Learn Sanskrit through Slokas – 8

Welcome back to the series of learning Sanskrit through Slokas! By now we have built a small but steady vocabulary in Sanskrit. Let’s continue the same with yet another Sloka.

This one is from Bhaja Govindam, a work by Adishankara. Bhaja Govindam highlights the importance of devotion (Bhakti) towards the Lord (Govinda).

baalas thaavath kreedaa-saktha:
tharunas thaavath tharunee-saktha: |
vruddhas thaavath chinthaa-saktha:
parame brahmani ko api na saktha: ||

Let’s discuss the word-by-word meaning of the above sloka.

baalas thaavath kreedaa saktha:

• baalas thaavath – ‘baala‘ is child. ‘Baalakrishna’ is thus a young Krishna. ‘thaavath’ in this context is ‘entire’. ‘baalas thaavath’ can mean ‘a child’s entire time’
• kreedaa saktha: – kreeda is sports/play. saktha is ‘spent in’. This phrase would mean ‘spent in playing’.

tharunas thaavath tharunee-saktha:

•  ‘tharuna‘ is a young man. ‘tharuni’ is a young woman. A young man’s time is spent in seeking young women.

vruddhas thaavath chinthaa-saktha:

• ‘vruddha‘ is an old man. ‘chinthaa‘ is worry. ‘An old man’s time is spent in worrying’

parame brahmani ko api na saktha:

• para brahma is the supreme power/being. ko api is someone. With the negation, ‘na‘ it will be ‘ko api na‘ – no one. (asthi – exists, na asthi or naasthi – does not exist. That’s why non-believers are called naasthikaas). The total meaning of this phrase would be ‘no one wants to spend time on the Supreme Being’

To summarize, Sri Adishankara laments, ‘The childhood is lost in making merry by playing games while youth is lost by attachment to woman. And old age passes away by pondering in vain over many things. Thus there is hardly any time for anyone to contemplate on the supreme truth which is the only way for salvation.’

Previous posts in this series

Part 7 Part 6   Part 5     Part 4     Part 3     Part 2     Part 1