2.31
जातिदेशकालसमयानवच्छिन्नाः सार्वभौमा महाव्रतम्
jāti-deśa-kāla-samayānavacchinnāḥ sārva-bhaumā mahā-vratam
The line
They are a great vow, for every ground, not cut by birth, place, time, or circumstance.
नेपालीमा
तिनीहरू महाव्रत हुन्, हरेक भूमिमा, जन्म, ठाउँ, काल वा परिस्थितिले काटिँदैनन्।
Where it sits
2.30 could have been heard as a vow for monks in a quiet place. This line closes that door. The restraints hold across birth, place, time, and circumstance. The fruits in 2.35 and after assume this unrestricted vow.
Split: jāti (जाति) + deśa (देश) + kāla (काल) + samaya (समय) + anavacchinnāḥ (अनवच्छिन्नाः) + sārva-bhaumāḥ (सार्वभौमाः) + mahā (महा) + vratam (व्रतम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| jāti (जाति) | stem | birth, kind. |
| deśa (देश) | stem | place. |
| kāla (काल) | stem | time. |
| samaya (समय) | stem | circumstance, the agreed situation. |
| anavacchinnāḥ (अनवच्छिन्नाः) | nominative plural, masculine | not cut off by those. The restraints are not suspended by birth, place, time, or circumstance. |
| sārva-bhaumāḥ (सार्वभौमाः) | nominative plural, masculine | belonging to every ground. For every stage of life. |
| mahā (महा) | stem | great. |
| vratam (व्रतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | a vow. |
The phrases
The restraints of 2.30 are still the subject. anavacchinnāḥ (अनवच्छिन्नाः) says they are not cut by the four conditions. samaya (समय) + anavacchinna (अनवच्छिन्न) is a (अ) + a (अ) = ā (आ).
sārva-bhaumāḥ mahā-vratam (सार्वभौमाः महाव्रतम्) calls them a great vow, for every ground. vratam (व्रतम्) is neuter and sārva-bhaumāḥ (सार्वभौमाः) is plural. The tradition reads the plural with the restraints, and mahā-vratam (महाव्रतम्) as what they amount to. They are one great vow.
Sanskrit in this line
an-avacchinna (अनवच्छिन्न) is the privative an- (अन्) before a vowel, as in anāgata (अनागत). “Not cut off.” You met anavaccheda (अनवच्छेद) with Īśvara (ईश्वर) in 1.26, not cut short by time. The same idea, now applied to a vow rather than to a teacher.
Say it back
Name the four things that do not cut the vow. Then the name of the vow: mahā-vratam (महाव्रतम्).