Śiva Sūtra / Śāmbhavopāya (शाम्भव) / 1.4
1.4
ज्ञानाधिष्ठानं मातृका jñānādhiṣṭhānaṃ mātṛkā
The line
The ground of knowing is the mother of the letters.
नेपालीमा
ज्ञानको आधार अक्षरकी आमा हो।
Where it sits
2.7 returns to her as a wheel, mātṛkācakra (मातृकाचक्र). The letters are not listed here.
Split: jñānādhiṣṭhānam (ज्ञानाधिष्ठानम्) + mātṛkā (मातृका)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| jñānādhiṣṭhānam (ज्ञानाधिष्ठानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the ground on which knowing stands. adhiṣṭhāna (अधिष्ठान) is a standing-place. jñāna (ज्ञान) is knowing. |
| mātṛkā (मातृका) | nominative singular, feminine | the mother of the letters. The little mother. In this book she is the phoneme-matrix the powers stand on. |
The phrases
Two nominatives. The ground of knowing is mātṛkā (मातृका). 1.2 said knowing is bondage. This line names what that knowing stands on.
Sanskrit in this line
jñāna (ज्ञान) and adhiṣṭhāna (अधिष्ठान) join as jñānādhiṣṭhāna (ज्ञानाधिष्ठान), long ā (आ) plus short a (अ) becoming long ā (आ). The anusvāra (अनुस्वार) is written before m (म्).
Say it back
Say what stands under knowing, in the line's own word.