Vijñāna Bhairava / Verses 111–138 (उपदेश) / 120
120
Vijñāna Bhairava (विज्ञान भैरव)
क्वचिद् वस्तुनि विन्यस्य शनैर् दृष्टिं निवर्तयेत् ।
तज् ज्ञानं चित्तसहितं देवि शून्यालायो भवेत् kvacid vastuni vinyasya śanair dṛṣṭiṃ nivartayet |
taj jñānaṃ cittasahitaṃ devi śūnyālāyo bhavet
The line
Having placed it on some thing, one should slowly turn the gaze back. That knowing, together with the mind, O Goddess, would become an abode of the void.
नेपालीमा
हे देवी, कुनै वस्तुमा दृष्टि राखेर बिस्तारै फर्काउनु। त्यो ज्ञान चित्तसहित शून्यालय हुन्छ।
Where it sits
The gaze goes out and is turned back. The knowing that returns is what becomes an abode of the void.
Split: kvacit (क्वचित्) + vastuni (वस्तुनि) + vinyasya (विन्यस्य) + śanaiḥ (शनैः) + dṛṣṭim (दृष्टिम्) + nivartayet (निवर्तयेत्) + tat (तत्) + jñānam (ज्ञानम्) + cittasahitam (चित्तसहितम्) + devi (देवि) + śūnyālayaḥ (शून्यालयः) + bhavet (भवेत्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| kvacit (क्वचित्) | indeclinable | on something. Recited kvacid (क्वचिद्) before v (व्). |
| vastuni (वस्तुनि) | locative singular, neuter | on a thing. |
| vinyasya (विन्यस्य) | absolutive | having placed. |
| śanaiḥ (शनैः) | indeclinable | slowly. Recited śanair (शनैर्). |
| dṛṣṭim (दृष्टिम्) | accusative singular, feminine | the gaze. |
| nivartayet (निवर्तयेत्) | optative causative | one should turn back. |
| tat (तत्) | nominative singular, neuter | that. |
| jñānam (ज्ञानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | knowing. |
| cittasahitam (चित्तसहितम्) | nominative singular, neuter | together with the mind. |
| devi (देवि) | vocative singular, feminine | O Goddess. |
| śūnyālayaḥ (शून्यालयः) | nominative singular, masculine | one whose abode is the void. Recited śūnyālāyo (शून्यालायो). |
| bhavet (भवेत्) | optative | one would become. |
The phrases
Having placed the gaze slowly on some thing, one should turn it back. That knowing, together with the mind, O Goddess, would become one whose abode is the void.
Sanskrit in this line
nivartayet (निवर्तयेत्) is the causative of ni (नि) and vṛt (वृत्), to turn. The gaze is turned back. It is not left on the thing.
Say it back
Say what is turned back, and what it becomes.