by itself. It describes the tree: whose root is above. The compound takes the case of aśvattham (अश्वत्थम्), accusative, because prāhuḥ (प्राहुः) is "they call" and the tree is what they call imperishable.
Say it back
Cover the English. Say where the root is and where the branches are. If ūrdhva (ऊर्ध्व) and adhaḥ (अधः) change places, stay here.