Śiva Sūtra / Śāmbhavopāya (शाम्भव) / 1.1
1.1
चैतन्यमात्मा caitanyam ātmā
The line
Consciousness is the self.
नेपालीमा
चैतन्य नै आत्मा हो।
Where it sits
Opens the book. No earlier word is in force. Kṣemarāja (क्षेमराज) calls this awakening Śāmbhavopāya (शाम्भवोपाय), the means of Śambhu (शम्भु). The sūtra (सूत्र) does not print that name. 3.1 will say the self is the mind. Both sentences stay.
Split: caitanyam (चैतन्यम्) + ātmā (आत्मा)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| caitanyam (चैतन्यम्) | nominative singular, neuter | consciousness. cit (चित्) is awareness. caitanya (चैतन्य) is being that awareness. |
| ātmā (आत्मा) | nominative singular, masculine | the self. Nominative of ātman (आत्मन्). |
The phrases
Both words are nominative. A sūtra (सूत्र) with two nominatives and no verb says that one is the other. Consciousness is the self.
Sanskrit in this line
Final m (म्) before a vowel is recited as m (म्) plus that vowel, so the line is heard as one run. The split keeps the two nominatives, caitanyam (चैतन्यम्) and ātmā (आत्मा). ātmā (आत्मा) is the strong nominative of ātman (आत्मन्).
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what caitanya (चैतन्य) is, and say what the line says it is.