1.6
Upadeśasāhasrī / 1. Caitanya (चैतन्य) / 1.6
विद्यैवाज्ञानहानाय न कर्माप्रतिकूलतः नाज्ञानस्याप्रहाणे हि रागद्वेषक्षयो भवेत्
vidyaivājñānahānāya na karmāpratikūlataḥ nājñānasyāprahāṇe hi rāgadveṣakṣayo bhavet
The line
Knowledge alone is for destroying ignorance. Action is not, because action is not opposed to ignorance. For while ignorance is not destroyed, desire and aversion do not wear away.
नेपालीमा
अज्ञान नाश गर्न ज्ञान मात्र काम लाग्छ, कर्म लाग्दैन, किनकि कर्म अज्ञानको विरोधी होइन। अज्ञान ननासिँदासम्म राग र द्वेष घट्दैनन्।
Where it sits
Verse 5 wanted the removal of ignorance. Verse 6 says only vidyā (विद्या) does that work. Verses 8 to 11 will let an objector try to keep karma (कर्म) as a helper. The reply sharpens from verse 12.
Split: vidyā (विद्या) + eva (एव) + ajñāna-hānāya (अज्ञान-हानाय) + na (न) + karma (कर्म) + apratikūlataḥ (अप्रतिकूलतः) + na (न) + ajñānasya (अज्ञानस्य) + aprahāṇe (अप्रहाणे) + hi (हि) + rāga-dveṣa-kṣayaḥ (राग-द्वेष-क्षयः) + bhavet (भवेत्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| vidyā (विद्या) | nominative singular, feminine | knowledge. eva (एव) joins it as vidyaiva (विद्यैव): knowledge itself, knowledge alone. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | alone, precisely. |
| ajñāna-hānāya (अज्ञान-हानाय) | dative singular, neuter | for the removal of ignorance. The dative -āya (-आय) is 'for.' |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| karma (कर्म) | nominative singular, neuter | action. |
| apratikūlataḥ (अप्रतिकूलतः) | indeclinable, ablative in sense | because it is not pratikūla (प्रतिकूल), not opposed, not facing the other way. -taḥ (-तः) is 'because.' |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| ajñānasya (अज्ञानस्य) | genitive singular, neuter | of ignorance. |
| aprahāṇe (अप्रहाणे) | locative singular, neuter | when there is non-removal. a- (अ-) plus prahāṇa (प्रहाण), a locative absolute: while it has not been removed. |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for, because. |
| rāga-dveṣa-kṣayaḥ (राग-द्वेष-क्षयः) | nominative singular, masculine | the wasting away of desire and aversion. |
| bhavet (भवेत्) | optative, third person singular | would come to be. With na (न): it would not. |
The phrases
vidyā eva (विद्या एव) is for ajñānahānāya (अज्ञानहानाय). karma (कर्म) is refused, and the reason is apratikūlataḥ (अप्रतिकूलतः): action does not stand against ignorance. It lives on the 'I am the doer' which ignorance supplies.
The second line is the consequence. Leave ignorance in place, and rāga (राग) and dveṣa (द्वेष) have nothing that wears them out.
Sanskrit in this line
A dative of purpose, hānāya (हानाय), answers 'what for?' A locative absolute, aprahāṇe (अप्रहाणे), answers 'in the situation where.'
Say it back
Why is karma (कर्म) not the means, in one word from the verse?