kintu bāla-camatkāra-karī tac-cihna-vīkṣayā |
abhijñena subodho’yaṁ raty-ābhāsaḥ prakīrtitaḥ ||
pratibimbas tathā cchāyā raty-ābhāso dvidhā mataḥ ||
The verse — decoded
L1definition
kintu bāla-camatkāra-karī tac-cihna-vīkṣayā |
kintubut — turning from real rati to what only looks like it adversative particleपरन्तु
bāla-camatkāra-karīit dazzles the naive, striking wonder into an untrained onlooker nom. sg. f., agent compound qualifying the semblance(यह आभास) अनजान दर्शक के मन में चमत्कार (विस्मय) उत्पन्न करने वाला होता है
tac-cihna-vīkṣayābecause they see its outward signs — the marks that look like the signs of real love instr. of cause; tat = of ratiक्योंकि वह उस (रति के) चिह्नों को देख लेता है — देखने के कारण
kintu — but; tac-cihna-vīkṣayā — because one sees its telltale signs; bāla-camatkāra-karī — [this semblance] strikes wonder into the naive
kintu — परन्तु; bāla-camatkāra-karī — यह (आभास) अज्ञ दर्शक में चमत्कार उत्पन्न करने वाला होता है; tac-cihna-vīkṣayā — रति के (बाह्य) चिह्नों को देख लेने के कारण।
But now he turns to something that only looks like love. Its outward signs can be seen. An untrained onlooker sees those signs and is struck with wonder. He mistakes the mere appearance for the real thing. The word kintu ("but") marks the shift away from genuine rati.
परन्तु यह (आभास) रति के बाह्य चिह्नों को देखकर अनजान दर्शक के मन में विस्मय उत्पन्न कर देता है।
camatkāra: home sense a burst of aesthetic wonder or amazement; here the shallow astonishment of an undiscerning viewer who is taken in by surface marks. bāla literally "child"; here the naive, untrained onlooker as opposed to the expert of the next line.
चमत्कार का मूल अर्थ है सौन्दर्यजनित विस्मय या आश्चर्य का उभार; यहाँ वह उथला विस्मय है जो बाह्य चिह्नों से ठगे गए अविवेकी दर्शक को होता है। बाल का शाब्दिक अर्थ 'बालक' है; यहाँ अगली पंक्ति के विशेषज्ञ के विपरीत अनभिज्ञ, अप्रशिक्षित दर्शक।
L2definition
abhijñena subodho’yaṁ raty-ābhāsaḥ prakīrtitaḥ ||
abhijñenaby the expert — the discerning connoisseur who knows the real thing instr. sg., agent of prakīrtitaḥ / subodhaḥजानकार (विशेषज्ञ) के द्वारा
subodhaḥeasily seen through, readily recognized for what it is nom. sg. m., predicateसरलता से पहचान में आने वाला
ayaṁthis — the appearance just described nom. sg. m.यह
raty-ābhāsaḥa semblance of rati — a mere appearance of loving attachment, not the real feeling nom. sg. m., the term being definedरत्याभास (रति का आभासमात्र)
prakīrtitaḥis declared, is named [as such] in the teaching nom. sg. m., past pass. part.कहा गया है
ayaṁ — this; abhijñena — by the expert; subodhaḥ — [is] easily recognized; raty-ābhāsaḥ [iti] — as a "semblance of rati"; prakīrtitaḥ — so it is declared
abhijñena — विशेषज्ञ (जानकार) के द्वारा; subodhaḥ — सरलता से पहचान लिया जाने वाला; ayaṁ — यह; raty-ābhāsaḥ — रत्याभास; prakīrtitaḥ — कहा गया है।
The expert, though, is not fooled. What dazzles the naive is easily recognized by the discerning connoisseur. He sees at once what it really is. This is what the teaching calls raty-ābhāsa — a semblance of rati, an appearance of love that is not the genuine feeling. The two lines set naive and expert side by side: the same signs amaze the one and are transparent to the other.
जानकार (विशेषज्ञ) के लिए यह रत्याभास सरलता से पहचान में आ जाता है — ऐसा कहा गया है।
ābhāsa: home sense a mere appearance, semblance, or reflected shine — something that shows the look of a thing without its substance; here a display that carries the outward marks of rati without the real emotion behind them.
आभास का मूल अर्थ है केवल प्रतीति, झलक या परछाईं-सी चमक — जो वस्तु का रूप तो दिखाए पर उसका सार न रखे; यहाँ वह प्रदर्शन जिसमें रति के बाह्य चिह्न तो हों पर पीछे सच्चा भाव न हो।
L3definition
pratibimbas tathā cchāyā raty-ābhāso dvidhā mataḥ ||
pratibimbaḥthe reflection kind — like a face thrown back in a mirror, still carrying the real form nom. sg. m., first of the two typesप्रतिबिम्ब (पहला प्रकार)
tathāand likewise — pairing the second type with the first connective adverbतथा
chāyāthe shadow kind — like a shadow cast in sunlight, only an outline with no features nom. sg. f., second of the two typesछाया (दूसरा प्रकार)
raty-ābhāsaḥthis semblance of rati — the appearance-of-love just named nom. sg. m., subjectरत्याभास
dvidhāin two ways — it splits into these two kinds adverbदो प्रकार का
mataḥis held to be, is reckoned nom. sg. m., past pass. part.माना गया है
raty-ābhāsaḥ — the semblance of rati; dvidhā — in two ways; mataḥ — is held to be [these]: pratibimbaḥ — the reflection type; tathā — and; chāyā — the shadow type
pratibimbaḥ — प्रतिबिम्ब (पहला प्रकार); tathā — तथा; chāyā — छाया (दूसरा प्रकार); raty-ābhāsaḥ — रत्याभास; dvidhā — दो प्रकार का; mataḥ — माना गया है।
This semblance of rati comes in two kinds. The first is pratibimba, a reflection — like a face reflected in a mirror. The second is chāyā, a shadow — like a shadow thrown in sunlight. Both are the semblance, not the real feeling. But they differ in degree. The reflection still gives back the true form; the shadow gives only a featureless outline. So the appearance of love is reckoned twofold: reflection-type and shadow-type.
रत्याभास दो प्रकार का माना गया है — प्रतिबिम्ब और छाया।
pratibimba vs chāyā, two grades of resemblance. A mirror reflection (pratibimba) throws back the actual form and features — a fuller, closer copy; a shadow (chāyā) shows only a dark outline with the features lost — a fainter, more distant copy. Applied here: the reflection-type semblance mimics real rati more fully, the shadow-type only faintly. Both remain mere appearances, neither is genuine rati.
प्रतिबिम्ब और छाया सादृश्य की दो कोटियाँ हैं। दर्पण का प्रतिबिम्ब वस्तु का वास्तविक रूप और अंग-प्रत्यंग लौटाता है — अधिक पूर्ण, अधिक निकट की नकल; छाया केवल धुँधली रूपरेखा दिखाती है, अंग लुप्त रहते हैं — क्षीण, दूर की नकल। यहाँ लागू करने पर — प्रतिबिम्ब-प्रकार का आभास सच्ची रति की अधिक पूर्णता से नकल करता है, छाया-प्रकार का केवल क्षीण रूप से। दोनों ही आभासमात्र हैं, कोई भी सच्ची रति नहीं।
Commentary — decoded
Jīva Gosvāmī + Viśvanātha Cakravartī
s1other
na vyākhyātam |
nanot — negating the verb that follows negative particleनहीं
vyākhyātamhas been explained; here: "[nothing] was commented on," the subject understood as this verse-pair past passive participle of vi-ā-√khyā; neuter nom. sg.व्याख्या की गई है
na — not; vyākhyātam — has been explained (i.e. these two verses were not commented on)
na — नहीं; vyākhyātam — व्याख्या की गई है।
Here Jīva and Viśvanātha say nothing about these two verses. Their whole note is just two words: "Not explained." In other words, they pass over 1.3.44-45 and offer no gloss of their own. This is an editorial remark, not an argument: it simply records that the verses were left uncommented.
इस पर कोई व्याख्या नहीं की गई है।
vyākhyāta (from vi-ā-√khyā) is the standard word for "expounded / commented upon"; a vyākhyā is a commentary. So na vyākhyātam is the commentator's shorthand for "no comment given here."
व्याख्यात (वि-आ-ख्या धातु से) 'विवेचित / टीका किया गया' के लिए प्रयुक्त सामान्य शब्द है; व्याख्या का अर्थ है टीका। अतः 'न व्याख्यातम्' टीकाकार का संक्षिप्त कथन है — 'यहाँ कोई टीका नहीं दी गई।'
Mukunda-dāsa Gosvāmī
s1avataranika
tarhi kim etat tatrāha—kintv iti |
tarhiwell then, in that case inferential particle
kim etatwhat is this thing (this semblance of rati)? the question raised
tatrato that question loc., 'on that point'
āhahe (the author) replies pres., introduces the verse
kintv itiwith the words beginning 'kintu' ("but…") pratīka, names the verse quoted
tarhi — well then; kim etat — what is this?; tatra — to that; āha — he says; kintv iti — namely the verse beginning 'kintu'.
So then, what is this thing? To answer that, the author speaks the verse that begins with the word 'kintu' ("but…"). This sentence just sets up the verse; it poses the question the verse will answer.
s2gloss
tasyāś cihnaṁ svalpāśru-svalpa-pulako vā dvayaṁ vā ||
tasyāḥof that rati — its gen., points back to rati
cihnamthe sign, the telltale mark (glossing 'tac-cihna' in the verse) nom., the word being explained
svalpāśru-svalpa-pulakaḥa slight tear, or a slight bristling of the hair the two possible marks
vāeither… or disjunctive
dvayaṁ vāor both together the third option
tasyāḥ — of that rati; cihnam — the sign is; svalpa-aśru-svalpa-pulakaḥ — a slight tear, a slight bristling of hair; vā — or; dvayaṁ vā — or both.
He explains what "its sign" means in the verse. The sign of that rati is a slight tear, or a slight bristling of the hair. Or it may be both of these at once. Seeing such a mark is what makes an onlooker take it for real rati.
s3definition
pratibimbo yathā puruṣāvayavānāṁ darpaṇe, chāyā yathā teṣāṁ sūryātape |
pratibimbaḥa reflection (the first of the two kinds of semblance) nom., topic
yathāis like — for example introduces the analogy
puruṣāvayavānāṁof a person's limbs — the way a person's limbs look gen. pl., what is reflected
darpaṇewhen they fall in a mirror loc., the reflecting surface
chāyāa shadow-image (the second kind of semblance) nom., second topic
yathāis like — for example introduces the parallel analogy
teṣāṁof those same limbs gen. pl., picks up puruṣāvayavānāṁ
sūryātapewhen they stand in the sun's glare and cast a shadow loc., the light that casts the shadow
pratibimbaḥ — a reflection; yathā — is like; puruṣa-avayavānāṁ — a person's limbs; darpaṇe — in a mirror; chāyā — a shadow-image; yathā — is like; teṣāṁ — those same limbs; sūrya-ātape — in the sun's glare.
He defines the two kinds by two everyday pictures. A "reflection" (pratibimba) is like a person's limbs seen in a mirror. A "shadow-image" (chāyā) is like those same limbs casting a shadow in the sunlight. The mapping: the real limbs are true rati; the mirror-image and the shadow are the two ways a mere semblance of rati can appear. The analogy shows the point — both look like the real thing without being it — but it stops there: a mirror-image resembles the limbs closely, while a shadow only gives their outline, and that difference in likeness is the difference between the two kinds of semblance.
pratibimba vs chāyā: in optics both are derivative images of one original. Here they are used as a technical pair for two grades of semblance-rati — pratibimba the closer, mirror-like resemblance, chāyā the fainter, shadow-like one.
s4conclusion
pratibimba eva pūrṇatvāpūrṇatvābhyāṁ dvidhā jñāpitaḥ ||
pratibimba evathe reflection alone — reflection all by itself eva = 'alone, and nothing else'
pūrṇatvāpūrṇatvābhyāṁby being full versus not full — according to whether the likeness is complete or incomplete instr. dual, the two grounds of division
dvidhāin two ways, as twofold adverb
jñāpitaḥis taught, is shown to be past pass. part., agreeing with pratibimbaḥ
pratibimbaḥ eva — the reflection alone; pūrṇatva-apūrṇatvābhyāṁ — by fullness and non-fullness; dvidhā — as twofold; jñāpitaḥ — is taught.
Now Mukunda draws the point together. On his reading, the whole twofold split really falls inside reflection alone: reflection when the likeness is full, and reflection when it is not full. So what looked like two separate species — reflection and shadow — is taught here as one thing, pratibimba, divided by whether the resemblance is complete or incomplete.
Complete- vs incomplete-likeness: think of a clear mirror-image (full — you see the whole form) versus a blurred or partial one (not full — only part shows). Applied here, Mukunda folds chāyā into pratibimba: both are reflections, differing only in how fully the mark of rati is reproduced.