महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-1, chapter-85, verse-17

अष्टक उवाच ।
यः संस्थितः पुरुषो दह्यते वा निखन्यते वापि निघृष्यते वा ।
अभावभूतः स विनाशमेत्य केनात्मानं चेतयते पुरस्तात् ॥१७॥

17. aṣṭaka uvāca ,
yaḥ saṁsthitaḥ puruṣo dahyate vā; nikhanyate vāpi nighṛṣyate vā ,
abhāvabhūtaḥ sa vināśametya; kenātmānaṁ cetayate purastāt.

17. aṣṭaka uvāca | yaḥ saṃsthitaḥ puruṣaḥ
dahyate vā nikhanyate vā api
nighṛṣyate vā | abhāvabhūtaḥ saḥ vināśam
etya kena ātmānam cetayate purastāt

17. Aṣṭaka said: 'When a person (puruṣa) dies, whether he is burned, or buried, or even devoured, and his body has turned into non-existence, approaching its destruction—by what means does that (soul or self) perceive (its) self (ātman) afterwards?'

Words meanings summery:

• अष्टक (aṣṭaka) - Aṣṭaka

• उवाच (uvāca) - said, spoke

• यः (yaḥ) - who, which

• संस्थितः (saṁsthitaḥ) - departed, deceased, established, situated

• पुरुषः (puruṣaḥ) - person, human being, the cosmic person (puruṣa)

• दह्यते (dahyate) - is burned, is consumed by fire

• वा (vā) - or, either

• निखन्यते (nikhanyate) - is buried

• वा (vā) - or, either

• अपि (api) - even, also

• निघृष्यते (nighṛṣyate) - is crushed, is devoured, is rubbed down

• वा (vā) - or, either

• अभावभूतः (abhāvabhūtaḥ) - having become non-existent, turned into non-being

• सः (saḥ) - he, that

• विनाशम् (vināśam) - destruction, annihilation

• एत्य (etya) - having approached, having attained

• केन (kena) - by what, by whom, with what means

• आत्मानम् (ātmānam) - the self (ātman), soul

• चेतयते (cetayate) - causes to perceive, recognizes, knows, makes conscious

• पुरस्तात् (purastāt) - formerly, before, in the east, afterwards (contextually)

Words meanings and morphology

अष्टक (aṣṭaka) - Aṣṭaka

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of aṣṭaka

aṣṭaka - Aṣṭaka (proper name)

उवाच (uvāca) - said, spoke

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, perfect (lit) of vac

Root: vac (class 2)

यः (yaḥ) - who, which

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of yad

yad - who, which, what

संस्थितः (saṁsthitaḥ) - departed, deceased, established, situated

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of saṃsthita

saṁsthita - standing together, established, deceased, departed, situated

Past Passive Participle

from saṃ-sthā

Prefix: sam

Root: sthā (class 1)

पुरुषः (puruṣaḥ) - person, human being, the cosmic person (puruṣa)

(noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of puruṣa

puruṣa - man, male, person, spirit, the supreme cosmic person (puruṣa)

दह्यते (dahyate) - is burned, is consumed by fire

(verb)

3rd person , singular, passive, present indicative (lat) of dah

Root: dah (class 1)

वा (vā) - or, either

(indeclinable)

निखन्यते (nikhanyate) - is buried

(verb)

3rd person , singular, passive, present indicative (lat) of ni-khan

Prefix: ni

Root: khan (class 1)

वा (vā) - or, either

(indeclinable)

अपि (api) - even, also

(indeclinable)

निघृष्यते (nighṛṣyate) - is crushed, is devoured, is rubbed down

(verb)

3rd person , singular, passive, present indicative (lat) of ni-ghṛṣ

Prefix: ni

Root: ghṛṣ (class 1)

वा (vā) - or, either

(indeclinable)

अभावभूतः (abhāvabhūtaḥ) - having become non-existent, turned into non-being

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of abhāvabhūta

abhāvabhūta - having become non-existent, reduced to nothingness

Compound type : bahuvrihi (abhāva+bhūta)

• abhāva – non-existence, absence, annihilation
  noun (masculine)
• bhūta – become, happened, existing, a being
  adjective
  Past Passive Participle
  derived from root bhū
  Root: bhū (class 1)

सः (saḥ) - he, that

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of tad

tad - that, he, she, it

विनाशम् (vināśam) - destruction, annihilation

(noun)

Accusative, masculine, singular of vināśa

vināśa - destruction, ruin, annihilation, loss

एत्य (etya) - having approached, having attained

(indeclinable)

Absolutive (Gerund)

from root i, with -ya suffix

Root: i (class 2)

केन (kena) - by what, by whom, with what means

(pronoun)

Instrumental, masculine, singular of kim

kim - who, what, which

आत्मानम् (ātmānam) - the self (ātman), soul

(noun)

Accusative, masculine, singular of ātman

ātman - self, soul, spirit, essential nature

चेतयते (cetayate) - causes to perceive, recognizes, knows, makes conscious

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, present indicative (lat) of cit

Causative

causative form of root cit

Root: cit (class 10)

पुरस्तात् (purastāt) - formerly, before, in the east, afterwards (contextually)

(indeclinable)