1.2.11
Brahma Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.2.11
गुहां प्रविष्टावात्मानौ हि तद्दर्शनात्
guhāṃ praviṣṭāv ātmānau hi taddarśanāt
The line
The two who entered the cave are two selves, for the text shows that.
नेपालीमा
गुफामा पसेका ती दुई चाहिँ दुई आत्मा हुन्, किनकि पाठले त्यो देखाउँछ।
Where it sits
A new passage, still in the Kaṭha (कठ)'s reach. Śaṅkara (शङ्कर) takes the two as the individual and the supreme, the eating belonging to the individual and the supreme present as the knower. Rāmānuja (रामानुज) takes both as real persons in the heart, the supreme as the inner self and owner. Madhva takes them as different without remainder: the supreme does not eat the fruit of deeds as the bound soul does.
Split: guhām (गुहाम्) + praviṣṭau (प्रविष्टौ) + ātmānau (आत्मानौ) + hi (हि) + tad-darśanāt (तद्-दर्शनात्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| guhām (गुहाम्) | accusative singular, feminine | the cave |
| praviṣṭau (प्रविष्टौ) | nominative dual, masculine | the two who have entered |
| ātmānau (आत्मानौ) | nominative dual, masculine | two selves |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for, indeed |
| tad-darśanāt (तद्-दर्शनात्) | ablative singular, neuter | because that is seen, because the text shows it |
The phrases
The passage is the Kaṭha (कठ) verse of the two who drink the fruit of what has been done, entered into the cave, in the highest region. Knowers of brahman (ब्रह्मन्) call them shadow and light. The Muṇḍaka (मुण्डक) has the same picture as two birds on one tree, one eating, one looking.
The sūtra (सूत्र) says they are two selves, ātmānau (आत्मानौ), not one soul and a metaphor. hi presses the point. The text shows two, so taddarśana (तद्दर्शन) is the reason. The cave is the heart.
Sanskrit in this line
Dual nominatives in -au. praviṣṭau (प्रविष्टौ) before ā (आ) is recited praviṣṭāv (प्रविष्टाव्). guhā (गुहा) is feminine, accusative guhām (गुहाम्). darśana (दर्शन) is neuter.
Say it back
Say the two, and say which one eats.
Next
1.2.12. A qualifying word in the verse distinguishes the two.