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Yoga-sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣya · 1.17
vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugamāt saṃprajñātaḥ
Translation. [Concentration (samādhi)] is cognitively aware (saṃprajñāta), owing to accompaniment by the modes of gross engagement with an object (vitarka), subtle engagement (vicāra), gladness (ānanda), and unitary “I-am” awareness (asmitā).
Grammar check: 2 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 |
| vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugamāt | vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugama | pass |
| saṃprajñātaḥ | saṃprajñāta | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Vyāsa's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
vitarka is rendered technically as ‘gross engagement with an object,’ not by its ordinary meanings ‘conjecture,’ ‘doubt,’ or merely ‘reasoning.’→ gross engagement with an object
ys [1]vitarkaś cittasyālambane sthūla ābhogaḥ.
Vitarka is the gross engagement of the mind with an object.
vicāra is the subtle counterpart of vitarka’s engagement, rather than ordinary deliberation or investigation.→ subtle engagement
ys [1, 2]vitarkaś cittasyālambane sthūla ābhogaḥ. sūkṣmo vicāraḥ.
Vitarka is the gross engagement of the mind with an object. The subtle [engagement] is vicāra.
ānanda is translated as ‘gladness’ rather than sensual pleasure or metaphysical absolute bliss.→ gladness
ys [3]ānando hlādaḥ.
Ānanda is gladness.
asmitā denotes unitary ‘I-am’ awareness here, not ordinary moral or psychological egoism.→ unitary ‘I-am’ awareness
ys [4]ekātmikā saṃvid asmitā.
Asmitā is unitary awareness.
The long first expression is treated as a compound headed by anugama: the four coordinated states are its rūpas or modes, and their accompaniment characterizes saṃprajñāta concentration. They do not have to occur as an inseparable four-member bundle in every instance; the commentary describes a progressive absence of earlier members.→ an overall genitive tatpuruṣa expressing accompaniment by four progressively configured modes
ys [5, 6, 7, 8]tatra prathamaś catuṣṭayānugataḥ samādhiḥ savitarkaḥ. dvitīyo vitarkavikalaḥ savicāraḥ. tṛtīyo vicāravikalaḥ sānandaḥ. caturthas tadvikalo 'smitāmātra iti.
There the first concentration, accompanied by the tetrad, is with vitarka. The second, lacking vitarka, is with vicāra. The third, lacking vicāra, is with ānanda. The fourth, lacking that, consists solely of asmitā.
saṃprajñātaḥ is construed with an understood samādhiḥ and translated as ‘cognitively aware concentration,’ rather than as a freestanding masculine person or agent.→ an adjective qualifying understood samādhiḥ
ys [5, 9]tatra prathamaś catuṣṭayānugataḥ samādhiḥ savitarkaḥ. sarva ete sālambanāḥ samādhayaḥ.
There the first concentration, accompanied by the tetrad, is with vitarka. All these concentrations have an object.
The ablative singular anugamāt is construed causally: ‘owing to’ or ‘by virtue of accompaniment.’→ causal ablative
ys []
The commentary does not explicitly discuss the ablative syntax; the construal follows ordinary Sanskrit grammar.
Vyāsa's commentary on this unit
1vitarkaś cittasyālambane sthūla ābhogaḥ.
2sūkṣmo vicāraḥ.
3ānando hlādaḥ.
4ekātmikā saṃvid asmitā.
5tatra prathamaś catuṣṭayānugataḥ samādhiḥ savitarkaḥ.
6dvitīyo vitarkavikalaḥ savicāraḥ.
7tṛtīyo vicāravikalaḥ sānandaḥ.
8caturthas tadvikalo 'smitāmātra iti.
9sarva ete sālambanāḥ samādhayaḥ.
101.17
11ath