Exercises: Relative Clauses

Vocabulary

General vocabulary

अथ

uninflected

now then

Like so many words in Sanskrit, atha has several different meanings. Within a text, the one given above is more common. In this role, atha marks off a thematically different section of a text. So, we could translate the word as "now then," or "now in this case." But atha is also commonly found at the very beginning of works. It is an auspicious marker used to indicate that a work is about to begin. Thus each chapter of the Gita is named only after atha is pronounced. Its counterpart in this role is iti, which indicates the end of a text. Famously, the last word of Panini's work is iti.

ग्राम

m

village

संग्राम

m

"collection of villages"; battle

Miscellaneous

तथागत

mfn

a term for Buddha; a Buddhist

To my mind, tathāgata is one of the most elegant words in Sanskrit. The word can be understood as both tathā-gata, meaning "one who has thus gone," and tathā-āgata, meaning "one who has thus come." In one sense, this double meaning shows that a tathāgata is beyond transitory actions like coming and going because he is free from the human condition. In another, this double meaning shows that a tathāgata has gone to some higher truth and come back to a more human reality in order to teach it to others.

इमम्

inflected

this (masculine case 2 singular)

This word is here for one of the exercises below. We will study it later on.

Translation (English → Sanskrit)

Translate from English to Sanskrit. (Think carefully about the two separate parts of the sentence, and relate them using the ya… and ta… words.)

• If the black horses do not come, then I will die.

• When he sees you, then he strikes you (tud) like (iva) a forest elephant [does] a tree.

  The word "does" will not occur in your translation, but we have to supply it here to make a normal English sentence.

• Since my son is dead, (therefore) I do not want immortality.

• The two of us fight where the river flows.

• He who goes forth (pra-gam) will return.

• The beautiful girl that you see lives in the village.

• The man by whom she was killed (PPP) has been killed (PPP).

• The man with whom you cross the river sings for the village.

• You go with the man whose elephant you see.

• You ask with the man with whom the hero stands up.

• It is stained by evil, which you do not want.

• Arjuna fights with a bow that was not made (PPP) by men.

Translation (Sanskrit → English)

Translate from Sanskrit to English.

• अथ चेत् त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि ।
  ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥

  Note that ced is paired with tataḥ. Such a combination is unusual. For imam, see the "Miscellaneous" vocabulary above.

• ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस् तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।

  This line is grammatically challenging. Focus on the ye/te pair first, then add in the yathā/tathā pair to complete the meaning.

• यः पश्यति स पश्यति

Answers

Translation (English → Sanskrit)

For the yad/tad pair, the noun can be placed on either side.

• यदि कृष्णाश्वा नागच्छन्ति तदा मरिष्यामि

• यदा त्वां पश्यति तदा त्वां वनगज इव वृक्षं तुदति

• यतः पुत्रो मृतस् ततो ऽमृतत्वं नेच्छामि

• यत्र नदी स्यन्दते तत्रावां युध्यावः

• यो प्रगच्छति स प्रतिगच्छति

• यां सुन्दरीं कन्यां पश्यसि सा ग्रामे वसति

• येन नरेण हता स हतः

• येन नरेण नदीं तरसि स ग्रामाय गायति

• यस्य गजं पश्यसि तेन नरेण सह गच्छसि

• येन सह तिष्ठति वीरस् तेन पृच्छसि

• यो नेच्छसि तेन पापेन लिप्यते

• यो न नरैः कृतस् तेन चापेनार्जुनो युध्यति

  This sort of idea is more commonly expressed with compounds, as in arjuno 'narakṛtacāpena yudhyati.

Translation (Sanskrit → English)

• Now then, if you will not act (in) this righteous war,
  then having set aside your own duty and glory, you will incur evil.

  Bhagavad Gita 2.33

  This is our second full verse from the Gita!

• In whatever way men take refuge in me, I adore (or "love", "reward") them in the same way.

  Gita 4.11

• He who sees (truly) sees.

  Gita 5.5