25.22
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā / 25. Nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) / 25.22
शून्येषु सर्वधर्मेषु किमनन्तं किमन्तवत् किमनन्तमन्तवच् च नानन्तं नान्तवच् च किम्
śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu kim anantaṃ kim antavat kim anantam antavac ca nānantaṃ nāntavac ca kim
The line
When all dharmas (धर्म) are empty, what would be infinite, what would have an end, what would be both infinite and finite, what would be neither?
नेपालीमा
सबै धर्म शून्य हुँदा अनन्त के होस्, अन्त भएको के होस्, अनन्त र सान्त दुवै के होस्, दुवै होइन के होस्?
Where it sits
25.21 named the views that need an edge. 25.22 sets them inside emptiness and leaves them as questions with no bearer. 25.23 does the same with 'is it the same or different, permanent or not.'
Split: śūnyeṣu (शून्येषु) + sarva-dharmeṣu (सर्व-धर्मेषु) + kim (किम्) + anantam (अनन्तम्) + kim (किम्) + antavat (अन्तवत्) + kim (किम्) + anantam (अनन्तम्) + antavat (अन्तवत्) + ca (च) + na (न) + anantam (अनन्तम्) + na (न) + antavat (अन्तवत्) + ca (च) + kim (किम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| śūnyeṣu (शून्येषु) | locative plural, masculine | when they are empty. |
| sarva-dharmeṣu (सर्व-धर्मेषु) | locative plural, masculine | when all dharmas (धर्म) are so. Locative absolute. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. The question, repeated. |
| anantam (अनन्तम्) | nominative singular, neuter | endless, infinite. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| antavat (अन्तवत्) | nominative singular, neuter | having an end. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| anantam (अनन्तम्) | nominative singular, neuter | infinite. |
| antavat (अन्तवत्) | nominative singular, neuter | and having an end. Both. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| anantam (अनन्तम्) | nominative singular, neuter | not infinite. |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| antavat (अन्तवत्) | nominative singular, neuter | and not having an end. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
The phrases
Four questions, the tetralemma, about the world's extent. They are asked śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu (शून्येषु सर्वधर्मेषु), in the situation where all dharmas (धर्म) are empty. The questions do not get a subject to stick to.
The locative absolute is the condition of the asking. Under that condition, kim (किम्) has nothing to land on.
Sanskrit in this line
Four kim (किम्)s are four questions. They match is / is not / both / neither, in the vocabulary of anta (अन्त), the end.
Say it back
Under what condition are these four questions asked?