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Bhagavad-Gītā with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 2.41
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana | bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām
Translation. The cognition (buddhi) whose nature is determination (vyavasāya) is one alone here—on the path to the highest good—O scion of Kuru;
for the cognitions of the irresolute (avyavasāyin)—those devoid of discriminative cognition generated by valid means—are many-branched and endless.
Grammar check: 11 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 |
|---|
| vyavasāyātmikā | vyavasāyātmikā | pass |
| buddhiḥ | buddhi | pass |
| ekā | eka | pass |
| iha | iha | pass |
| kuru-nandana | kuru-nandana | pass |
| bahu-śākhāḥ | bahu-śākha | pass |
| hi | hi | pass |
| anantāḥ | ananta | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| buddhayaḥ | buddhi | pass |
| avyavasāyinām | avyavasāyin | 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.
Vyavasāyātmikā means “having settled determination as its nature,” not merely “energetic” or “effortful.” It is analyzed as an externally referring possessive compound qualifying buddhiḥ.→ cognition whose nature is determination
gita [1]vyavasāyātmikā niścaya-svabhāvā
“Vyavasāyātmikā” means “whose nature is settled determination.”
Ekā is predicative and emphatic—“one alone”—while iha is restricted to the path to the highest good, rather than meaning generally “in this world.”→ one alone here—on the path to the highest good
gita [1]ekā eva buddhir itara-viparīta-buddhi-śākhā-bhedasya vādhikā, samyak-pramāṇa-janitatvāt, iha śreyo-mārge
The cognition is one alone and blocks the branching divisions of contrary cognition because it is produced by a correct means of knowledge; “here” means on the path to the highest good.
Bahu-śākhāḥ is a bahuvrīhi agreeing with plural buddhayaḥ: the cognitions have many branches, namely many divisions. It does not make śākhāḥ an independent noun.→ many-branched cognitions
gita [2]tā buddhayo bahu-śākhāḥ bahvvayaḥ śākhāḥ yāsāṃ tāḥ bahu-śākhāḥ, bahu-bhedā ity etat
Those cognitions are many-branched: those which have many branches are “many-branched”; that is, they have many divisions.
Anantāḥ modifies buddhayaḥ and describes their limitless branch-by-branch differentiation. Commentary line 3 prints the grammatically irregular anantā ca, apparently a plaintext or transmission error for plural anantāś ca; this defective reading is quoted but not adopted.→ the cognitions are endless
gita [3]pratiśākhā-bhedena hy anantā ca buddhayaḥ
For the cognitions are endless through differentiation branch by branch.
gita [2]ananta-bheda-buddhiṣu
among cognitions having endless divisions
Avyavasāyinām is a possessive genitive dependent on buddhayaḥ. Śaṅkara does not understand avyavasāyin merely as “inactive” or “negligent”; it denotes those lacking discriminative cognition generated by valid means.→ the cognitions of the irresolute—those devoid of discriminative cognition generated by valid means
gita [4]keṣām ? avyavasāyināṃ pramāṇa-janita-viveka-buddhi-rahitānām ity arthaḥ
Of whom? Of the non-resolute, meaning those devoid of discriminative cognition generated by a means of valid knowledge.
gita [5]yeṣāṃ vyavasāyātmikā buddhir nāsti te--
Those in whom cognition whose nature is determination does not exist—
Hi introduces the second hemistich as the explanation or contrast supporting the first: “for.”→ for, as a causal/explanatory particle ([MW s.v. hi, 1297,3])
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Kuru-nandana is treated as a genitive tatpuruṣa and a vocative epithet. Since the commentary supplies no semantic gloss beyond he kurunandana, nandana is taken in its attested sense “son” or “scion.”→ O scion of Kuru, on the basis of nandana “a son” ([MW s.v. nandana, 526,3])
gita []
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1vyavasāyātmikā niścaya-svabhāvā ekā eva buddhir itara-viparīta-buddhi-śākhā-bhedasya vādhikā, samyak-pramāṇa-janitatvāt, iha śreyo-mārge |
2he kurunandana ! yāḥ punar itarā viparīta-buddhayaḥ, yāsāṃ śākhā-bheda-pracāra-vaśāt ananto 'pāro 'nuparataḥ saṃsāro nitya-pratato vistīrṇo bhavati, pramāṇa-janita-viveka-buddhi-nimitta-vaśāc ca uparatāsv ananta-bheda-buddhiṣu saṃsāro 'py uparamate tā buddhayo bahu-śākhāḥ bahvvayaḥ śākhāḥ yāsāṃ tāḥ bahu-śākhāḥ, bahu-bhedā ity etat |
3pratiśākhā-bhedena hy anantā ca buddhayaḥ |
4keṣām ? avyavasāyināṃ pramāṇa-janita-viveka-buddhi-rahitānām ity arthaḥ ||bhgs_2.41||
5yeṣāṃ vyavasāyātmikā buddhir nāsti te--