Vijñāna Bhairava / The question (प्रश्न) / 4
4
Vijñāna Bhairava (विज्ञान भैरव)
नादबिन्दुमयं वापि किं चन्द्रार्धनिरोधिकाः ।
चक्रारूढमनच्कं वा किं वा शक्तिस्वरूपकम् nādabindumayaṃ vāpi kiṃ candrārdhanirodhikāḥ |
cakrārūḍham anackaṃ vā kiṃ vā śaktisvarūpakam
The line
Or is it made of nāda (नाद) and bindu (बिन्दु)? What of the half-moon and the blocker? Or mounted on the wheels? Or the sound without a vowel? Or the form that is śakti (शक्ति) itself?
नेपालीमा
कि त्यो नाद र बिन्दुबाट बनेको हो? अर्धचन्द्र र निरोधिका के हुन्? कि चक्रमा चढेको हो? कि स्वररहित ध्वनि हो? कि शक्तिकै रूप हो?
Where it sits
He will refuse this list at 12, with the verse's own na (न).
Split: nādabindumayam (नादबिन्दुमयम्) + vā (वा) + api (अपि) + kim (किम्) + candrārdhanirodhikāḥ (चन्द्रार्धनिरोधिकाः) + cakrārūḍham (चक्रारूढम्) + anackam (अनच्कम्) + vā (वा) + kim (किम्) + vā (वा) + śaktisvarūpakam (शक्तिस्वरूपकम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| nādabindumayam (नादबिन्दुमयम्) | nominative singular, neuter | made of nāda (नाद) and bindu (बिन्दु). nāda (नाद) is resonant sound. bindu (बिन्दु) is the drop, the point of sound. |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or. |
| api (अपि) | indeclinable | also. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what? |
| candrārdhanirodhikāḥ (चन्द्रार्धनिरोधिकाः) | nominative plural, feminine | the half-moon and the blocker. These are named stages of sounded mantra (मन्त्र). candra (चन्द्र) is the moon. ardha (अर्ध) is half. nirodhikā (निरोधिका) is a blocker. |
| cakrārūḍham (चक्रारूढम्) | nominative singular, neuter | mounted on the cakras (चक्र). ārūḍha (आरूढ) is mounted. |
| anackam (अनच्कम्) | nominative singular, neuter | without a vowel. ac (अच्) is a vowel. an (अन्) takes it away. |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or. |
| kim (किम्) | nominative singular, neuter | what? |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or. |
| śaktisvarūpakam (शक्तिस्वरूपकम्) | nominative singular, neuter | whose own form is śakti (शक्ति). svarūpa (स्वरूप) is one's own form. |
The phrases
The question continues. vāpi (वापि) and vā (वा) keep adding forms. anackam (अनच्कम्) is a sound with the vowel removed.
Sanskrit in this line
anacka (अनच्क) is an (अन्) plus ac (अच्) plus the suffix ka (क). ac (अच्) is the grammarian's name for a vowel.
Say it back
Name two sound-forms she asks about, in the verse's words.