Eka Sloka Prakaranam (A Treatise in One Verse) - Sanskrit Text, Translation, Brief Commentary, Word-for-word meaning, and Chanting

 

एकश्लोकप्रकरणम्

Ekaślokaprakaraṇam

A Treatise in One Verse

 

Ekaślokaprakaraṇam (Eka Shloka Prakaranam) or “A Treatise in One Verse” is a hymn (stotram) composed by Sri Shankara Bhagavadpada Acharya. This article contains the Sanskrit text, along with English translation and word-for-word meaning of the hymn. It also contains a brief comentary, Roman transliteration, prose order in Sanskrit and an audio file containing the chanting of the hymn.

 

 

Sanskrit Test, English Transliteration and English Translation

 

 

॥ एकश्लोकप्रकरणम् ॥

|| ekaślokaprakaraṇam ||

 

किं ज्योतिस्तव भानुमानहनि मे रात्रौ प्रदीपादिकं

स्यादेवं रविदीपदर्शनविधौ किं ज्योतिराख्याहि मे।

चक्षुस्तस्य निमीलनादिसमये किं धीर्धियोदर्शने किं

तत्राहमतो भवान्परमकं ज्योतिस्तदस्मि प्रभो ॥

 

kiṃ jyotistava bhānumānahani me rātrau pradīpādikaṃ

syādevaṃ ravidīpadarśanavidhau kiṃ jyotirākhyāhi me|

cakṣustasya nimīlanādisamaye kiṃ dhīrdhiyodarśane kiṃ

tatrāhamato bhavānparamakaṃ jyotistadasmi prabho ||

 

Teacher: What is your light?

Student: For me (it is) the sun during the day, and lamp, etc. at night.

Teacher: That may be so, (but) tell me what is the light (used as) the means for seeing the sun and lamp?

Student: The eye.

Teacher: What (is the light) during the time of its (the eye’s) winking, etc?

Student: The intellect.

Teacher: What (is the light used as) the means for seeing the intellect?

Student: In that case, it is me (the Self).

Teacher: Therefore you are the highest light.

Student: That I am, my Lord

 

Commentary

 

Ekaślokaprakaraṇam or “A Treatise in One Verse”is a hymn (stotram) composed by Śri Śaṅkara Bhagavadpāda āchārya, and consists of a single verse containing the main message of the philosophy of Non-Dualism (Advaita Vedanta), namely the supremacy of the Self.

 

The hymn is in the form of a dialogue between a teacher (guru) and a student (sishya).

 

Here the teacher uses the “seer-seen” (drk-drshya) logic of Advaita Vedanta to point out the supremacy of the Self. According to Advaita Vedanta, the Self is the seer (the subject or the observer) whereas anything that is seen (the object or the observed) is non-Self. Thus we can say that my body is seen by me, so I am not the body; the emotions in my mind are seen by me, so I am not the mind; the thoughts in my intellect are seen by me, so I am not the intellect, etc.

 

The traditional approach of using the “seer-seen” logic is to start with the external objects as the “seen” and try to arrive at who is the ultimate “seer” in the following manner:

·        The external objects are seen, and the sense organ of sight (the eye) is the seer.

·        The sense organ of sight is the seen, and the mind is the seer.

·        The mind is the seen, and consciousness (awareness) is the seer.

·        There is no seer beyond the consciousness, and thus consciousness is the ultimate seer.

·        Thus the nature of my true Self is that of Awareness - the observer of all life experiences.

 

 

In this hymn, the teacher uses a slight variation and asks “what is the light by which you see?” instead of “who is the seer?” The student intially says the light which his used for seeing in the sunlight during daytime and lamps and others (torches, etc.) during the night. But then, how is sunlight itself seen? It is through the eyes. But then, how is the eye seen (for example during winking, the eyes themselves are shut)?  It is the intellect which sees (knows) that the eye is winking? So then how is the intellect seen? It is me that sees the intellect, says the student. The teacher then concludes for the student, saying threfore you (the Self) are the highest light, to which the student agrees.

 

 

Split-sandhis, Prose Order and Word-for-word Meaning

 

 

किं ज्योतिः-तव भानुमान्-अहनि मे रात्रौ प्रदीप-आदिकं

स्यात्-एवं रवि-दीप-दर्शन-विधौ किं ज्योतिः-आख्याहि मे।

चक्षुः-तस्य निमीलन-आदि-समये किं धीः-धीयः-दर्शने किं

तत्र-अहम्-अतः भवान्-परमकं ज्योतिः-तत्-अस्मि प्रभो ॥

 

किं ज्योतिः तव? मे अहनि भानुमान् रात्रौ प्रदीप-आदिकं । एवं स्यात् रवि-दीप-दर्शन-विधौ किं ज्योतिः आख्याहि मे । चक्षुः । तस्य निमीलन-आदि-समये किं? धीः । धीयः दर्शने किं? तत्र अहम् । अतः भवान् परमकं ज्योतिः । तत् अस्मि प्रभो ॥

 

 

किं what ज्योतिः तव is your light मे for me अहनि during the day भानुमान् the sun रात्रौ in the night प्रदीप-आदिकं lamps and others एवं स्यात् it may be so रवि-दीप-दर्शन-विधौ as the means for seeing the sun and lamp किं ज्योतिः what is the light आख्याहि मे tell me चक्षुः the eye तस्य निमीलन-आदि-समये किं what (is the light) during the time of its (the eye’s) winking, etc. धीः the intellect धीयः दर्शने किं? what (is the light) for seeing the intellect तत्र अहम् in that case it is me (the Self) अतः therefore भवान्  you परमकं ज्योतिः are the highest light तत् that अस्मि I am प्रभो my Lord

 

 

 

Prosody (Chandas)

 

Ekaślokaprakaraṇam is composed in the Śārdūlavikrīḍita chandaḥ (metre), which consists of 19 syllables in each pāda (quarter), with the heavy (guru) and light (laghu) syllables arranged as follows:

--- UU- U-U UU- --U --U -

 

Notation:

-denotes guru (heavy) syllable

U denotes laghu (light) syllable

 

The pause (yati) is after the 12^th syllable of each pāda

 

Chanting (audio file in mp3 format)