18.45
स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः
संसिद्धिं लभते नरः ।
स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं
यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु ॥
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṃsiddhiṃ labhate naraḥ
svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṃ yathā vindati tac chṛṇu
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna (अर्जुन).
The verse
A man engaged in his own work obtains success; hear how the one devoted to his own work finds it.
नेपालीमा
आफ्नै कर्ममा लागेको मानिसले सिद्धि पाउँछ। आफ्नै कर्ममा तल्लीन भएकोले त्यो कसरी पाउँछ, सुन।
Where it sits
The lists become a promise that success belongs to one's own work, and a command to hear how that success is found.
Split: स्वे + स्वे + कर्मणि + अभिरतः + संसिद्धिम् + लभते + नरः + स्व-कर्म-निरतः + सिद्धिम् + यथा + विन्दति + तत् + शृणु
sve + sve + karmaṇi + abhirataḥ + saṃsiddhim + labhate + naraḥ + sva-karma-nirataḥ + siddhim + yathā + vindati + tat + śṛṇu
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| स्वे | sve | locative singular | in his own. |
| स्वे | sve | locative singular | in his own. The repetition is distributive: each in his own. |
| कर्मणि | karmaṇi | locative singular of karman (कर्मन्) | in the work. |
| अभिरतः | abhirataḥ | nominative | engaged, taking delight. From abhi-ram (अभि-रम्). |
| संसिद्धिम् | saṃsiddhim | accusative | full success, the completed attainment. sam (सम्) presses siddhi (सिद्धि). |
| लभते | labhate | present, 3rd singular, middle | he obtains. From labh (लभ्). |
| नरः | naraḥ | nominative | a man. |
| स्व-कर्म-निरतः | sva-karma-nirataḥ | nominative | devoted to his own work. nirata (निरत) is from ni-ram (नि-रम्), "engaged in." |
| सिद्धिम् | siddhim | accusative | success. |
| यथा | yathā | indeclinable | how. |
| विन्दति | vindati | present, 3rd singular | he finds. From vid (विद्), "find." |
| तत् | tat | accusative neuter | that. The how of it. |
| शृणु | śṛṇu | imperative, 2nd singular | hear. |
The phrases
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṃsiddhiṃ labhate naraḥ (स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः) is the rule. Each man, engaged in his own work, obtains success. The doubled sve (स्वे) means each one in his own, not one man in two works.
svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṃ yathā vindati (स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति) opens the how. The man devoted to his own work finds success in a certain way. yathā (यथा) asks for that way.
tac chṛṇu (तच्छृणु) is the command. Hear that. The way itself is the next verse.
Sanskrit in this line
t (त्) before ś (श्) becomes c (च्), and the ś (श्) remains, so the meeting is च्छ cch. तत् + शृणु tat + śṛṇu is recited tac chṛṇu (तच्छृणु). The word under the च्छ cch is still śṛṇu (शृणु), "hear."
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what the man engaged in his own work obtains, and what he is told to hear. If śṛṇu (शृणु) drops, stay here.