1.1.23
Brahma Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.1.23
आकाशस् तल्लिङ्गात्
ākāśas talliṅgāt
The line
Space is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्), because Brahman (ब्रह्मन्)'s marks are present.
नेपालीमा
आकाश ब्रह्म हो, किनकि ब्रह्मका चिह्न छन्।
Where it sits
A new word, ākāśa (आकाश). The method is the one just used: attributes decide the word. tat in talliṅga (तल्लिङ्ग) is brahman (ब्रह्मन्) from 1.1.1, whose mark was given in 1.1.2. The three readings agree it is not the element. They differ on the brahman (ब्रह्मन्) thus marked, as at 1.1.2.
Split: ākāśaḥ (आकाशः) + tad-liṅgāt (तद्-लिङ्गात्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| ākāśaḥ (आकाशः) | nominative singular, masculine | space |
| tad-liṅgāt (तद्-लिङ्गात्) | ablative singular, neuter | because of the mark of that, of Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) |
The phrases
The passage is the Chāndogya (छान्दोग्य) question: what is the goal of this world? The answer is space. Beings arise from space and return into space. Space is greater than these. Space is the last goal.
Those are the marks of the brahman (ब्रह्मन्) of 1.1.2: origin, return, and being beyond. So ākāśa (आकाश) here is not the element. liṅga (लिङ्ग) is the mark. tat is brahman (ब्रह्मन्).
Sanskrit in this line
ākāśaḥ (आकाशः) before t is recited ākāśas (आकाश). tat plus liṅga (लिङ्ग) doubles the t. The element ākāśa (आकाश) is masculine in this grammatical use, as the word in the sentence.
Say it back
Gloss the question and the answer: the goal of this world is space, and that space is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्).
Next
1.1.24. For the same reason, the breath named beside that space is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्).