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Yoga-sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣya · 1.23
īśvarapraṇidhānād vā
Translation. Or, through a special devotion (praṇidhāna) to the Lord (Īśvara).
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 |
|---|
| īśvarapraṇidhānāt | īśvarapraṇidhāna | pass |
| vā | vā | 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.
Praṇidhāna is interpreted here technically as a special kind of devotion, rather than merely fixing, applying, or exertion.→ a special kind of devotion (bhaktiviśeṣa)
ys [1]praṇidhānād bhaktiviśeṣād
Through praṇidhāna, that is, through a special kind of devotion.
The compound is construed as a tatpuruṣa in which Īśvara is the object or locus toward which devotion is directed: īśvare praṇidhānam, not ‘Īśvara’s own concentration.’→ īśvare praṇidhānam, a semantically locative tatpuruṣa
ys [1]praṇidhānād bhaktiviśeṣād āvarjita īśvaras
By praṇidhāna, a special devotion, Īśvara is won over or favorably inclined.
The ablative singular expresses means or cause—‘through’ or ‘by reason of’ devotion—rather than literal spatial separation.→ causal-instrumental ablative, translated ‘through devotion’
ys [1]praṇidhānād bhaktiviśeṣād
Through praṇidhāna, through a special kind of devotion.
The postpositive vā means ‘or’ and presents the entire preceding ablative phrase as an alternative means; the result to which it leads remains elliptical in this sūtra.
→ postpositive alternative particle ‘or’
The printed ending -ād is the sandhi form before vā; the pausal form required for analysis is -āt.
→ īśvarapraṇidhānāt → īśvarapraṇidhānād vā
Vyāsa's commentary on this unit
1praṇidhānād bhaktiviśeṣād āvarjita īśvaras tam a