dharmo rakshati rakshitah - Sanskrit interpretation

Courtesy:Sri.Amit Rao

Example of grammar analysis for Sanskrit interpretation -

धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः ।

तस्माद् धर्मो न हन्तव्यो मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत् ॥ मनुस्मृतिः ८.१५ ॥

- Manusmriti 8.15

=> सन्धिविच्छेदः / separating sandhi -

धर्मः एव हतः हन्ति धर्मः रक्षति रक्षितः ।

तस्मात् धर्मः न हन्तव्यः मा नः धर्मः हतः अवधीत् ॥

=> अनव्यवाक्यम् / standard word order for analysis -

हतः धर्मः एव हन्ति रक्षितः धर्मः रक्षति ।

तस्मात् धर्मः न हन्तव्यः हतः धर्मः नः मा अवधीत् ॥

=> पदविश्लेषणम् / word-level analysis and meaning -

हतः = "हन्"(हनँ हिंसागत्योः 2P "to kill/vitiate")+क्त-कृदन्त+पुं.+ए.व.+प्रथमा = "vitiated" / विशेषण to धर्मः / past passive participle, adj. to Dharma,

धर्मः = "धर्मन्"(पुं.)+प्रथमा+ए.व. = "Dharma"/कर्ता to हन्ति/ Nom., subj. of "vitiates",

एव = "एव"(अव्यय) = "alone" / indecl. adv. to "vitiates",

हन्ति = "हन्"(see above)+कर्तरि+लट्-लकार+प्रथमपुरुष+ए.व.= "vitiates"/क्रिया./active present tense verb,

रक्षितः = "रक्ष्"(रक्षँ पालने 1P "to protect")+क्त-कृदन्त+पुं.+ए.व.+प्रथमा = "protected"/विशेषण to धर्मः / past passive participle, adj. to Dharma,

धर्मः = "धर्मन्"(पुं.)+प्रथमा+ए.व. = "Dharma"/कर्ता to रक्षति/Nom., subj.of "protects",

रक्षति = "रक्ष्"(see above)+कर्तरि+लट्-लकार+प्रथमपुरुष+ए.व. = "protects"/क्रिया./active present tense verb,

तस्मात् = "तद्"(नपुं.)+पञ्चमी+ए.व. = "from that (therefore)"/adverb,

धर्मः = "धर्मन्"(पुं.)+प्रथमा+ए.व. = "Dharma"/Nom.,

न = "न"(अव्यय) = "not"/indecl.,

हन्तव्यः = "हन्"(see above)+तव्य-कृदन्त+पुं.+ए.व.+प्रथमा = "must be vitiated"/ विशेषण to धर्मः / imperative participle, adj. to Dharma,

हतः = "हन्"(हनँ हिंसागत्योः 2P "to kill/vitiate")+क्त-कृदन्त+पुं.+ए.व.+प्रथमा = "vitiated" / विशेषण to धर्मः / past passive participle, adj. to Dharma,

धर्मः = "धर्मन्"(पुं.)+प्रथमा+ए.व. = "Dharma"/कर्ता to अवधीत्/ Nom., subj. of "vitiate",

नः = "अस्मद्"(उ.पु.)+बहुवचन+द्वितीया="अस्मान्"="us"/Acc., obj. of "vitiate",

मा = "मा" (अव्यय) = "let not",

अवधीत् = "हन्"(see above)+लुङ्-लकार+प्रथमपुरुष+ए.व. = "vitiate"/verb.

=> अनुवादः / translation -

"आहत धर्म ही आहत करता है। रक्षित धर्म रक्षण करता है। इसलिये धर्म को आहत न किया जाये, ताकि आहत धर्म हमें आहत न करे।"

"Vitiated dharma alone vitiates. Protected dharma protects. Therefore dharma must not be vitiated, lest vitiated dharma vitiate us".

Notes:

1. "धर्मः मा अवधीत्" is a way of saying "so that dharma does not vitiate" or "lest dharma vitiate". The use of लुङ्-लकार, which is called सामान्यभूतकाल and is normally used for past tense, with मा is a special idiom for use in the sense of "lest", and it does not mean past tense. Typically, the leading अ is dropped when used with मा (e.g. मा वधीत् rather than मा अवधीत्). This version is called आगमाभावयुक्तलुङ् (literally, लुङ with absence of अ). In this case, though, the अ has been retained, presumably to preserve the meter.

2. I have retained धर्म as dharma in translation, because this word is really untranslatable, and is now fairly accepted in English as a word, just like guru and karma. As others have already written a lot about it, suffice it to say that this word derives from the root "धृ धृञ् धारणे 1U "to hold"). It literally means "that which holds / that which can be be held". It is used in many different senses based on the context in different shastras in Sanskrit, but in the most common sense, used here, I like to think of "dharma of X" meaning "the fundamental design of X". For example, the dharma of the sun is to provide light and heat, no matter what. In this case, since X is not specified, it means the fundamental design of everything, or the whole creation. It is well known that when the fundamental design of anything is vitiated, it leads to breakdown. When we follow the fundamental design of the creation in our life, life goes smoothly. When we violate it, chaos ensues, whether in our personal lives, or in society. That is the most basic definition of dharma and adharma, based on word meaning, devoid of any moral or religious or deep philosophical connotations. Therefore this shloka advises us that it is prudent to remain in integrity of the design of creation for the well-being of everyone. That is dharma.

Doing this kind of written analysis diligently for subhashitas and shlokas while learning Sanskrit is a great way to learn the language fast. Initially, it must be done by looking up the right online tools or reference books. Over time, one learns to do most of it in the head. For complex cases, it still helps to do it this way.

नमोनमः। 🙏