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Bhagavad-Gītā with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 2.71
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumāṃś carati niḥspṛhaḥ | nirmamo nirahaṃkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchati
Translation. Having abandoned every desire, wholly and without remainder,
the renunciant (saṃnyāsin) who moves about with only the activity of bare life remaining,
without longing (niḥspṛha) even for bodily survival, without “mine”-fixation (nirmama) even toward the requisites it entails, and without egoistic self-estimation (nirahaṃkāra) arising from learning and the like—
such a man attains peace (śānti): the cessation of all the suffering of saṃsāra, called nirvāṇa; that is, he becomes Brahman.
Grammar check: 11 words pass / 0 flagged / 1 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 |
|---|
| vihāya | hā | pass |
| kāmān | kāma | pass |
| yaḥ | yad | pass |
| sarvān | sarva | pass |
| pumān | puṃs | unsupported |
| carati | car | pass |
| niḥspṛhaḥ | niḥspṛha | pass |
| nirmamaḥ | nirmama | pass |
| nirahaṃkāraḥ | nirahaṃkāra | pass |
| saḥ | tad | pass |
| śāntim | śānti | pass |
| adhigacchati | gam | 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.
Interpret vihāya as the absolutive of hā with vi, governing kāmān, rather than as an inflected nominal.→ Absolutive: “having abandoned.”
gita [1]vihāya parityajya kāmān
“Vihāya” means “having abandoned,” with desires as its object.
Take sarvān with kāmān and give it exhaustive scope.→ “Every desire, wholly and without remainder.”
gita [1]sarvān aśeṣataḥ kārtsnyena
All—without remainder, in their entirety.
Identify the pumān as a renunciant and construe carati as moving about with only bare life-maintaining activity remaining.→ A renunciant who moves about with only bare-life activity remaining.
gita [1]yaḥ saṃnyāsī pumān sarvān aśeṣataḥ kārtsnyena carati, jīvana-mātra-ceṣṭāśeṣaḥ paryaṭatīty arthaḥ
The man is a renunciant who, having abandoned all desires entirely and without remainder, moves about; the meaning is that only activity required for bare life remains.
Analyze niḥspṛha as a possessive bahuvrīhi and extend its scope even to longing for bodily survival.→ “Without longing even for mere bodily survival.”
gita [2]niḥspṛhaḥ śarīra-jīvana-mātre 'pi nirgatā spṛhā yasya saḥ
Niḥspṛha is one whose longing has departed even with respect to mere bodily life.
Analyze nirmama as an exocentric possessive expression and understand it as absence of the fixation “this is mine,” even regarding necessary requisites.→ “Without ‘mine’-fixation even toward the requisites entailed by bare bodily life.”
gita [2]nirmamaḥ śarīra-jīvana-mātrākṣipta-parigrahe 'pi mamedam ity abhiniveśa-varjitaḥ
Nirmama means devoid of the fixation “this is mine” even regarding possessions necessitated by mere bodily life.
Analyze nirahaṃkāra as a possessive bahuvrīhi and interpret ahaṃkāra here as self-estimation caused by learning and similar grounds.→ “Without egoistic self-estimation arising from learning and the like.”
gita [2]nirahaṃkāraḥ vidyāvattvādi-nimittātma-saṃbhāvanā-rahitaḥ ity etat
Nirahaṃkāra means devoid of self-estimation occasioned by being learned and the like.
Read saḥ as the correlative of yaḥ, referring to the person possessing all the preceding qualifications.→ “Such a man—he.”
gita [3]sa evaṃbhūtaḥ sthita-prajñaḥ brahmavit
That person, being thus constituted, is one of steady wisdom and a knower of Brahman.
Render śāntim adhigacchati as attaining the peace called nirvāṇa, defined as cessation of all saṃsāric suffering; Śaṅkara equates this attainment with becoming Brahman.→ “Attains peace—the cessation of all saṃsāric suffering, called nirvāṇa; that is, becomes Brahman.”
gita [3]śāntiṃ sarva-saṃsāra-duḥkhoparama-lakṣaṇāṃ nirvāṇākhyām adhigacchati prāpnoti brahma-bhūto bhavati ity arthaḥ
He attains—obtains—the peace called nirvāṇa, characterized by the cessation of all the suffering of saṃsāra; the meaning is that he becomes Brahman.
Understand the verse’s discourse function as praise of steadfastness in knowledge.→ The described condition commends jñāna-niṣṭhā.
gita [4]saiṣā jñāna-niṣṭhā stūyate -
This steadfastness in knowledge is being praised.
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1vihāya parityajya kāmān yaḥ saṃnyāsī pumān sarvān aśeṣataḥ kārtsnyena carati, jīvana-mātra-ceṣṭāśeṣaḥ paryaṭatīty arthaḥ |
2niḥspṛhaḥ śarīra-jīvana-mātre 'pi nirgatā spṛhā yasya saḥ niḥspṛhaḥ san nirmamaḥ śarīra-jīvana-mātrākṣipta-parigrahe 'pi mamedam ity abhiniveśa-varjitaḥ, nirahaṃkāraḥ vidyāvattvādi-nimittātma-saṃbhāvanā-rahitaḥ ity etat |
3sa evaṃbhūtaḥ sthita-prajñaḥ brahmavit śāntiṃ sarva-saṃsāra-duḥkhoparama-lakṣaṇāṃ nirvāṇākhyām adhigacchati prāpnoti brahma-bhūto bhavati ity arthaḥ ||bhgs_2.71||
4saiṣā jñāna-niṣṭhā stūyate -