4.18
सदा ज्ञाताश् चित्तवृत्तयस् तत्प्रभोः पुरुषस्यापरिणामित्वात्
sadā jñātāś citta-vṛttayas tat-prabhoḥ puruṣasyāpariṇāmitvāt
The line
The mind's activities are always known, because their lord, puruṣa (पुरुष), does not undergo change.
नेपालीमा
चित्तका वृत्तिहरू सधैँ ज्ञात हुन्छन्, किनकि तिनीहरूका स्वामी पुरुषमा परिवर्तन हुँदैन।
Where it sits
1.2's citta-vṛtti (चित्तवृत्ति) returns, now as something always known. 4.19 says the mind is not self-illuminating, because it is something seen. 4.20 and 4.21 close the escapes: it cannot know itself and its object in one moment, and another mind cannot be the knower without an infinite regress.
Split: sadā (सदा) + jñātāḥ (ज्ञाताः) + citta (चित्त) + vṛttayaḥ (वृत्तयः) + tat (तत्) + prabhoḥ (प्रभोः) + puruṣasya (पुरुषस्य) + apariṇāmitvāt (अपरिणामित्वात्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| sadā (सदा) | indeclinable | always. |
| jñātāḥ (ज्ञाताः) | nominative plural | known. |
| citta (चित्त) | stem | the mind. |
| vṛttayaḥ (वृत्तयः) | nominative plural | the activities. The activities of the mind are always known. |
| tat (तत्) | stem | of them. |
| prabhoḥ (प्रभोः) | genitive singular of prabhu (प्रभु) | of their lord. |
| puruṣasya (पुरुषस्य) | genitive singular | of puruṣa (पुरुष). The lord is puruṣa (पुरुष). |
| apariṇāmitvāt (अपरिणामित्वात्) | ablative singular | because of not undergoing change. |
The phrases
The mind's activities are always known, because their lord, puruṣa (पुरुष), does not change. jñātāḥ citta (ज्ञाताः चित्त) is recited jñātāś citta (ज्ञाताश् चित्त). puruṣasya (पुरुषस्य) + apariṇāmin (अपरिणामिन्) is a (अ) + a (अ) = ā (आ). The ablative is the because. A changing knower would miss things. Puruṣa (पुरुष) does not change, so the activities are always known.
This sets up 4.19. If the mind's activities are known by puruṣa (पुरुष), the mind is not the one that lights itself.
Sanskrit in this line
Ablative -tvāt (त्वात्) with a privative inside: because of the state of not-changing. Genitive prabhoḥ (प्रभोः) is “of the lord,” an -u (उ) stem genitive in -oḥ (ओः), the same -oḥ (ओः) shape as the dual, here singular. puruṣasya (पुरुषस्य) is in apposition: the lord, who is puruṣa (पुरुष).
Say it back
Say who the lord is, and why the activities are always known.
Next
4.19. The mind is not self-illuminating, because it is something seen.