1.23
ईश्वरप्रणिधानाद् वा
īśvara-praṇidhānād vā
The line
Or by dedication to Īśvara (ईश्वर).
नेपालीमा
अथवा ईश्वरप्रणिधानबाट पनि त्यो हुन्छ।
Where it sits
The means of 1.12 were practice and dispassion. 1.20–1.22 spelled the practice out as a ladder. This line opens a second door, and 1.24–1.29 will say who Īśvara (ईश्वर) is and what the dedication uses.
Vyāsa (व्यास)'s bhāṣya (भाष्य) reads praṇidhāna (प्रणिधान) as a particular devotion. By it, samādhi (समाधि) comes nearer. 2.45 names the fruit samādhi-siddhi (समाधिसिद्धि), the mastery that is absorption, and says it comes from this dedication. Īśvara (ईश्वर) is the puruṣa (पुरुष) the next line defines, the exemplar the mind is offered toward. The puruṣas (पुरुष) of this darśana (दर्शन) stay many. The line offers a way of absorption. It does not make Īśvara (ईश्वर) the maker of prakṛti (प्रकृति).
Split: īśvara (ईश्वर) + praṇidhānāt (प्रणिधानात्) + vā (वा)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| īśvara (ईश्वर) | stem | Īśvara (ईश्वर). A distinct puruṣa (पुरुष), defined in the next line. Left untranslated. |
| praṇidhānāt (प्रणिधानात्) | ablative singular of praṇidhāna (प्रणिधान) | from dedication. Placing oneself toward. |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or. Another way, beside the practice already named. |
The phrases
īśvara-praṇidhānāt (ईश्वरप्रणिधानात्) is an ablative compound: from dedication, and the dedication is to Īśvara (ईश्वर). The verb and the result are not repeated. From 1.20–1.22 you already know what this is a way toward.
vā (वा) is the whole point of the little word at the end. This is not a replacement of practice. It is an alternative route to the same nearness.
Sanskrit in this line
No new ending. The ablative -āt (आत्) is the same “from” as anugamāt (अनुगमात्) in 1.17. What is new is vā (वा), “or,” which will return whenever the book offers another way of the same thing.
Say it back
Say the compound with the ablative still on it, then vā (वा). The vā (वा) is not optional decoration.