18.16
तत्रैवं सति कर्तारम्
आत्मानं केवलं तु यः ।
पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान्
न स पश्यति दुर्मतिः ॥
tatraivaṃ sati kartāram ātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ
paśyaty akṛtabuddhitvān na sa paśyati durmatiḥ
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna (अर्जुन). The five causes are in place. This verse is the bad reading of them.
The verse
The five being so, he who sees the self alone as the doer, from an understanding that has not been made, does not see: he is a man of poor understanding.
नेपालीमा
यी पाँच यसरी हुँदा, नबनेको बुझाइले आत्मालाई मात्र कर्ता देख्नेले देख्दैन। ऊ कम बुझाइको मानिस हो।
Where it sits
18.14 and 18.15 put five causes under the act, and this verse refuses the man who keeps one and drops four, calling the self the only doer. 18.17 names the man who, even in a terrible act, is not bound.
Split: तत्र + एवम् + सति + कर्तारम् + आत्मानम् + केवलम् + तु + यः + पश्यति + अकृत-बुद्धि-त्वात् + न + सः + पश्यति + दुर्मतिः
tatra + evam + sati + kartāram + ātmānam + kevalam + tu + yaḥ + paśyati + akṛta-buddhi-tvāt + na + saḥ + paśyati + durmatiḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| तत्र | tatra | indeclinable | there. In that case. |
| एवम् | evam | indeclinable | thus. The five being as stated. |
| सति | sati | locative singular of sat (सत्), participle of as (अस्) | it being so. |
| कर्तारम् | kartāram | accusative singular of kartṛ (कर्तृ) | the doer. |
| आत्मानम् | ātmānam | accusative singular of ātman (आत्मन्) | the self. |
| केवलम् | kevalam | accusative singular | alone. Only. |
| तु | tu | indeclinable | but. |
| यः | yaḥ | nominative singular | who. |
| पश्यति | paśyati | present, 3rd singular | he sees. |
| अकृत-बुद्धि-त्वात् | akṛta-buddhi-tvāt | ablative singular | from the state of an understanding that has not been made. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| सः | saḥ | nominative singular | he. |
| पश्यति | paśyati | present, 3rd singular | he sees. |
| दुर्मतिः | durmatiḥ | nominative singular | the bad-minded one. He of poor understanding. |
The phrases
tatra evam sati (तत्र एवम् सति) sets the scene. The five being so. tatra evam (तत्र एवम्) is tatraivam (तत्रैवम्). कर्तारम् आत्मानम् केवलम् तु यः पश्यति kartāram ātmānam kevalam tu yaḥ paśyati is the bad seeing: who sees the self alone as the doer. The quarter break keeps kartāram (कर्तारम्) and ātmānam (आत्मानम्) from swallowing each other.
akṛta-buddhi-tvāt na saḥ paśyati (अकृत-बुद्धि-त्वात् न सः पश्यति) is the judgment. From that unmade understanding, he does not see. paśyati akṛta-buddhi-tvāt na (पश्यति अकृत-बुद्धि-त्वात् न) is recited paśyaty akṛtabuddhitvān na (पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान् न). t (त्) before n (न्) becomes n (न्). durmatiḥ (दुर्मतिः) is his name.
Sanskrit in this line
tatra evam sati (तत्र एवम् सति) is a locative absolute. sati (सति) is the locative of the participle "being." The phrase means "this being so," and it does not share its subject with paśyati (पश्यति). The subject of paśyati (पश्यति) is yaḥ (यः). The locative absolute is the circumstance. akṛta-buddhi-tvāt (अकृत-बुद्धि-त्वात्) is ablative of cause, "from the state of." The suffix --tva (त्व) makes the abstract, "the being-so of an unmade understanding," and --āt (आत्) makes the ablative.
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what he sees, and that he does not see. If kevalam (केवलम्) drops out, the error has dropped out with it. Stay here.