Lesson 5 / 10 · stage-3-instructions
mā kiṃcit tyaja — Abandon nothing
Abhinavagupta, Anuttarāṣṭikā v.2 (imperative extract); translation-work anuttarastika · Anuttarāṣṭikā anu-p02
content l05-ma-kimcit
1 · Original witness
Abandon nothing; grasp nothing; live at ease, just as you are.
- author: Abhinavagupta
- work: Anuttarāṣṭikā
- verse: 2
- edition: translation-work/anuttarastika (gold; AgAna_2)
- variants: Extract from rope-snake verse closing. Full verse: mithyāmohakṛt …
2 · Recitation
mā | kiṃ-ci-tya-ja | mā | gṛ-hā-ṇa | vi-ha-ra | sva-sthaḥ | yathā-va-sthi-taḥ
- vowel lengths: ā in mā; short u in gṛhāṇa
- articulation: ñ in kiṃcit; ṇ in gṛhāṇa; ṣṭh in yathāvasthitaḥ
- metre: instructional cadence
Learn it — practical entry
Abandon nothing; grasp nothing; live at ease, just as you are.
Prohibitions and a command to abide.
When grasping spikes. Two mā-prohibitions as a pair, then vihara.
Decode it — rigorous language instruction
3 · Padaccheda
| surface | underlying | gloss | rule | morph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mā | mā + imperative | Do-not | prohibitive + 2sg imperative | indecl (kiṃcit) |
| kiṃcit | kim + cit | anything | indefinite “anything” | 2sg.imper (tyaja) |
| tyaja | √tyaj + 2sg.imp | abandon | “abandon!” | neg (mā) |
| gṛhāṇa | √grah + 2sg.imp | grasp | middle imperative | 2sg.imper (vihara) |
| vihara | √hṛ + vi + 2sg.imp | live | preverb vi- | adj (svastha) |
| svasthaḥ | su + stha + nom.m | healthy | “at ease” | nom.sg (yathāvasthita) |
| yathāvasthitaḥ | yathā + avasthita + nom.m | as-staying | “as situated” | nom.sg (yathāvasthita) |
| saṃsāraḥ | saṃsāraḥ | Saṃsāra | — | nom.sg (saṃsāra) |
| asti na | asti na | not | — | neg+3sg.pres (asti na) |
| tattvatas | tattvatas | in-truth | — | adv (tattvatas) |
| tanubhṛtām | tanubhṛtām | of-embodied-beings | — | m.gen.pl (tanubhṛt) |
| bandhasya | bandhasya | of-bondage | — | gen.sg (bandha) |
| vārtā | vārtā | news | — | nom.sg (vārtā) |
| eva kā | eva kā | what | — | interrog (eva kā) |
| bandhaḥ | bandhaḥ | Bondage | — | nom.sg (bandha) |
| yasya | yasya | of-whom | — | gen.sg (yasya) |
| na jātu | na jātu | never | — | neg (na jātu) |
| tasya | tasya | of-him | — | gen.sg (tasya) |
| vitathā | vitathā | false | — | adj (vitathā) |
| muktasya muktikriyā | muktasya muktikriyā | liberation-action | — | comp (muktasya muktikriyā) |
| eṣaḥ | eṣaḥ | This | — | indecl (eṣaḥ) |
| mithyāmohakṛt | mithyāmohakṛt | error-making | — | neg (mā) |
| rajjubhujagacchāyāpiśācabhramaḥ | rajjubhujagacchāyāpiśācabhramaḥ | rope-snake-shadow-ghost-delusion | — | m.nom.sg (long comp.) |
| mā | mā | do-not | — | 2sg.imper (gṛhāṇa) |
Exercise: Why mā tyaja and not na tyaja?
4 · Morphology
| surface | lemma | analysis | formation |
|---|---|---|---|
| mithyāmohakṛt | mithyāmohakṛt | neg (mā) | error-making |
| mā | mā | indecl (kiṃcit) | Do-not |
| kiṃcit | kiṃcit | 2sg.imper (tyaja) | anything |
| tyaja | tyaja | neg (mā) | abandon |
| mā | mā | 2sg.imper (gṛhāṇa) | do-not |
| gṛhāṇa | gṛhāṇa | 2sg.imper (vihara) | grasp |
| vihara | vihara | adj (svastha) | live |
| svasthaḥ | svasthaḥ | nom.sg (yathāvasthita) | healthy |
| yathāvasthitaḥ | yathāvasthitaḥ | nom.sg (yathāvasthita) | as-staying |
5 · Compounds
mithyāmohakṛt; yathā + avasthita; su + stha
| compound | members | relation | reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| mithyāmohakṛt | mithyā, moha, kṛt | tatpuruṣa | error-maker |
| yathāvasthita | yathā, avasthita | avyayībhāva-ish | as you already stand |
mā + imperative is the core.
6 · Sandhi proof
| inputs | rule | output |
|---|---|---|
| mā + tyaja | particle + imperative distinct | mā kiṃcit tyaja |
| kim + cit | final m before c → anusvāra | kiṃcit |
| su + stha + ḥ | nom.m -aḥ | svasthaḥ |
7 · Syntax
- case roles: 2sg imperatives; kiṃcit acc object; svasthaḥ/yathāvasthitaḥ nom describing you
- agreement: m.nom -aḥ
- finite verbs: tyaja, gṛhāṇa, vihara — 2sg imperatives
- implied: subject “you” in endings
8 · Translation from the syntax
Interlinear: do-not · anything · abandon · do-not · grasp · live · healthy · as-standing
Literal: Do not abandon anything; do not grasp anything; live at ease, as you stand.
Readable: Abandon nothing; grasp nothing; live healthy, staying as you are.
Alternatives: L0 morph on long compound noisy — teach imperative core first.
Recognise it — Trika exegesis
Text / Abhinavagupta: After rope-snake diagnosis: if bondage is not real tattvatas, neither grasping nor rejecting is the fix.
Bridge: mā+imp is grammar; “live as you are” is the verse’s own practice.
- mā + 2sg imp — non-grasping as imperative
- yathāvasthita — what is already the case
- mithyāmohakṛt — saṃsāra as error-maker
Lakshmanjoo: Not primary here.
Our synthesis: Pedagogical framing; L3 from translation-work.
10 · Practice and mastery
- recite: Two mā-prohibitions as a pair, then vihara.
- write: na vs mā column; label any invented example “exercise”.
- memorise: Hear 2sg imperative patterns in tyaja/gṛhāṇa/vihara.
- when: When grasping spikes.
Transfer exercises:
- Reverse gṛhāṇa.
- When mā vs na?
- Translate yathāvasthitaḥ from parts.