1.5
Upadeśasāhasrī / 1. Caitanya (चैतन्य) / 1.5
अज्ञानं तस्य मूलं स्यादिति तद्धानमिष्यते ब्रह्मविद्या तत आरब्धा ततो निःश्रेयसं भवेत्
ajñānaṃ tasya mūlaṃ syād iti taddhānam iṣyate brahmavidyā tata ārabdhā tato niḥśreyasaṃ bhavet
The line
Ignorance would be the root of the round, and so its removal is what is sought. Knowledge of Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) is begun from that, and from there the highest good would come to be.
नेपालीमा
अज्ञान संसारचक्रको जरा हुनेछ, यसैले त्यसलाई हटाउनु नै खोजिएको हो। त्यसबाट ब्रह्मको ज्ञान सुरु हुन्छ, र त्यहाँबाट निःश्रेयस हुनेछ।
Where it sits
Verse 4 drew the wheel. Verse 5 names the root and the remedy. Verse 6 will refuse karma (कर्म) as that remedy.
Split: ajñānam (अज्ञानम्) + tasya (तस्य) + mūlam (मूलम्) + syāt (स्यात्) + iti (इति) + tat-hānam (तत्-हानम्) + iṣyate (इष्यते) + brahma-vidyā (ब्रह्म-विद्या) + tataḥ (ततः) + ārabdhā (आरब्धा) + tataḥ (ततः) + niḥśreyasam (निःश्रेयसम्) + bhavet (भवेत्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| ajñānam (अज्ञानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | ignorance, not-knowing. a- (अ-) plus jñāna (ज्ञान). |
| tasya (तस्य) | genitive singular | of that. Of the wheel, the saṃsāra (संसार) of verse 4. |
| mūlam (मूलम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the root. |
| syāt (स्यात्) | optative, third person singular | it would be. |
| iti (इति) | indeclinable | thus. It closes the diagnosis. |
| tat-hānam (तत्-हानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the removal of that. hāna (हान) is abandoning, destruction. tat (तत्) is the ignorance. |
| iṣyate (इष्यते) | present passive, third person singular | is wanted, is sought. |
| brahma-vidyā (ब्रह्म-विद्या) | nominative singular, feminine | knowledge of Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). |
| tataḥ (ततः) | indeclinable | from that. From the wish to remove ignorance. The file writes brahmavidyāta ārabdhā (ब्रह्मविद्यात आरब्धा), tataḥ (ततः) with the visarga already lost before the vowel. |
| ārabdhā (आरब्धा) | nominative singular, feminine | begun. Agrees with brahmavidyā (ब्रह्मविद्या). |
| tataḥ (ततः) | indeclinable | from that, then. |
| niḥśreyasam (निःश्रेयसम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the good beyond which there is no better. The same end-word Vaiśeṣika (वैशेषिक) uses. |
| bhavet (भवेत्) | optative, third person singular | it would come to be. |
The phrases
The diagnosis is ajñānam (अज्ञानम्) as mūlam (मूलम्). The wanted thing is taddhānam (तद्धानम्), removal of that. The means begun for that removal is brahmavidyā (ब्रह्मविद्या). The result is niḥśreyasa (निःश्रेयस).
Two tatas (तत). The first is 'starting from the wish to remove ignorance.' The second is 'and from that knowledge, the highest good.'
Sanskrit in this line
The file's brahmavidyāta ārabdhā (ब्रह्मविद्यात आरब्धा) is brahmavidyā tata ārabdhā (ब्रह्मविद्या तत आरब्धा). tataḥ (ततः) has lost its visarga in front of the vowel, and the two vowels are not yet joined into one ā (आ).
Say it back
What is the root, and what is begun in order to pull it up?