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Īśopaniṣad with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 14
saṃbhūtiṃ ca vināśaṃ ca yas tad vedobhayaṃ saha | vināśena mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā saṃbhūtyāmṛtam aśnute
Translation. Whoever knows together both—the unmanifest (asambhūti) and the destructible effect (vināśa)—
by worship of the destructible crosses death—lack of lordly power and the defects born of unrighteousness, desire, and so forth; by worship of the unmanifest he attains the deathless state consisting in absorption into primordial nature.
Grammar check: 14 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 |
|---|
| saṃbhūtim | saṃbhūti | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| vināśam | vināśa | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| yaḥ | yad | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| veda | vid | unsupported |
| ubhayam | ubhaya | pass |
| saha | saha | pass |
| vināśena | vināśa | pass |
| mṛtyum | mṛtyu | pass |
| tīrtvā | tṝ | pass |
| saṃbhūtyā | saṃbhūti | pass |
| amṛtam | amṛta | pass |
| aśnute | aś | 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.
Although the checked mūla prints saṃbhūtim and saṃbhūtyā, translate both with the privative sense asambhūti, ‘the unmanifest.’ The morphological analysis records the printed forms, while the translation follows Śaṅkara’s explicit interpretive restoration.→ Privative asambhūti, identified with the unmanifest (avyākṛta).
isup [2]sambhūtiṃ ca vināśaṃ cetyatrāvarṇalopena nirdeśo draṣṭavyaḥ prakṛtilayaphalaśrutyanurodhāt
In ‘sambhūtiṃ ca vināśaṃ ca,’ the expression is to be understood with elision of the vowel a, in conformity with the statement that the result is absorption into primordial nature.
isup [1]asambhūtyā avyākṛtopāsanayā amṛtaṃ prakṛtilayalakṣaṇamaśnute
Through asambhūti—that is, through worship of the unmanifest—he attains the deathless state characterized by absorption into primordial nature.
Treat vināśa not merely as abstract ‘destruction’ but as the destructible created effect, named ‘destruction’ through identification of the property with its bearer.→ The destructible effect, subsequently identified through its worship with Hiraṇyagarbha.
isup [1]vināśo dharmo yasya kāryasya sa tena dharmiṇā abhedena ucyate vināśa iti
What has destruction as its property—the effect—is designated ‘destruction’ on the basis of non-difference between the property and its bearer.
Construe vināśena as an instrumental of the worship of the destructible effect, not as the paradoxical means ‘by destruction.’ Śaṅkara identifies that worship as Hiraṇyagarbha-worship, whose fruit includes powers such as aṇimā.→ Through worship of the destructible effect, namely Hiraṇyagarbha.
isup [1]tena tadupāsanenānaiśvaryamadharmakāmādidoṣajātaṃ ca mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā--
By that—by worship of it—having crossed the death consisting in lack of lordly power and the complex of defects born from unrighteousness, desire, and so forth...
isup [1]hiraṇyagarbhopāsanenāpti hyāṇimādiprāptiḥ phalam
By worship of Hiraṇyagarbha ... attainment of aṇimā and the other powers is the result. The sequence around āpti hyāṇimādi is awkward in this unproofread text, but the identification of the worship and its result is clear.
Render mṛtyu contextually as the ‘death’ comprising lack of lordly power and defects generated by adharma, desire, and so forth, rather than limiting it to biological death.→ The death constituted by lack of lordly power and the defects born of unrighteousness, desire, and so forth.
isup [1]anaiśvaryamadharmakāmādidoṣajātaṃ ca mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā
Having crossed death—lack of lordly power and the complex of defects born from unrighteousness, desire, and so forth.
isup [1]tenānaiśvaryādimṛtyumatītya
Thereby passing beyond death beginning with lack of lordly power.
Interpret amṛtam as a relative ‘deathless state’ defined as absorption into primordial nature (prakṛti-laya), obtained through worship of the unmanifest; do not render it as final liberation or absolute immortality.→ The deathless state characterized by absorption into primordial nature.
isup [1]asambhūtyā avyākṛtopāsanayā amṛtaṃ prakṛtilayalakṣaṇamaśnute
Through asambhūti—that is, through worship of the unmanifest—he attains the deathless state characterized by absorption into primordial nature.
isup [2]prakṛtilayaphalaśrutyanurodhāt
In conformity with the declaration that absorption into primordial nature is the result.
Take tat and ubhayam as neuter accusatives in apposition, jointly forming the object of veda; take saha adverbially with the whole expression: ‘whoever knows both together.’
→ Appositional object construction: tat ... ubhayam saha, ‘that—both together.’
Translate aśnute as ‘attains.’ The form belongs to the aś root whose middle present is aśnute, rather than the eating root with present aśnāti; the commentary fixes the attained result as prakṛti-laya. Compare [MW s.v. aś, 112,2].→ Attains.
isup [1]amṛtaṃ prakṛtilayalakṣaṇamaśnute
He attains the deathless state characterized by absorption into primordial nature.
Analyze tīrtvā as an absolutive from tṝ, ‘having crossed,’ following the supplied canonical lemma and ordinary syntax, not as an inflected noun.
→ Absolutive from tṝ, anterior to aśnute.
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1sambhūtiṃ ca vināśaṃ ca yastadvedobhayaṃ saha vināśo dharmo yasya kāryasya sa tena dharmiṇā abhedena ucyate vināśa iti, tena tadupāsanenānaiśvaryamadharmakāmādidoṣajātaṃ ca mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā-- hiraṇyagarbhopāsanenāpti hyāṇimādiprāptiḥ phalam, tenānaiśvaryādimṛtyumatītya asambhūtyā avyākṛtopāsanayā amṛtaṃ prakṛtilayalakṣaṇamaśnute /
2sambhūtiṃ ca vināśaṃ cetyatrāvarṇalopena nirdeśo draṣṭavyaḥ prakṛtilayaphalaśrutyanurodhāt