25.23
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā / 25. Nirvāṇa (निर्वाण) / 25.23
किं तदेव किमन्यत् किं शाश्वतं किमशाश्वतमशाश्वतं शाश्वतं च किं वा नोभयमप्यथ
kiṃ tad eva kim anyat kiṃ śāśvataṃ kim aśāśvatam aśāśvataṃ śāśvataṃ ca kiṃ vā nobhayam apy atha
The line
What would be just that, what other, what permanent, what impermanent, what both impermanent and permanent, or what neither?
नेपालीमा
ठीक त्यही के होस्, अर्को के होस्, नित्य के होस्, अनित्य के होस्, अनित्य र नित्य दुवै के होस्, दुवै होइन के होस्?
Where it sits
25.22 was finite and infinite. 25.23 is identity and permanence. 25.24 closes the chapter and, in a way, the teaching: the stilling of every apprehension, the stilling of proliferation, the auspicious, and no dharma (धर्म) taught by the Buddha to anyone.
Split: kim (किम्) + tat (तत्) + eva (एव) + kim (किम्) + anyat (अन्यत्) + kim (किम्) + śāśvatam (शाश्वतम्) + kim (किम्) + aśāśvatam (अशाश्वतम्) + aśāśvatam (अशाश्वतम्) + śāśvatam (शाश्वतम्) + ca (च) + kim (किम्) + vā (वा) + na (न) + ubhayam (उभयम्) + api (अपि) + atha (अथ)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| tat (तत्) | nominative singular, neuter | that. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | just, the very. tat eva (ततेव) is 'just that,' the same. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| anyat (अन्यत्) | nominative singular, neuter | other, a different one. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| śāśvatam (शाश्वतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | permanent. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| aśāśvatam (अशाश्वतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | impermanent. |
| aśāśvatam (अशाश्वतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | impermanent. |
| śāśvatam (शाश्वतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | and permanent. Both. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what. |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or. |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| ubhayam (उभयम्) | nominative singular, neuter | both. na ubhayam (न उभयम्) is neither. |
| api (अपि) | indeclinable | even. |
| atha (अथ) | indeclinable | or then, and again. |
The phrases
More of the questions views are made of. Is the Tathāgata (तथागत) the same as the aggregates or other than them? Permanent or not? Both? Neither? kim (किम्) in front of each, and the condition is still 25.22's, all dharmas (धर्म) empty.
The verse does not answer them one by one. The emptiness is the answer to the set.
Sanskrit in this line
tad eva (तदेव) and anyat (अन्यत्) are 'the same' and 'another.' śāśvata (शाश्वत) and aśāśvata (अशाश्वत) are the permanence pair from the homage, now as questions.
Say it back
Which pairs of questions are on this line?