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Bhagavad-Gītā with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 2.35
bhayād raṇād uparataṃ maṃsyante tvāṃ mahārathāḥ | yeṣāṃ ca tvaṃ bahumato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam
Translation. The great chariot-warriors (mahārathāḥ) will think that you withdrew from battle out of fear;
and, having been highly esteemed by them, you will sink once more into lightness (lāghava)—low regard.
Grammar check: 13 words pass / 0 flagged / 0 beyond the checkerPāṇini-verified
Every word's claimed grammar is re-derived with vidyut-prakriya, software implementing Pāṇini's rules. Flags are shown, never hidden; some are the text taking epic or Vedic liberties the classical rules do not generate.
Word by word
| surface | lemma | grammar |
|---|
| bhayāt | bhaya | pass |
| raṇāt | raṇa | pass |
| uparatam | uparata | pass |
| maṃsyante | man | pass |
| tvām | tvad | pass |
| mahārathāḥ | mahāratha | pass |
| yeṣām | yad | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| tvam | tvad | pass |
| bahumataḥ | bahumata | pass |
| bhūtvā | bhū | pass |
| yāsyasi | yā | pass |
| lāghavam | lāghava | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Śaṅkara's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Bhayāt is the cause of the withdrawal, while raṇāt is the ablative complement of uparatam: Arjuna will be thought to have withdrawn from battle out of fear.→ Causal bhayāt plus separative/complementary raṇāt with uparatam.
gita [1]bhayāt karṇādibhyaḥ raṇāt yuddhāt uparataṃ nivṛttaṃ
Out of fear arising from Karṇa and others; from battle, that is, from warfare; uparatam means “withdrawn.”
Maṃsyante expresses the warriors’ future judgment, and Śaṅkara explicitly excludes compassion as what they will suppose to be Arjuna’s motive.→ They will think that the withdrawal was motivated by fear, not mercy.
gita [1]maṃsyante cintayiṣyanti na kṛpayeti tvāṃ
They will think—will consider—you thus, not [as having withdrawn] from compassion.
Mahārathāḥ denotes great chariot-warriors, specifically Duryodhana and others, rather than literal large chariots.→ Great chariot-warriors.
gita [1]mahārathāḥ duryodhana-prabhṛtayaḥ
The great chariot-warriors—Duryodhana and those beginning with him.
Mahāratha is analyzed as a karmadhāraya, mahān rathaḥ, with ratha in its lexical sense “warrior/champion.” A possessive bahuvrīhi analysis is possible etymologically but is not required by the contextual meaning.→ Karmadhāraya with the personal sense of ratha.
gita []
The commentary identifies the referents but does not state the compound class; the classification rests on grammar and the supplied dictionary’s personal sense of ratha.
Yeṣām is a relational genitive referring to Duryodhana and his party, rendered idiomatically as “by them” or “in their estimation.”→ Evaluative relation with bahumataḥ: “highly esteemed by them/in their estimation.”
gita [2]yeṣāṃ ca tvaṃ duryodhanādīnāṃ bahu-mato
And of whom—that is, of Duryodhana and the others—you were highly esteemed.
Bahumataḥ means “highly esteemed,” specifically regarded as possessing many virtues; it does not mean merely “approved by many people” or “majority opinion.”→ Highly esteemed because regarded as endowed with many virtues.
gita [2]bahu-mato bahubhir guṇair yuktaḥ ity evaṃ mataḥ
Bahumata means regarded in this way: “endowed with many virtues.”
Bahumata is treated as a single inflecting karmadhāraya compound, not as two independently inflected words.→ Single karmadhāraya compound bahumata, “much/highly esteemed.”
gita []
Śaṅkara determines the contextual meaning but does not explicitly name the samāsa class; the compound analysis rests on its joined form and syntax.
Bhūtvā is an absolutive marking the prior state of being highly esteemed; punar supplied by Śaṅkara makes the subsequent descent a return to low standing.→ Bahumataḥ bhūtvā forms the prior-state clause, followed by “you will again go to low standing.”
gita [2]bahumato bhūtvā punar yāsyasi lāghavaṃ
Having been highly esteemed, you will again go to lāghava.
Lāghavam is interpreted contextually as low standing or being lightly regarded, not as the normally positive qualities of agility, ease, or skill.→ Lightness in status, hence low regard or insignificance.
gita [2]lāghavaṃ laghu-bhāvam
Lāghava means the condition of being light or slight.
Raṇa is neuter here because it bears the lexical sense “battle,” notwithstanding Vyākaraṇī’s masculine tag.→ Neuter singular ablative raṇāt.
gita []
The choice follows the supplied MW entry for neuter raṇa “battle”; Śaṅkara’s neuter synonym yuddhāt supports the sense but does not by itself prove gender identity.
Tvam is nominative, not accusative, because it is the overt subject of bhūtvā and the second-person verb yāsyasi.→ Nominative masculine singular.
gita []
The form tvam and its agreement with the second-person singular yāsyasi determine the case independently of commentary.
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1bhayāt karṇādibhyaḥ raṇāt yuddhāt uparataṃ nivṛttaṃ maṃsyante cintayiṣyanti na kṛpayeti tvāṃ mahārathāḥ duryodhana-prabhṛtayaḥ |
2yeṣāṃ ca tvaṃ duryodhanādīnāṃ bahu-mato bahubhir guṇair yuktaḥ ity evaṃ mataḥ bahumato bhūtvā punar yāsyasi lāghavaṃ laghu-bhāvam ||bhgs_2.35||