15.4

ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं
यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः ।
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये ।
यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥

tataḥ padaṃ tat parimārgitavyaṃ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
tam eva cādyaṃ puruṣaṃ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī

Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues, and the first person of prapadye (प्रपद्ये) is his, with no new speaker. Meter: triṣṭubh (त्रिष्टुभ्). Four quarters, eleven syllables each, forty-four in the verse.

The verse

Then that place is to be sought, where those who have gone do not return again; and I approach that primal person, from whom the ancient proceeding has streamed forth.

नेपालीमा

त्यसपछि त्यो ठाउँ खोज्नुपर्छ जहाँ गएकाहरू फेरि फर्किँदैनन्, र म त्यस आदि पुरुषतिर लाग्छु जसबाट पुरानो प्रवृत्ति बगेर आएको छ।

Where it sits

The cut of 15.3 now has a direction. The place is defined by no return, and the person approached is the source of the old streaming-out. Who actually arrives is the next verse.

Split: ततः + पदम् + तत् + परिमार्गितव्यम् + यस्मिन् + गताः + न + निवर्तन्ति + भूयः + तम् + एव + च + आद्यम् + पुरुषम् + प्रपद्ये + यतः + प्रवृत्तिः + प्रसृता + पुराणी

tataḥ + padam + tat + parimārgitavyam + yasmin + gatāḥ + na + nivartanti + bhūyaḥ + tam + eva + ca + ādyam + puruṣam + prapadye + yataḥ + pravṛttiḥ + prasṛtā + purāṇī

Sanskrit, in depth

The words

देवनागरी	Word	Grammar	Sense
ततः	tataḥ	indeclinable	then. From there, after the cut.
पदम्	padam	nominative singular	the place. The step, the station.
तत्	tat	nominative singular	that.
परिमार्गितव्यम्	parimārgitavyam	nominative singular neuter, gerundive of pari-mārgay (परि-मार्गय्)	to be sought. To be tracked out.
यस्मिन्	yasmin	locative singular of yad (यद्)	in which.
गताः	gatāḥ	nominative plural, past participle of gam (गम्)	those who have gone.
न	na	indeclinable	not.
निवर्तन्ति	nivartanti	present, 3rd plural of ni-vṛt (नि-वृत्)	they return.
भूयः	bhūyaḥ	indeclinable	again.
तम्	tam	accusative singular	him. That one.
एव	eva	indeclinable	alone. The same. It presses tam (तम्).
च	ca	indeclinable	and.
आद्यम्	ādyam	accusative singular	primal. First. From ādi (आदि).
पुरुषम्	puruṣam	accusative singular	the person.
प्रपद्ये	prapadye	present, 1st singular, middle, of pra-pad (प्र-पद्)	I approach. I resort to.
यतः	yataḥ	ablative of yad (यद्)	from whom. Whence.
प्रवृत्तिः	pravṛttiḥ	nominative singular	the proceeding. Activity streaming out.
प्रसृता	prasṛtā	nominative singular feminine, past participle of pra-sṛ (प्र-सृ)	flowed forth. Extended. Agrees with pravṛttiḥ (प्रवृत्तिः).
पुराणी	purāṇī	nominative singular feminine	ancient. Agrees with pravṛttiḥ (प्रवृत्तिः).

The phrases

tataḥ padam tat parimārgitavyam (ततः पदम् तत् परिमार्गितव्यम्) is the main act the cut was waiting for. Then that place is to be sought. The gerundive says "to be sought" without naming who seeks.

yasmin gatāḥ na nivartanti bhūyaḥ (यस्मिन् गताः न निवर्तन्ति भूयः) marks the place by what does not happen there. Those who have gone to it do not come back again. gatāḥ (गताः) before na (न) loses its visarga: yasmin gatā na (यस्मिन्गता न).

तम् एव च आद्यम् पुरुषम् प्रपद्ये tam eva ca ādyam puruṣam prapadye is a first person inside his teaching. And I approach that same primal person. This text places a danda after prapadye (प्रपद्ये), so the approach stands as its own sentence. च + आद्यम् ca + ādyam is cādyam (चाद्यम्).

yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī (यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी) names him by what comes from him. From whom the ancient proceeding has streamed forth.

Sanskrit in this line

parimārgitavyam (परिमार्गितव्यम्) is a gerundive, the verbal of obligation. The suffix --tavya (तव्य) says "to be done," and the word agrees with padam (पदम्) in gender, number, and case. No subject is in the sentence. "Is to be sought" is the whole of the duty.

Say it back

The place, and the person. If nivartanti (निवर्तन्ति) loses its na (न), the place becomes one you come back from. Stay here.