Vijñāna Bhairava / Verses 24–50 (उपदेश) / 34
34
Vijñāna Bhairava (विज्ञान भैरव)
कपालान्तर् मनो न्यस्य तिष्ठन् मीलितलोचनः ।
क्रमेण मनसो दार्ढ्यात् लक्षयेत् लक्ष्यमुत्तमम् kapālāntar mano nyasya tiṣṭhan mīlitalocanaḥ |
krameṇa manaso dārḍhyāt lakṣayet lakṣyam uttamam
The line
Having placed the mind inside the skull, standing with eyes closed, from the firmness of the mind in sequence, one should discern the highest target.
नेपालीमा
कपालभित्र मन राखेर, आँखा चिम्लेर उभिँदै, क्रमले मनको दृढताबाट उत्तम लक्ष्य चिन्नु।
Where it sits
The electronic text prints laṣyam (लष्यम्). The word is lakṣyam (लक्ष्यम्), the target, from the same root as lakṣayet (लक्षयेत्). The page stays with the sentence.
Split: kapālāntar (कपालान्तर्) + manaḥ (मनः) + nyasya (न्यस्य) + tiṣṭhan (तिष्ठन्) + mīlitalocanaḥ (मीलितलोचनः) + krameṇa (क्रमेण) + manasaḥ (मनसः) + dārḍhyāt (दार्ढ्यात्) + lakṣayet (लक्षयेत्) + lakṣyam (लक्ष्यम्) + uttamam (उत्तमम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| kapālāntar (कपालान्तर्) | indeclinable, or locative compound | inside the skull. kapāla (कपाल) is the skull. antar (अन्तर्) is within. |
| manaḥ (मनः) | accusative singular, neuter | the mind. |
| nyasya (न्यस्य) | absolutive | having placed. From ni (नि) and as (अस्). |
| tiṣṭhan (तिष्ठन्) | nominative singular, masculine | standing. Present participle. |
| mīlitalocanaḥ (मीलितलोचनः) | nominative singular, masculine | one whose eyes are closed. mīlita (मीलित) is closed. locana (लोचन) is an eye. |
| krameṇa (क्रमेण) | instrumental singular, masculine | by sequence. |
| manasaḥ (मनसः) | genitive singular, neuter | of the mind. Recited manaso (मनसो) before d (द्). |
| dārḍhyāt (दार्ढ्यात्) | ablative singular, neuter | from firmness. dārḍhya (दार्ढ्य) is the abstract of dṛḍha (दृढ), firm. |
| lakṣayet (लक्षयेत्) | optative, third person singular | one should discern. From lakṣ (लक्ष्), to mark. |
| lakṣyam (लक्ष्यम्) | accusative singular, neuter | the target. |
| uttamam (उत्तमम्) | accusative singular, neuter | highest. |
The phrases
The absolutive places the mind. The participle tiṣṭhan (तिष्ठन्) is the person, and mīlitalocanaḥ (मीलितलोचनः) describes him. From firmness, he would discern the highest target.
Sanskrit in this line
dārḍhya (दार्ढ्य) is built by vṛddhi (वृद्धि): dṛḍha (दृढ) becomes dārḍhya (दार्ढ्य), the noun firmness.
Say it back
Say where the mind is placed, and what is discerned.