2.21
तदर्थ एव दृश्यस्यात्मा
tad-artha eva dṛśyasyātmā
The line
The nature of the seen exists only for the sake of that seer.
नेपालीमा
दृश्यको स्वभाव त्यस द्रष्टाका लागि मात्र रहन्छ।
Where it sits
The seen has been described. Its reason for being is now the seer. 2.22 will face the obvious objection: if the seen is only for the seer, why does it remain when one seer is free?
Split: tat (तत्) + arthaḥ (अर्थः) + eva (एव) + dṛśyasya (दृश्यस्य) + ātmā (आत्मा)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| tat (तत्) | stem | that. The seer of 2.20. |
| arthaḥ (अर्थः) | nominative singular, masculine | for the sake of. Existing for that. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | only. For that, and not for itself. |
| dṛśyasya (दृश्यस्य) | genitive singular of dṛśya (दृश्य) | of the seen. |
| ātmā (आत्मा) | nominative singular of ātman (आत्मन्) | the nature, the self of it. What the seen essentially is. |
The phrases
tad-arthaḥ eva (तदर्थः एव) says “only for the sake of that.” dṛśyasya ātmā (दृश्यस्य आत्मा) is “the nature of the seen,” recited dṛśyasyātmā (दृश्यस्यात्मा) because a (अ) + ā (आ) = ā (आ). The nature of the seen is nothing but being for the seer.
2.18 already said the seen is for experience and for release. This line sharpens it: both of those are for the seer. The seen does not have a private purpose.
Sanskrit in this line
ātman (आत्मन्) in the nominative is ātmā (आत्मा), a form like draṣṭā (द्रष्टा): the ending is a long vowel, not -aḥ (अः). Genitive dṛśyasya (दृश्यस्य) is “of the seen,” ordinary -sya (स्य). The sandhi a (अ) + ā (आ) = ā (आ) hides the joint between them.
Say it back
Say whose sake, and whose nature. tad (तद्) is the seer. dṛśyasya (दृश्यस्य) is the seen.