महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-13, chapter-82, verse-16

यज्ञाङ्गं कथिता गावो यज्ञ एव च वासव ।
एताभिश्चाप्यृते यज्ञो न प्रवर्तेत्कथंचन ॥१६॥

16. yajñāṅgaṁ kathitā gāvo yajña eva ca vāsava ,
etābhiścāpyṛte yajño na pravartetkathaṁcana.

16. yajñāṅgam kathitāḥ gāvaḥ yajñaḥ eva ca vāsava
etābhiḥ ca api ṛte yajñaḥ na pravarteta kathaṃcana

16. vāsava,
gāvaḥ yajñāṅgam kathitāḥ,
ca yajñaḥ eva (kathitāḥ).
etābhiḥ ṛte ca api yajñaḥ kathaṃcana na pravarteta.

16. Cows are declared to be limbs of the Vedic ritual (yajña), and indeed the Vedic ritual (yajña) itself, O Vāsava. Without them, no Vedic ritual (yajña) would ever proceed.

Words meanings summery:

• यज्ञाङ्गम् (yajñāṅgam) - limb of a Vedic ritual (yajña) (limb of a Vedic ritual, part of a sacrifice)

• कथिताः (kathitāḥ) - declared (to be) (declared, said, told)

• गावः (gāvaḥ) - cows

• यज्ञः (yajñaḥ) - Vedic ritual (yajña) (Vedic ritual, sacrifice)

• एव (eva) - indeed, exactly (indeed, certainly, only)

• च (ca) - and (and, also)

• वासव (vāsava) - O Vāsava (Indra) (O Vāsava (epithet of Indra))

• एताभिः (etābhiḥ) - by these (cows) (by these, with these)

• च (ca) - and (and, also)

• अपि (api) - even, indeed (also, even, too)

• ऋते (ṛte) - without (without, except for)

• यज्ञः (yajñaḥ) - Vedic ritual (yajña) (Vedic ritual, sacrifice)

• न (na) - not (not, no)

• प्रवर्तेत (pravarteta) - would proceed (would proceed, would happen)

• कथंचन (kathaṁcana) - in any way, by any means (in any way, by any means, somehow)

Words meanings and morphology

यज्ञाङ्गम् (yajñāṅgam) - limb of a Vedic ritual (yajña) (limb of a Vedic ritual, part of a sacrifice)

(noun)

Nominative, neuter, singular of yajñāṅga

yajñāṅga - limb of a Vedic ritual, constituent part of a sacrifice

Compound type : ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa (yajña+aṅga)

• yajña – Vedic ritual, sacrifice, worship
  noun (masculine)
  Derived from root yaj (to worship)
  Root: yaj (class 1)
• aṅga – limb, body part, constituent, auxiliary
  noun (neuter)

Note: Predicate nominative for 'gāvaḥ'.

कथिताः (kathitāḥ) - declared (to be) (declared, said, told)

(adjective)

Nominative, feminine, plural of kathita

kathita - said, told, declared, narrated

Past Passive Participle

PPP of kath (to tell, to say)

Root: kath (class 10)

Note: Agrees with 'gāvaḥ'.

गावः (gāvaḥ) - cows

(noun)

Nominative, feminine, plural of go

go - cow, bull, earth, ray of light, heaven

Note: Subject of the sentence.

यज्ञः (yajñaḥ) - Vedic ritual (yajña) (Vedic ritual, sacrifice)

(noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of yajña

yajña - Vedic ritual, sacrifice, worship

Derived from root yaj (to worship, sacrifice)

Root: yaj (class 1)

Note: Predicate nominative, used with 'eva' to emphasize identity.

एव (eva) - indeed, exactly (indeed, certainly, only)

(indeclinable)

Note: Emphasizes that cows *are* the Vedic ritual.

च (ca) - and (and, also)

(indeclinable)

Note: Connects 'yajñāṅgam' and 'yajña eva'.

वासव (vāsava) - O Vāsava (Indra) (O Vāsava (epithet of Indra))

(proper noun)

Vocative, masculine, singular of vāsava

vāsava - Indra (as son of Vasu or lord of Vasus), a deity, a prince

Derived from Vasu (a class of deities or a name of a king)

Note: Addressed to Indra.

एताभिः (etābhiḥ) - by these (cows) (by these, with these)

(pronoun)

Instrumental, feminine, plural of etad

etad - this, these

Note: Refers to the cows.

च (ca) - and (and, also)

(indeclinable)

Note: Can also mean 'even' in this context when combined with 'api'.

अपि (api) - even, indeed (also, even, too)

(indeclinable)

Note: Intensifies the statement.

ऋते (ṛte) - without (without, except for)

(indeclinable)

Note: Used with 'etābhiḥ' meaning 'without these'.

यज्ञः (yajñaḥ) - Vedic ritual (yajña) (Vedic ritual, sacrifice)

(noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of yajña

yajña - Vedic ritual, sacrifice, worship

Derived from root yaj (to worship, sacrifice)

Root: yaj (class 1)

Note: Subject of the second clause.

न (na) - not (not, no)

(indeclinable)

Note: Negates the verb.

प्रवर्तेत (pravarteta) - would proceed (would proceed, would happen)

(verb)

3rd person , singular, middle, optative (vidhi-liṅ) of pravṛt

Optative middle personal ending

Root 'vṛt' (1st class, Bhvādi) with upasarga 'pra'.

Prefix: pra

Root: vṛt (class 1)

Note: Third person singular optative active (ātmanepada) of pra-vṛt.

कथंचन (kathaṁcana) - in any way, by any means (in any way, by any means, somehow)

(indeclinable)

Compound of katham (how) and cana (an indefinite particle)

Note: Intensifies the negation.