योगवासिष्ठः yogavāsiṣṭhaḥ - book-3, chapter-2, verse-10

यम उवाच ।
मृत्यो न किंचिच्छक्तस्त्वमेको मारयितुं बलात् ।
मारणीयस्य कर्माणि तत्कर्तृणीति नेतरत् ॥ १० ॥

yama uvāca ,
mṛtyo na kiṃcicchaktastvameko mārayituṃ balāt ,
māraṇīyasya karmāṇi tatkartṛṇīti netarat 10

10. yamaḥ uvāca mṛtyo na kiṃcit śaktaḥ tvam ekaḥ mārayitum
balāt māraṇīyasya karmāṇi tatkartṛṇi iti na itarat

10. yamaḥ uvāca,
“mṛtyo! tvam ekaḥ balāt kiṃcit mārayitum na śaktaḥ.
māraṇīyasya karmāṇi tatkartṛṇi iti,
na itarat.
”

10. Yama said: "O Death, you alone are not capable of killing anyone by force. It is the actions (karma) of the one to be killed that are the agents of that killing, not anything else."

Words meanings summery:

• यमः (yamaḥ) - The god Yama, the speaker (Yama)

• उवाच (uvāca) - Yama's reply to Death (he said, he spoke)

• मृत्यो (mṛtyo) - Yama addressing personified Death (O Death!)

• न (na) - negation of the capability (not)

• किंचित् (kiṁcit) - nothing at all (anything, something (with 'na', nothing))

• शक्तः (śaktaḥ) - you are not capable (capable, able)

• त्वम् (tvam) - Yama addressing Death directly (you)

• एकः (ekaḥ) - emphasizes that Death, *by himself*, is powerless (alone, single, one)

• मारयितुम् (mārayitum) - to bring about the death of the brahmin (to cause to die, to kill)

• बलात् (balāt) - through physical coercion or power (by force, forcibly)

• मारणीयस्य (māraṇīyasya) - referring to the Brahmin, as the one whom Death is trying to kill (of the one to be killed, of the one who must die)

• कर्माणि (karmāṇi) - the past deeds or destiny of the one who dies (actions (karma))

• तत्कर्तृणि (tatkartṛṇi) - the karma itself performs the act of killing (those are the doers, they are the agents of that)

• इति (iti) - marks the end of Yama's statement (thus, so, (quotation marker))

• न (na) - negation for 'itarat' (not)

• इतरत् (itarat) - nothing else (besides karma) is the agent of death (other, anything else)

Words meanings and morphology

यमः (yamaḥ) - The god Yama, the speaker (Yama)

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of yama

yama - Yama (god of death), twin, restraint

Root: yam (class 1)

Note: Subject of 'uvāca'

उवाच (uvāca) - Yama's reply to Death (he said, he spoke)

(verb)

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

Perfect Tense

Third person singular, parasmaipada. Reduplicated perfect form.

Root: vac (class 2)

मृत्यो (mṛtyo) - Yama addressing personified Death (O Death!)

(noun)

Vocative, masculine, singular of mṛtyu

mṛtyu - death, demise, Death (personified)

From root 'mṛ' (to die) + suffix '-tyu'

Root: mṛ (class 6)

न (na) - negation of the capability (not)

(indeclinable)

किंचित् (kiṁcit) - nothing at all (anything, something (with 'na', nothing))

(pronoun)

Accusative, neuter, singular of kiṃcid

kiṁcid - anything, something, whatever

From 'kim' (what) + 'cid' (a particle)

Note: Used as 'not anything' in conjunction with 'na'

शक्तः (śaktaḥ) - you are not capable (capable, able)

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of śakta

śakta - able, capable, powerful

Past Passive Participle

From root 'śak' (to be able) + suffix '-kta'

Root: śak (class 5)

Note: Used predicatively with 'tvam'

त्वम् (tvam) - Yama addressing Death directly (you)

(pronoun)

Nominative, singular of yuṣmad

yuṣmad - you (singular)

एकः (ekaḥ) - emphasizes that Death, *by himself*, is powerless (alone, single, one)

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of eka

eka - one, single, alone, unique

Note: Agrees with 'tvam'

मारयितुम् (mārayitum) - to bring about the death of the brahmin (to cause to die, to kill)

(indeclinable)

Infinitive (causative)

From causative stem of root 'mṛ' (to die), with suffix '-tum'

Root: mṛ (class 6)

बलात् (balāt) - through physical coercion or power (by force, forcibly)

(indeclinable)

From noun 'bala' (strength) with suffix '-tas' (meaning 'by means of', 'from')

मारणीयस्य (māraṇīyasya) - referring to the Brahmin, as the one whom Death is trying to kill (of the one to be killed, of the one who must die)

(adjective)

Genitive, masculine, singular of māraṇīya

māraṇīya - to be killed, killable, destined to die

Gerundive / Future Passive Participle

From causative stem of root 'mṛ' (to die), with suffix '-anīya'

Root: mṛ (class 6)

कर्माणि (karmāṇi) - the past deeds or destiny of the one who dies (actions (karma))

(noun)

Nominative, neuter, plural of karma

karma - action (karma), deed, work, ritual

From root 'kṛ' (to do) + suffix '-man'

Root: kṛ (class 8)

Note: Subject of 'tatkartṛṇi'

तत्कर्तृणि (tatkartṛṇi) - the karma itself performs the act of killing (those are the doers, they are the agents of that)

(noun)

Nominative, neuter, plural of tatkartṛ

tatkartṛ - the doer of that, its agent

Agent noun

From 'tat' (that) + 'kartṛ' (doer)

Compound type : Tatpurusha (tad+kartṛ)

• tad – that
  pronoun (neuter)
• kartṛ – doer, agent, maker
  noun (masculine)
  Agent noun
  From root kṛ (to do)
  Root: kṛ (class 8)

Note: Predicative noun for 'karmāṇi'

इति (iti) - marks the end of Yama's statement (thus, so, (quotation marker))

(indeclinable)

न (na) - negation for 'itarat' (not)

(indeclinable)

इतरत् (itarat) - nothing else (besides karma) is the agent of death (other, anything else)

(pronoun)

Nominative, neuter, singular of itara

itara - other, another, different

Note: Used as 'not anything else' in conjunction with 'na'

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