Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 9.4 · Ashtavakra speaks
What is that time or that age in which the pairs of opposites do not exist for men? One who, quitting those, is content with what comes of itself attains perfection.
Word by word
कोऽसौ
ko'sau
what is that
interrogative pronoun + demonstrative pronoun, masculine, nominative singular
कालो
kālaḥ
time, period
noun, masculine, nominative singular
वयः
vayaḥ
age, stage of life
noun, neuter, nominative singular
किं
kiṃ
what
interrogative pronoun, neuter, nominative singular
वा
vā
or
indeclinable conjunction
यत्र
yatra
in which, where
indeclinable relative adverb
द्वन्द्वानि
dvandvāni
pairs of opposites
noun, neuter, nominative plural
No epoch in time — not golden age, not youth, not spiritual practice — eliminates the dvandvas for those within the stream of relative life. The rhetorical question points to the futility of seeking the right external circumstance; the exit must be internal.
नो
no
not, do not exist
negative particle (= na)
नृणाम्
nṛṇām
of men, for people
noun, masculine, genitive plural
तान्युपेक्ष्य
tāny upekṣya
having abandoned those
demonstrative pronoun + indeclinable participle
यथाप्राप्तवर्ती
yathāprāptavartī
content with what comes
compound adjective, masculine, nominative singular
Yathāprāptavartī — 'abiding in whatever comes of itself' — is the attitude of the jñānī who has stopped seeking and is at home in every circumstance. It corresponds to the Gītā's concept of yadrcchalābhasantuṣṭa (II.14 context).
सिद्धिम्
siddhim
perfection, liberation
noun, feminine, accusative singular
अवाप्नुयात्
avāpnuyāt
may attain, would attain
verb, optative, 3rd person singular