Lesson 4 / 10 · stage-2-language
nṛtyati gāyati hṛṣyati — dances, sings, rejoices
Abhinavagupta, Bhairavastava v.9; translation-work bhairavastava · Bhairavastava bh-p09
content l04-nryti
1 · Original witness
This consciousness of mine dances, sings, rejoices deeply — O Bhairava, Lord.
- author: Abhinavagupta
- work: Bhairavastava
- verse: 9
- edition: translation-work/bhairavastava (gold)
- variants: Subject saṃvit iyam follows the three verbs in the full verse.
2 · Recitation
ṇṛ-ya-ti | gā-ya-ti | hṛ-ṣya-ti | gā-ḍham | saṃ-vit | i-yam
- vowel lengths: ā in gāyati, gāḍham; ṛ in nṛtyati
- articulation: retroflex ṇ; ṣ in hṛṣyati; ḍh in gāḍham
- metre: tricolon then subject
Learn it — practical entry
This consciousness of mine dances, sings, rejoices deeply — O Bhairava, Lord.
Three verbs, one ending, one philosophical subject.
Any time you need energy. Clap once per -ti.
Decode it — rigorous language instruction
3 · Padaccheda
| surface | underlying | gloss | rule | morph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nṛtyati | √nṛt + 3sg.pres | dances | thematic -ati | 3sg.pres (nṛtyati) |
| gāyati | √gā + 3sg.pres | sings | thematic -ati | 3sg.pres (gāyati) |
| hṛṣyati | √hṛṣ + 3sg.pres | rejoices | thematic -ati | 3sg.pres (hṛṣyati) |
| gāḍham | gāḍha + adv | deeply | “deeply” | adv (gāḍham) |
| saṃvit | saṃvit + nom.sg | consciousness | “consciousness” | nom.sg (saṃvit) |
| iyam | idam + f.nom.sg | this | “this” | indecl (iyam) |
| mama | mad + gen.sg | my | “of mine” | gen.sg (mama) |
| bhairavanātha | bhairavanātha | O-Bhairava-Lord | — | voc (bhairavanātha) |
| tvāṃ | tvāṃ | You | — | acc.sg (tvāṃ) |
| priyam | priyam | dear | — | adj (priyam) |
| āpya | āpya | having-obtained | — | part (āpya) |
| sudarśanamekam | sudarśanamekam | beautiful-vision-alone | — | comp (sudarśanamekam) |
| durlabhamanyajanaiḥ | durlabhamanyajanaiḥ | hard-to-get-by-others | — | adj (durlabhamanyajanaiḥ) |
| samayajñam | samayajñam | samaya-knower | — | comp (samayajña) |
Exercise: Underline every -ti; say what all three share before the key.
4 · Morphology
| surface | lemma | analysis | formation |
|---|---|---|---|
| nṛtyati | nṛtyati | 3sg.pres (nṛtyati) | dances |
| gāyati | gāyati | 3sg.pres (gāyati) | sings |
| hṛṣyati | hṛṣyati | 3sg.pres (hṛṣyati) | rejoices |
| saṃvit | saṃvit | nom.sg (saṃvit) | consciousness |
| iyam | iyam | indecl (iyam) | this |
| mama | mama | gen.sg (mama) | my |
| bhairavanātha | bhairavanātha | voc (bhairavanātha) | O-Bhairava-Lord |
| tvāṃ | tvāṃ | acc.sg (tvāṃ) | You |
5 · Compounds
three present verbs; sudarśana+eka; durlabha+anya-janaiḥ
| compound | members | relation | reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| sudarśanamekam | sudarśana, eka | karmadhāraya | a single beautiful vision |
| durlabhamanyajanaiḥ | durlabha, anya-janaiḥ | bahuvrīhi-ish | hard for others |
Lead is the -ti tricolon.
6 · Sandhi proof
| inputs | rule | output |
|---|---|---|
| √nṛt + -ati | present thematic ending | nṛtyati |
| √gā + -ati | same -ati | gāyati |
| √hṛṣ + -ati | same -ati | hṛṣyati |
7 · Syntax
- case roles: three verbs same person/number; saṃvit nom subject; iyam nom f; mama gen
- agreement: saṃvit f.nom.sg with iyam
- finite verbs: nṛtyati, gāyati, hṛṣyati — 3sg present active
- implied: asyndeton between verbs
8 · Translation from the syntax
Interlinear: dances · sings · rejoices · deeply · consciousness · this · mine
Literal: Dances, sings, rejoices deeply — this consciousness of mine.
Readable: This consciousness of mine dances, sings, rejoices deeply — O Bhairava, Lord: having won You, my dear…
Alternatives: iyam as f.nom with saṃvit; layer “indecl.” flag is artifact.
Recognise it — Trika exegesis
Text / Abhinavagupta: saṃvit is the grammatical subject of dance/song/joy — not the ego alone.
Bridge: Three -ti endings first; subject consciousness second; philosophy follows grammar.
- saṃvit (nom) — consciousness as the one who dances
- nṛtyati/gāyati/hṛṣyati — manifestation as play
- gāḍham — depth of relish (rasa-adjacent)
Lakshmanjoo: Not primary here.
Our synthesis: Pedagogical framing; L3 from translation-work.
10 · Practice and mastery
- recite: Clap once per -ti.
- write: Three verbs in a column; circle -ti.
- memorise: Rule box: 3sg present often -ti (foundational).
- when: Any time you need energy.
Transfer exercises:
- What do the three share?
- Who/what is the subject?
- Label an exercise 1sg middle swap.