59
Sāṅkhya Kārikā / Verses 56–68, the end / 59
रङ्गस्य दर्शयित्वा निवर्तते नर्तकी यथा नृत्यात् पुरुषस्य तथात्मानं प्रकाश्य विनिवर्तते प्रकृतिः
raṅgasya darśayitvā nivartate nartakī yathā nṛtyāt puruṣasya tathātmānaṃ prakāśya vinivartate prakṛtiḥ
The line
As a dancer ceases from the dance after showing herself to the theater, so nature ceases, having revealed herself to the person.
नेपालीमा
जसरी नर्तकीले मञ्चलाई आफू देखाएपछि नाच छाड्छे, त्यसरी प्रकृतिले पुरुषलाई आफू देखाएपछि रोकिन्छे।
Where it sits
Verse 60 and 61 press the same image until it is almost tender. Nature has served a master who does her no service, and she is delicate enough not to show herself twice to a person who has seen. Then verse 62 says, very plainly, who it is that was never bound.
Split: raṅgasya (रङ्गस्य) + darśayitvā (दर्शयित्वा) + nivartate (निवर्तते) + nartakī (नर्तकी) + yathā (यथा) + nṛtyāt (नृत्यात्) + puruṣasya (पुरुषस्य) + tathā (तथा) + ātmānam (आत्मानम्) + prakāśya (प्रकाश्य) + vinivartate (विनिवर्तते) + prakṛtiḥ (प्रकृतिः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| raṅgasya (रङ्गस्य) | genitive singular | of the stage, of the audience gathered as the theater. |
| darśayitvā (दर्शयित्वा) | gerund | having shown. Having let herself be seen. |
| nivartate (निवर्तते) | present | she withdraws, she stops. |
| nartakī (नर्तकी) | nominative singular, feminine | the dancer. |
| nṛtyāt (नृत्यात्) | ablative singular | from the dance. |
| puruṣasya (पुरुषस्य) | genitive singular | of the person. He is the audience. |
| ātmānam (आत्मानम्) | accusative singular | herself. Nature's own form, not the person's self. |
| prakāśya (प्रकाश्य) | gerund | having revealed. |
| vinivartate (विनिवर्तते) | present | she ceases completely. |
| prakṛtiḥ (प्रकृतिः) | nominative singular, feminine | nature. |
The phrases
The dancer does not die when the show is over. She stops because the seeing is done. Nature's cessation is that kind of stop. The creation was a showing. Once the person has seen, the reason for the showing is gone.
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) is nature's self, her own display. It is not puruṣa (पुरुष). The accusative is the object of prakāśya (प्रकाश्य).
Sanskrit in this line
A gerund again, darśayitvā (दर्शयित्वा) and prakāśya (प्रकाश्य): the showing happens first, the stopping is the main verb. Feminine nartakī (नर्तकी) and prakṛtiḥ (प्रकृतिः) are the two subjects of the comparison.
Say it back
Why does the dancer leave? Say it with darśayitvā (दर्शयित्वा).