18.50
सिद्धिं प्राप्तो यथा ब्रह्म
तथाप्नोति निबोध मे ।
समासेनैव कौन्तेय
निष्ठा ज्ञानस्य या परा ॥
siddhiṃ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me
samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Kaunteya (कौन्तेय).
The verse
Know from me in brief, O son of Kunti, how the one who has reached success then reaches brahman (ब्रह्म): the highest standing of knowledge.
नेपालीमा
हे कुन्तीका छोरा, सिद्धिमा पुगेको मानिस त्यसपछि ब्रह्ममा, ज्ञानको सर्वोच्च स्थितिमा, कसरी पुग्छ, त्यो छोटकरीमा मबाट बुझ।
Where it sits
He promises a brief account of how success reaches brahman (ब्रह्म), the highest standing of knowledge, and that account fills the next three verses, the verb waiting until 18.53.
Split: सिद्धिम् + प्राप्तः + यथा + ब्रह्म + तथा + आप्नोति + निबोध + मे + समासेन + एव + कौन्तेय + निष्ठा + ज्ञानस्य + या + परा
siddhim + prāptaḥ + yathā + brahma + tathā + āpnoti + nibodha + me + samāsena + eva + kaunteya + niṣṭhā + jñānasya + yā + parā
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| सिद्धिम् | siddhim | accusative | success. The success just named. |
| प्राप्तः | prāptaḥ | nominative | one who has reached. Past participle of प्र-आप pra-āp. |
| यथा | yathā | indeclinable | how, in the way that. |
| ब्रह्म | brahma | accusative of brahman (ब्रह्मन्) | brahman. |
| तथा | tathā | indeclinable | so. Paired with yathā (यथा). |
| आप्नोति | āpnoti | present, 3rd singular | he reaches. |
| निबोध | nibodha | imperative, 2nd singular | know, mark this. From ni-budh (नि-बुध्). |
| मे | me | genitive enclitic | from me, my. |
| समासेन | samāsena | instrumental | in brief, by a summary. samāsa (समास) is a condensed statement. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | just. |
| कौन्तेय | kaunteya | vocative | son of Kuntī (कुन्ती). |
| निष्ठा | niṣṭhā | nominative | the standing, the settled state. |
| ज्ञानस्य | jñānasya | genitive | of knowledge. |
| या | yā | nominative feminine | which. Agrees with niṣṭhā (निष्ठा). |
| परा | parā | nominative feminine | highest. Agrees with niṣṭhā (निष्ठा). |
The phrases
siddhiṃ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti (सिद्धिं प्राप्तो यथा ब्रह्म तथाप्नोति) is the manner he is asking him to know. How the one who has reached success then reaches brahman (ब्रह्म).
nibodha me samāsenaiva kaunteya (निबोध मे समासेनैव कौन्तेय) is the command around that manner. Know it from me, just in brief.
niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā (निष्ठा ज्ञानस्य या परा) is what the brief account is. The highest standing of knowledge. yā (या) and parā (परा) both agree with niṣṭhā (निष्ठा). The description of that standing fills 18.51 through 18.53.
Sanskrit in this line
yathā (यथा) and tathā (तथा) are a pair: "in the way that … so." The man who has reached success is prāptaḥ (प्राप्तः), and प्राप्तः + यथा prāptaḥ + yathā is recited prāpto yathā (प्राप्तो यथा), because aḥ (अः) before y (य्) becomes o (ओ). समासेन + एव samāsena + eva is samāsenaiva (समासेनैव), because अ + ए a + e becomes ai (ऐ).
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what he must know, and from whom. If brahma (ब्रह्म) drops out of the reaching, stay here.