Thursday, October 8, 2015

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2/Verse 20

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥२- २०॥

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācinnāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ।

ajo nityaḥ śāśvato'yaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ॥2- 20॥

This [indestructible] is not born nor does it ever die. Not having become or become, it [never ceases to be]. This primordial, everlasting, eternal, unborn is not killed when the body is being killed. 

 
Word-for-word translation


na (adverb) (indeclinable) = not


jāyate (present tense, 3rd person, singular) = it born


mriyate (present tense, 3rd person, singular) = it dies


vā (conjunction) (indeclinable) = or


kadācit (conjunction) (indeclinable) = ever


na (adverb) (indeclinable) = not


ayam (demonstrative pronoun, nominative, singular) = this


bhūtvā (gerund) (indeclinable) = having become


bhavitā (past passive participle) = become


vā (conjunction) (indeclinable) = or


na (adverb) (indeclinable) = not


bhūyas (nominative, singular) = it is [never ceases to be]


ajas (adjective) (nominative, singular) = unborn


nityas (adjective) (nominative, singular) = eternal  


śāśvatas (adjective) (nominative, singular) = everlasting


ayam (demonstrative pronoun, nominative, singular) = this


purāṇas (adjective) (nominative, singular) = primordial 


na (adverb) (indeclinable) = not


hanyate (present tense, passive, 3rd person, singular) = to be killed 


hanyamāne (passive past participle) = when being killed


śarīre (locative, singular) = when the body



Commentary


The beginning and ending parts of this verse are very clear and similar in all translations, but the middle part of this verse (bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ) is very hard to unbundle. The interpretive treatment of "bhūyas" in other translations is interesting.  

No comments:

Post a Comment