Lesson 2 / 10 · stage-1-sounds
namaste viśvamūrtaye — Homage to You
Abhinavagupta, Mahopadeśaviṃśatikā vv.1–2; translation-work mahopadeshavimshatika · Mahopadeśa mpa-p01-v01 (+ v02 namo namaḥ)
content l02-namaste
1 · Original witness
Homage to the world-formed, past the world — to ever-shining divinity, to self of unending power.
- author: Abhinavagupta
- work: Mahopadeśaviṃśatikā
- verse: 1
- edition: translation-work mahopadeshavimshatika (gold)
- variants: Companion drill from v.2: namo namaḥ before n- contexts. L2/L3 as placed.
2 · Recitation
pra-pañ-cot-tīr-ṇa-rū-pā-ya | na-mas-te | viś-va-mūr-ta-ye | sa-dā-di-vya-pra-kā-śā-ya | svāt-ma-ne 'n-an-ta-śak-ta-ye
- vowel lengths: ā in viśvamūrtaye, prakāśāya
- articulation: ñ in prapañca; avagraha in svātmane'nantaśaktaye
- metre: Mahopadeśa homage verse
Learn it — practical entry
Homage to the world-formed, past the world — to ever-shining divinity, to self of unending power.
Four datives and one indeclinable: “homage to you.”
Opening homage before study. Recite four datives, one per breath.
Decode it — rigorous language instruction
3 · Padaccheda
| surface | underlying | gloss | rule | morph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| namaste | namas + te | homage-to-you | namas + te = “homage to you” (dative te) | indecl + dat (namas+te) |
| viśvamūrtaye | viśva + mūrti + dat.f | to-world-formed | dative -ye/-āya | f.dat.sg |
| prapañcottīrṇarūpāya | prapañca + uttīrṇa + rūpa + dat. | beyond-world-formed-to | tatpuruṣa; dat. -āya | m./n.dat.sg (prapañca+uttīrṇa+ppp+rūpa) |
| svātmane'nantaśaktaye | sva + ātman + ananta + śakti + dat. | to-self-with-unending-power | avagraha keeps elision visible | m.dat.sg (sva+ātman+ananta+śakti; avagraha-kept) |
| sadādivyaprakāśāya | sadā+divya+prakāśa | to-ever-divine-shining | — | m.dat.sg |
Exercise: Rewrite namo namaḥ as namas + namas; explain the -o.
4 · Morphology
| surface | lemma | analysis | formation |
|---|---|---|---|
| prapañcottīrṇarūpāya | prapañca+uttīrṇa+rūpa | m./n.dat.sg (prapañca+uttīrṇa+ppp+rūpa) | beyond-world-formed-to |
| namaste | namas | indecl + dat (namas+te) | homage-to-you |
| viśvamūrtaye | viśva+mūrti | f.dat.sg | to-world-formed |
| sadādivyaprakāśāya | sadā+divya+prakāśa | m.dat.sg | to-ever-divine-shining |
| svātmane'nantaśaktaye | sva+ātman+ananta+śakti | m.dat.sg (sva+ātman+ananta+śakti; avagraha-kept) | to-self-with-unending-power |
5 · Compounds
namas + te → namaste; viśva + mūrti; sva + ātman + ananta + śakti
| compound | members | relation | reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| viśvamūrti | viśva, mūrti | tatpuruṣa | world-formed |
| svātmane'nantaśakti | sva, ātman, ananta, śakti | tatpuruṣa stack | self of unending power |
v.2 drill: namas → namo before n (namo namaḥ).
6 · Sandhi proof
| inputs | rule | output |
|---|---|---|
| namas + te | surface namaste | namaste |
| namas (before n) | final s → o before n- (v.2 pattern) | namo namaḥ |
| sva + ātman + ananta | a+a contractions + avagraha | svātmane'nantaśaktaye |
7 · Syntax
- case roles: datives -āya/-ye “to X”; namas indeclinable; te dative
- agreement: dat.sg.f -ye; dat.sg.m/n -āya
- finite verbs: none — homage frame
- implied: “(I offer) homage to you”
8 · Translation from the syntax
Interlinear: beyond-world-formed-to · homage-to-you · world-formed-to · ever-divine-shining-to · self-unending-power-to
Literal: Homage to the one whose form is beyond the world; to the world-formed, to the ever-divine-shining, to the self of unending power.
Readable: Homage to the world-formed, past the world — to ever-shining divinity, to self of unending power.
Alternatives: namas+te standard; stick to layer citation.
Recognise it — Trika exegesis
Text / Abhinavagupta: Mahopadeśa opens addressing the one beyond prapañca yet world-formed — homage without a separate devotee object.
Bridge: Dative can mark addressee while Trika reads addressee as not-other than homage’s subject.
- namaste (dat. te) — homage whose target is not second
- viśvamūrti — world as form of the one addressed
- ananta-śakti — unending power as self-description
Lakshmanjoo: Not primary here.
Our synthesis: Pedagogical framing only; L3 from translation-work.
10 · Practice and mastery
- recite: Recite four datives, one per breath.
- write: Column namas / namaste / namo namaḥ; mark joints.
- memorise: Memorise dative -āya/-ye as “to …” first.
- when: Opening homage before study.
Transfer exercises:
- Reverse namaste.
- Why namo before namaḥ?
- Point out one dat.f and one dat.m.