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Yoga-sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣya · 1.35

34 viṣayavatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanī

Translation. Or an object-bearing cognitive activity (viṣayavatī pravṛtti), once arisen, binds the mind to steadiness.

Grammar check: 6 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

surfacelemmagrammar
viṣayavatīviṣayavatpass
pass
pravṛttiḥpravṛttipass
utpannāutpannapass
manasaḥmanaspass
sthitinibandhanīsthitinibandhanīpass

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.
Interpret viṣayavatī as “object-bearing,” specifically possessing a directly presented cognitive object, rather than merely “objective” in the sense of factually true.
→ bearing a directly presented object of cognition
ys [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]nāsikāgre dhārayato 'sya yā divyagandhasaṃvit sā gandhapravṛttiḥ. jihvāgre rasasaṃvit. tāluni rūpasaṃvit. jihvāmadhye sparśasaṃvit. jihvāmūle śabdasaṃvid ity etā vṛttaya utpannāś cittaṃ sthitau nibadhnanti, saṃśayaṃ vidhamanti, samādhiprajñāyāṃ ca dvārībhavantīti.
For one concentrating at the tip of the nose, the extraordinary awareness of smell is the smell-occurrence; at the tip of the tongue, awareness of taste; at the palate, awareness of form; in the middle of the tongue, awareness of touch; and at the root of the tongue, awareness of sound. When arisen, these occurrences bind the mind in steadiness, dispel doubt, and become gateways to insight in samādhi.
ys [6]etena candrādityagrahamaṇipradīparaśmyādiṣu pravṛttir utpannā viṣayavaty eva veditavyā yady api hi tattacchāstrānumānācāryopadeśair avagatam arthatattvaṃ sadbhūtam eva bhavati.
By this explanation, an occurrence arisen with regard to the moon, sun, planets, jewels, lamps, rays, and the like must likewise be understood as object-bearing, even though the reality learned through the respective scriptures, inference, and a teacher’s instruction is indeed real.
Translate pravṛttiḥ as “cognitive activity” rather than as conduct, outward action, or a generic tendency.
→ object-specific cognitive activity
ys [1]nāsikāgre dhārayato 'sya yā divyagandhasaṃvit sā gandhapravṛttiḥ.
For one concentrating at the tip of the nose, the extraordinary awareness of smell is the smell-occurrence.
ys [5]jihvāmūle śabdasaṃvid ity etā vṛttaya utpannāś cittaṃ sthitau nibadhnanti, saṃśayaṃ vidhamanti, samādhiprajñāyāṃ ca dvārībhavantīti.
At the root of the tongue there is awareness of sound; when arisen, these mental occurrences bind the mind in steadiness, dispel doubt, and become gateways to insight in samādhi.
Analyze sthitinibandhanī as a tatpuruṣa with a locative relation, sthitau nibandhanī, and construe manasaḥ as denoting the mind that is bound to steadiness.
→ binding the mind to/in steadiness
ys [5]jihvāmūle śabdasaṃvid ity etā vṛttaya utpannāś cittaṃ sthitau nibadhnanti, saṃśayaṃ vidhamanti, samādhiprajñāyāṃ ca dvārībhavantīti.
At the root of the tongue there is awareness of sound; when arisen, these occurrences bind the mind in steadiness, dispel doubt, and become gateways to insight in samādhi.
Take utpannā as indicating an actually arisen experiential occurrence, not merely a possible object-directed capacity.
→ actually arisen
ys [5, 6]jihvāmūle śabdasaṃvid ity etā vṛttaya utpannāś cittaṃ sthitau nibadhnanti, saṃśayaṃ vidhamanti, samādhiprajñāyāṃ ca dvārībhavantīti. etena candrādityagrahamaṇipradīparaśmyādiṣu pravṛttir utpannā viṣayavaty eva veditavyā yady api hi tattacchāstrānumānācāryopadeśair avagatam arthatattvaṃ sadbhūtam eva bhavati.
When these occurrences have arisen, they bind the mind in steadiness, dispel doubt, and become gateways to insight in samādhi. An occurrence arisen with regard to the moon, sun, planets, jewels, lamps, rays, and the like must likewise be understood as object-bearing.
Take vā as a disjunctive particle governing the full alternative prescription.
→ disjunctive “or”

Vyāsa's commentary on this unit

1nāsikāgre dhārayato 'sya yā divyagandhasaṃvit sā gandhapravṛttiḥ.
2jihvāgre rasasaṃvit.
3tāluni rūpasaṃvit.
4jihvāmadhye sparśasaṃvit.
5jihvāmūle śabdasaṃvid ity etā vṛttaya utpannāś cittaṃ sthitau nibadhnanti, saṃśayaṃ vidhamanti, samādhiprajñāyāṃ ca dvārībhavantīti.
6etena candrādityagrahamaṇipradīparaśmyādiṣu pravṛttir utpannā viṣayavaty eva veditavyā yady api hi tattacchāstrānumānācāryopadeśair avagatam arthatattvaṃ sadbhūtam eva bhavati.
7eteṣāṃ yathābhūtārthapratipādanasāmarthyāt, tathāpi yāvad ekadeśo 'pi kaścin na svakaraṇasaṃvedyo bhavati tāvat sarvaṃ parokṣam ivāpavargādiṣu sūkṣmeṣv artheṣu na dṛḍhāṃ buddhim utpādayati.
8tasmāc chāstrānumānācāryopadeśopodbalanārtham evāvaśyaṃ kaścid arthaviśeṣaḥ pratyakṣīkartavyaḥ.
9tatra tadupadiṣṭārthaikadeśapratyakṣatve sati sarvaṃ sūkṣmaviṣayam api āpavargāc chraddhīyate.
10etadartham evedaṃ cittaparikarma nirdiśyate.
11aniyatāsu vṛttiṣu tadviṣayāyāṃ vaśīkārasaṃjñāyām upajātāyāṃ samarthaṃ syāt tasya tasyārthasya pratyakṣīkaraṇāyeti.
12tathā ca sati śraddhāvīryasmṛtisamādhayo 'syāpratibandhena bhaviṣyantīti.
131.35
14viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī