2.17
द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः संयोगो हेयहेतुः
draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoḥ saṃyogo heya-hetuḥ
The line
The cause of what is to be avoided is the joining of seer and seen.
नेपालीमा
टार्नुपर्ने कुराको कारण द्रष्टा र दृश्यको संयोग हो।
Where it sits
1.3 and 1.4 already showed the seer either in its own form or identified with the activities. This line names that identification as a joining, and names the joining as the cause. 2.18–2.22 will say what the seen is, what the seer is, and how the joining can end for one person and not for the world.
Split: draṣṭṛ (द्रष्टृ) + dṛśyayoḥ (दृश्ययोः) + saṃyogaḥ (संयोगः) + heya (हेय) + hetuḥ (हेतुः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| draṣṭṛ (द्रष्टृ) | stem | the seer. From 1.3. |
| dṛśyayoḥ (दृश्ययोः) | genitive dual of dṛśya (दृश्य) | of the seen, together with the seer. The dual ending covers both. |
| saṃyogaḥ (संयोगः) | nominative singular, masculine | the joining, the being-yoked-together. |
| heya (हेय) | stem | of what is to be avoided. From 2.16. |
| hetuḥ (हेतुः) | nominative singular, masculine | the cause. |
The phrases
draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoḥ (द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः) is genitive dual: of the seer and the seen. saṃyogaḥ (संयोगः) is the joining of those two. heya-hetuḥ (हेयहेतुः) says that joining is the cause of what is to be avoided.
The suffering of 2.16 is not caused by the seer alone or by the seen alone. It is caused by their being joined. That is why a practice aimed only at improving the seen never finishes the job.
Sanskrit in this line
Dual -yoḥ (योः) is the genitive/locative dual after a vowel stem, the same number as -oḥ (ओः) in śaktyoḥ (शक्त्योः) at 2.6. Exactly two: seer and seen. heya-hetu (हेयहेतु) is “the cause of the to-be-avoided,” a compound read from the end.
Say it back
Say the two that are joined, with the dual ending. Then say what their joining is the cause of.