Nārada Bhakti Sūtras / Defining the love (प्रेम) / 66
66
the Nārada Bhakti Sūtras (नारद भक्ति सूत्रस्)
त्रिरूपभङ्गपूर्वकम् नित्यदास्यनित्यकान्ताभजनात्मकं प्रेम कार्यं प्रेमैव कार्यम् trirūpabhaṅgapūrvakam nityadāsyanityakāntābhajanātmakaṃ prema kāryaṃ premaiva kāryam
The line
Love is the work, and love alone is the work: preceded by the breaking of the three forms, and having as its nature eternal service and worship of the eternal beloved.
नेपालीमा
तीन रूप तोडेपछि, नित्य दास्य र नित्य कान्ताको भजन जसको स्वरूप हो, त्यो प्रेम गर्नुपर्छ। प्रेम नै गर्नुपर्छ।
Where it sits
Last line of the chapter on defining the love. It names the work that remains.
Split: trirūpabhaṅgapūrvakam (त्रिरूपभङ्गपूर्वकम्) + nityadāsyanityakāntābhajanātmakam (नित्यदास्यनित्यकान्ताभजनात्मकम्) + prema (प्रेम) + kāryam (कार्यम्) + prema (प्रेम) + eva (एव) + kāryam (कार्यम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| trirūpabhaṅgapūrvakam (त्रिरूपभङ्गपूर्वकम्) | nominative singular, neuter | preceded by the breaking of the three forms. tri (त्रि) plus rūpa (रूप) plus bhaṅga (भङ्ग) plus pūrvaka (पूर्वक). Agrees with prema (प्रेम). |
| nityadāsyanityakāntābhajanātmakam (नित्यदास्यनित्यकान्ताभजनात्मकम्) | nominative singular, neuter | whose nature is eternal service and worship of the eternal beloved. nityadāsya (नित्यदास्य) plus nityakāntā (नित्यकान्ता) plus bhajana (भजन) plus ātmaka (आत्मक). |
| prema (प्रेम) | nominative singular, neuter | love. Nominative of preman (प्रेमन्). |
| kāryam (कार्यम्) | gerundive, nominative singular, neuter | the work, what is to be done. Agrees with prema (प्रेम). |
| prema (प्रेम) | nominative singular, neuter | love. Said again. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | alone. Recited inside premaiva (प्रेमैव). |
| kāryam (कार्यम्) | gerundive, nominative singular, neuter | the work. Said again. |
The phrases
Two adjectives agree with prema (प्रेम). prema (प्रेम) kāryam (कार्यम्) is said, then prema (प्रेम) eva (एव) kāryam (कार्यम्). The three forms are the three of the secondary love, broken before this work.
Sanskrit in this line
prema (प्रेम) plus eva (एव) is premaiva (प्रेमैव), a (अ) plus e (ए). pūrvakam (पूर्वकम्) before n (न्) keeps halant m (म्).
Say it back
What is the work, and what is broken before it?