4.17
तदुपरागापेक्षित्वाच् चित्तस्य वस्तु ज्ञाताज्ञातम्
tad-uparāgāpekṣitvāc cittasya vastu jñātājñātam
The line
A thing is known or unknown according as the mind is or is not colored by it.
नेपालीमा
चित्त त्यसले रँगिएको छ कि छैन, त्यहीअनुसार वस्तु ज्ञात वा अज्ञात हुन्छ।
Where it sits
The positive account, after 4.16's refusal. 4.18 will say the mind's own activities are always known, because their lord, puruṣa (पुरुष), does not change. That begins the long argument that the mind is not self-illuminating.
Split: tat (तत्) + uparāga (उपराग) + apekṣitvāt (अपेक्षित्वात्) + cittasya (चित्तस्य) + vastu (वस्तु) + jñāta (ज्ञात) + ajñātam (अज्ञातम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| tat (तत्) | stem | by that. By the thing. |
| uparāga (उपराग) | stem | a coloring. The mind taking on the thing's color. |
| apekṣitvāt (अपेक्षित्वात्) | ablative singular | because of depending on. Because it depends on whether the mind is colored. |
| cittasya (चित्तस्य) | genitive singular | of the mind. |
| vastu (वस्तु) | nominative singular, neuter | a thing. |
| jñāta (ज्ञात) | stem | known. |
| ajñātam (अज्ञातम्) | nominative singular, neuter | or unknown. The ending covers both. |
The phrases
A thing is known or unknown according as the mind is or is not colored by it. uparāga (उपराग) + apekṣā (अपेक्षा) is a (अ) + a (अ) = ā (आ). apekṣitvāt cittasya (अपेक्षित्वात् चित्तस्य) is recited apekṣitvāc cittasya (अपेक्षित्वाच् चित्तस्य), t (त्) before c (च्). jñāta (ज्ञात) + ajñāta (अज्ञात) is a (अ) + a (अ) = ā (आ).
The thing stays, from 4.16. What changes is whether the mind has taken its color. Known and unknown are states of the relation, not births and deaths of the thing.
Sanskrit in this line
t (त्) before c (च्) becomes c (च्). The ablative -tvāt (त्वात्) is “because of depending.” jñātājñāta (ज्ञाताज्ञात) is a dvandva, “known and unknown,” like kliṣṭākliṣṭa (क्लिष्टाक्लिष्ट). The thing takes both descriptions. The dependence decides which.
Say it back
Say what decides known and unknown. The mind's being colored. Not the thing's popping in and out.
Next
4.18. The mind's activities are always known, because their lord, puruṣa, does not undergo change.