25.8
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā / 25. Nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) / 25.8
यद्यभावश् च निर्वाणमनुपादाय तत् कथम् निर्वाणं न ह्यभावोऽस्ति योऽनुपादाय विद्यते
yady abhāvaś ca nirvāṇam anupādāya tat katham nirvāṇaṃ na hy abhāvo 'sti yo 'nupādāya vidyate
The line
And if nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) is a nonexistent, how is that without appropriation? For there is no nonexistent which is found without appropriation.
नेपालीमा
यदि निर्वाण नभएको चीज हो भने त्यो उपादान बिना कसरी होस्? उपादान बिना पाइने नभएको चीज छैन।
Where it sits
25.7 said abhāva (अभाव) is not found where bhāva (भाव) is not. 25.8 says abhāva (अभाव) fails the appropriation test on its own. 25.9 describes nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) as the coming-and-going of existence, taught without dependence and without appropriation.
Split: yadi (यदि) + abhāvaḥ (अभावः) + ca (च) + nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) + anupādāya (अनुपादाय) + tat (तत्) + katham (कथम्) + nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) + na (न) + hi (हि) + abhāvaḥ (अभावः) + asti (अस्ति) + yaḥ (यः) + anupādāya (अनुपादाय) + vidyate (विद्यते)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| yadi (यदि) | indeclinable | if. |
| abhāvaḥ (अभावः) | nominative singular, masculine | a nonexistent. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | nirvāṇa (निर्वाण). |
| anupādāya (अनुपादाय) | absolutive | without appropriation. |
| tat (तत्) | nominative singular, neuter | that. |
| katham (कथम्) | indeclinable | how. |
| nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | nirvāṇa (निर्वाण). |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for. |
| abhāvaḥ (अभावः) | nominative singular, masculine | a nonexistent. |
| asti (अस्ति) | present, third person singular | there is. |
| yaḥ (यः) | nominative singular, masculine | which. |
| anupādāya (अनुपादाय) | absolutive | without appropriation. |
| vidyate (विद्यते) | present, third person singular, middle | is found. |
The phrases
The same test as 25.6, now on abhāva (अभाव). An absence is also upādāya (उपादाय): it is the absence of something taken as a basis. There is no abhāva (अभाव) that stands without that. So nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) is not an abhāva (अभाव) either.
yo 'nupādāya vidyate (योऽनुपादाय विद्यते) is 'which is found without appropriation.' na asti (न अस्ति) says there is no such one.
Sanskrit in this line
The relative yaḥ (यः) picks out the abhāva (अभाव) that would be free of appropriation. The verse says that one na asti (न अस्ति).
Say it back
Does an absence stand on its own, on this verse?