25.13
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā / 25. Nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) / 25.13
भवेदभावो भावश् च निर्वाणमुभयं कथमसंस्कृतं हि निर्वाणं भावाभावौ च संस्कृतौ
bhaved abhāvo bhāvaś ca nirvāṇam ubhayaṃ katham asaṃskṛtaṃ hi nirvāṇaṃ bhāvābhāvau ca saṃskṛtau
The line
How would nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) be both nonexistent and existent? For nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) is unconditioned, and the existent and the nonexistent are both conditioned.
नेपालीमा
निर्वाण नभएको र भएको दुवै कसरी होस्? निर्वाण संस्कृत होइन, र भएको र नभएको दुवै संस्कृत हुन्।
Where it sits
25.12 was appropriation. 25.13 is conditioned and unconditioned. 25.14 is the last reason against 'both': the two cannot be in one place, like light and dark.
Split: bhavet (भवेत्) + abhāvaḥ (अभावः) + bhāvaḥ (भावः) + ca (च) + nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) + ubhayam (उभयम्) + katham (कथम्) + asaṃskṛtam (असंस्कृतम्) + hi (हि) + nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) + bhāva-abhāvau (भाव-अभावौ) + ca (च) + saṃskṛtau (संस्कृतौ)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| bhavet (भवेत्) | optative, third person singular | it would be. |
| abhāvaḥ (अभावः) | nominative singular, masculine | a nonexistent. |
| bhāvaḥ (भावः) | nominative singular, masculine | an existent. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | nirvāṇa (निर्वाण). |
| ubhayam (उभयम्) | nominative singular, neuter | both. |
| katham (कथम्) | indeclinable | how. |
| asaṃskṛtam (असंस्कृतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | unconditioned. |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for. |
| nirvāṇam (निर्वाणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | nirvāṇa (निर्वाण). |
| bhāva-abhāvau (भाव-अभावौ) | nominative dual, masculine | existent and nonexistent, the two. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| saṃskṛtau (संस्कृतौ) | nominative dual, masculine | conditioned, the two. |
The phrases
katham (कथम्) asks how the both could be. The reason is a mismatch of kind. nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) is asaṃskṛta (असंस्कृत). The pair bhāva (भाव) and abhāva (अभाव) is saṃskṛta (संस्कृत). A dual, saṃskṛtau (संस्कृतौ), agrees with the dual bhāvābhāvau (भावाभावौ).
An unconditioned thing cannot be two conditioned things.
Sanskrit in this line
The dual -au (-औ) on both bhāvābhāvau (भावाभावौ) and saṃskṛtau (संस्कृतौ) is the agreement. Two things, one predicate, both conditioned.
Say it back
What kind of thing is nirvāṇa (निर्वाण), and what kind are bhāva (भाव) and abhāva (अभाव)?