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Bhagavad-Gītā with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 2.58
yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmo 'ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ | indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
Translation. And when this ascetic (yati), engaged in steadfastness in knowledge (jñāna-niṣṭhā), wholly withdraws his senses (indriya) from all sense-objects (indriyārtha),
as a tortoise withdraws its limbs, his wisdom (prajñā) is established.
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 |
|---|
| yadā | yadā | pass |
| saṃharate | hṛ | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| ayam | idam | pass |
| kūrmaḥ | kūrma | pass |
| aṅgāni | aṅga | pass |
| iva | iva | pass |
| sarvaśaḥ | sarvaśas | pass |
| indriyāṇi | indriya | pass |
| indriyārthebhyaḥ | indriyārtha | pass |
| tasya | tad | pass |
| prajñā | prajñā | pass |
| pratiṣṭhitā | pratiṣṭhita | 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.
Ayam denotes “this ascetic (yati), engaged in steadfastness in knowledge,” rather than modifying kūrmaḥ as “this tortoise.”→ The commentator’s explicit identification: the ascetic engaged in steadfastness in knowledge.
gita [1]cāyaṃ jñāna-niṣṭhāyāṃ pravṛtto yatiḥ
And this one is the ascetic who has entered upon steadfastness in knowledge.
Saṃharate is a Kartari verb meaning “withdraws completely”; indriyāṇi is its accusative object and indriyārthebhyaḥ its ablative source, “withdraws the senses from all sense-objects.” This agrees with the range of saṃ-hṛ [MW s.v. saṃhṛ, 1123,1].→ Active withdrawal by the ascetic, with an accusative object and ablative source.
gita [1]yadā saṃharate samyag upasaṃharate
When he withdraws—withdraws properly and completely.
gita [1]evaṃ jñāna-niṣṭhaḥ indriyāṇi indriyārthebhyaḥ sarva-viṣayebhya upasaṃharate
In this way, one steadfast in knowledge withdraws the senses from the objects of the senses, from all objects.
Kūrmaḥ … aṅgāni iva is an elliptical comparison: “as a tortoise withdraws its limbs.” Kūrmaḥ is not appositional to ayam, and aṅgāni is the object of the repeated or understood verb.→ A separate yathā-comparison with the tortoise as agent and its own limbs as object.
gita [1]kūrmo 'ṅgāni iva yathā kūrmo bhayāt svāny aṅgāni upasaṃharati
Like a tortoise its limbs—that is, just as a tortoise, from fear, withdraws its own limbs.
Indriyārtha is analyzed as a ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa, indriyāṇām arthāḥ, “objects of the senses.” In context its plural ablative denotes all objects or fields of sensory engagement, not merely a purpose served by the senses [MW s.v. indriyārtha, 167,2].→ Ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa referring collectively to all sense-objects.
gita [1]indriyārthebhyaḥ sarva-viṣayebhya
From the objects of the senses, from all objects.
Prajñā pratiṣṭhitā is a complete subject-predicate clause: “his wisdom is established,” not a nominal expression such as “the foundation of his wisdom.” Prajñā is “wisdom” [MW s.v. prajñā, 659,2], while pratiṣṭhitā is the feminine predicate adjective supported by the supplied canonical lemma and by the sense “be established” [MW s.v. pratiṣṭhā, 671,2].→ The finite-equivalent nominal sentence, “his wisdom is established.”
gita [2]tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā ity uktārthaṃ vākyam
The sentence “his wisdom is established” has the meaning already stated.
The opening is rendered “And when”: yadā supplies the temporal frame [MW s.v. yadā, 844,1], while ca is taken as a discourse connective [MW s.v. ca, 380,1]. The commentary repeats but does not separately explain ca.→ “And when,” preserving both particles without imposing an iterative sense.
gita []
The verse is not overtranslated as saying that desire or attachment itself has already been eradicated. Its stated action is withdrawal of the senses from their objects; the commentary expressly distinguishes this from withdrawal of object-directed attachment (rāga).→ Voluntary sensory withdrawal, without importing an assertion that rāga has already disappeared.
gita [3]tatra viṣayān anāharataḥ āturasyāpi indriyāṇi kūrmāṅgānīva saṃhriyante na tu tad-viṣayo rāgaḥ
Here, even the senses of a sick person who does not take in objects are withdrawn like a tortoise’s limbs, but not the attachment directed toward those objects.
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1yadā saṃharate samyag upasaṃharate cāyaṃ jñāna-niṣṭhāyāṃ pravṛtto yatiḥ kūrmo 'ṅgāni iva yathā kūrmo bhayāt svāny aṅgāni upasaṃharati sarvaśaḥ sarvataḥ, evaṃ jñāna-niṣṭhaḥ indriyāṇi indriyārthebhyaḥ sarva-viṣayebhya upasaṃharate |
2tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā ity uktārthaṃ vākyam ||bhgs_2.58||
3tatra viṣayān anāharataḥ āturasyāpi indriyāṇi kūrmāṅgānīva saṃhriyante na tu tad-viṣayo rāgaḥ sa kathaṃ saṃhriyate ity ucyate -