Complete learning edition. The Sanskrit source remains separate from attributed word meanings, translation, explanation and commentary witnesses. Diagrams and memory aids are study tools, not replacements for the source text.
यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम्।तत्सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तमात्मबुद्धिप्रसादजम्।।18.37।।
yat tad agre viṣam iva pariṇāme 'mṛtopamam tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam
Which at first seems like poison but afterwards acts like nectar:that pleasure is pure, for it is born of wisdom.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
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| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| yat | that which |
| tat | that |
| agre | in the beginning |
| viṣam iva | like poison |
| pariṇāme | at the end |
| amṛta | nectar |
| upamam | compared to |
| tat | that |
| sukham | happiness |
| sāttvikam | in the mode of goodness |
| proktam | is said |
| ātma | self |
| buddhi | intelligence |
| prasāda-jam | satisfactory. |
Agree vishma iva In the beginning it is attended with much pain as one has to abandon the sensual objects and comforts and practise severe austerities and rigorous Sadhana. He has to undergo a severe ordeal when he practises Yama, Niyama, Tapas and various other vows.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Follow the great recapitulation through renunciation, action, knowledge, duty, devotion, refuge and Sañjaya’s conclusion.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaThat which is like poison in the beginning, but is likened to nectar in the end, and which arises from the purity of one's intellect:that joy is spoken of as born of sattva.
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaThat which, at first, is like a poison but becomes like an elixir in the end, born from the serene state of mind focused on the Self:such pleasure is said to be Sattvika.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaAgree vishma iva In the beginning it is attended with much pain as one has to abandon the sensual objects and comforts and practise severe austerities and rigorous Sadhana. He has to undergo a severe ordeal when he practises Yama, Niyama, Tapas and various other vows.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
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- 1
Which at first seems like poison but afterwards acts like nectar
- 2
that pleasure is pure, for it is born of wisdom
- 3
yat: that which
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Follow the great recapitulation through renunciation, action, knowledge, duty, devotion, refuge and Sañjaya’s conclusion.
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