51
Sāṅkhya Kārikā / Verses 22–55, the world / 51
ऊहः शब्दोऽध्ययनं दुःखविघातास् त्रयः सुहृत्प्राप्तिः दानं च सिद्धयोऽष्टौ सिद्धेः पूर्वोऽङ्कुशस् त्रिविधः
ūhaḥ śabdo 'dhyayanaṃ duḥkhavighātās trayaḥ suhṛtprāptiḥ dānaṃ ca siddhayo 'ṣṭau siddheḥ pūrvo 'ṅkuśas trividhaḥ
The line
Reasoning, oral teaching, study, three removals of pain, gaining a friend, and giving are the eight successes. Before success there is a threefold goad.
नेपालीमा
युक्ति, सुनेको उपदेश, अध्ययन, दुःख हटाउने तीन, मित्र पाउनु र दान आठ सिद्धि हुन्। सिद्धिभन्दा अघि तीन प्रकारको अङ्कुश हुन्छ।
Where it sits
The inventory is finished. Verse 52 ties it back to the subtle body: dispositions and the liṅga (लिङ्ग) need each other. Then the book describes the range of births, and from verse 56 on it says how the show ends.
Split: ūhaḥ (ऊहः) + śabdaḥ (शब्दः) + adhyayanam (अध्ययनम्) + duḥkha-vighātāḥ (दुःख-विघाताः) + trayaḥ (त्रयः) + suhṛt-prāptiḥ (सुहृत्-प्राप्तिः) + dānam (दानम्) + ca (च) + siddhayaḥ (सिद्धयः) + aṣṭau (अष्टौ) + siddheḥ (सिद्धेः) + pūrvaḥ (पूर्वः) + aṅkuśaḥ (अङ्कुशः) + tri-vidhaḥ (त्रि-विधः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| ūhaḥ (ऊहः) | nominative singular, masculine | reasoning, one's own inquiry. |
| śabdaḥ (शब्दः) | nominative singular, masculine | hearing it from someone. Oral instruction. |
| adhyayanam (अध्ययनम्) | nominative singular, neuter | study. Going over the text. |
| duḥkha-vighātāḥ trayaḥ (दुःख-विघाताः त्रयः) | nominative plural | three destructions of pain. The three pains of verse 1, each removed. |
| suhṛt-prāptiḥ (सुहृत्-प्राप्तिः) | nominative singular, feminine | gaining a friend, a teacher who wishes you well. |
| dānam (दानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | giving. Purity of the means, or the gift that supports study, in the commentaries. |
| siddhayaḥ aṣṭau (सिद्धयः अष्टौ) | nominative plural | the successes are eight. |
| siddheḥ pūrvaḥ (सिद्धेः पूर्वः) | genitive, nominative | prior to success. |
| aṅkuśaḥ tri-vidhaḥ (अङ्कुशः त्रि-विधः) | nominative singular, masculine | a goad of three kinds. The three failures that block reasoning, hearing, and study, and by blocking them drive a person on. A goad pushes. |
The phrases
Eight, matching verse 47. The first three are how knowledge arrives. The next three are the end of the three pains. The last two are the company and the gift that make study possible.
aṅkuśa (अङ्कुश) is the interesting word. The obstacles in front of the first three successes are not only obstacles. They goad. Pain's persistence is what verse 1 already used to start the inquiry.
Sanskrit in this line
aṣṭau (अष्टौ) is the nominative of eight, and it does not change for gender the way catasraḥ (चतस्रः) did. siddhayaḥ (सिद्धयः) is feminine plural, and aṣṭau (अष्टौ) is left as the number-word beside it.
Say it back
Which three successes are ways of learning, and which three are the end of verse 1?