Language help

अस्य श्लोकस्य आकाङ्क्षाक्रमेण (Inquiry method) व्याख्या अधोनिर्दिष्टा अस्ति । आकाङ्क्षापद्धतौ वयं मुख्यक्रियां चित्वा प्रश्नोत्तराणां माध्यमेन अन्वयं कुर्मः ।

मूलश्लोकः:

शूल-पाणिं मृत्युवद्-आपतन्तं तं हिरण्य-कशिपुं वि-ज्ञाय, दुर्-जयं ज्ञात्वा मायाविनां श्रेष्ठः तत्-तत्-काल-प्रयोजनाभिज्ञो विष्णुः इत्थं चिन्तयाम् आस ॥ ८ ॥

आकाङ्क्षा (Inquiry)

१. प्रश्नः: कः चिन्तयाम् आस? (Who thought?)

• उत्तरम्: विष्णुः चिन्तयाम् आस । (Vishnu thought.)

२. प्रश्नः: कीदृशः विष्णुः? (What kind of Vishnu?)

• उत्तरम् १: मायाविनां श्रेष्ठः । (The best among those who possess ‘maya’ or mystical powers.)
• उत्तरम् २: तत्-तत्-काल-प्रयोजनाभिज्ञः । (He who knows what is necessary/needed at any given time/circumstance.)

३. प्रश्नः: विष्णुः किं कृत्वा चिन्तयाम् आस? (Having done what did Vishnu think?)

• उत्तरम् १: विज्ञाय । (Having recognized/perceived.)
• उत्तरम् २: ज्ञात्वा । (Having known/realized.)

४. प्रश्नः: कं विज्ञाय? (Having recognized whom?)

• उत्तरम्: तं हिरण्यकशिपुं विज्ञाय । (Having recognized that Hiranyakashipu.)

५. प्रश्नः: कीदृशं हिरण्यकशिपुं विज्ञाय? (What kind of Hiranyakashipu?)

• उत्तरम् १: शूल-पाणिम् । (The one who has a trident/spear in his hand.)
• उत्तरम् २: मृत्युवत्-आपतन्तम् । (Rushing/attacking like Death itself.)

६. प्रश्नः: किं ज्ञात्वा? (Having realized what?)

• उत्तरम्: (तं) दुर्जयं ज्ञात्वा । (Having realized that he [Hiranyakashipu] is difficult to conquer.)

७. प्रश्नः: कथं चिन्तयाम् आस? (How/In what manner did he think?)

• उत्तरम्: इत्थं चिन्तयाम् आस । (He thought thus/in this way.)

अन्वयः (Prose Order)

मायाविनां श्रेष्ठः, तत्-तत्-काल-प्रयोजनाभिज्ञः विष्णुः, शूल-पाणिं मृत्युवद्-आपतन्तं तं हिरण्य-कशिपुं वि-ज्ञाय, (तं च) दुर्-जयं ज्ञात्वा इत्थं चिन्तयाम् आस ।

भावार्थः (Meaning in simple Sanskrit/English)

संस्कृतार्थः: यदा हिरण्यकशिपुः हस्ते शूलं गृहीत्वा साक्षात् काल-मृत्युः इव आक्रमणं कृतवान्, तदा तं दृष्ट्वा मायाविनां शिरोमणिः, समयस्य आवश्यकतां ज्ञाता भगवान् विष्णुः “अयं तु सुखेन जेतुं न शक्यते” इति निश्चित्य एवं विचारितवान् ।

English Meaning: Having recognized that Hiranyakashipu was rushing towards him like Death itself with a trident in hand, and knowing him to be difficult to conquer, Lord Vishnu—who is the greatest among masters of illusion and who knows exactly what action is required for any specific situation—thought in the following manner.

In this context, al is a contraction of the preposition a and the definite article el. When followed by an infinitive (like adoptar), it creates a specific grammatical structure that translates to “when,” “upon,” or “by” in English.

Here is the breakdown of how it fits into your sentence:

1. The Grammatical Rule: Al + Infinitive

In Spanish, this construction is used to express a simultaneous or immediate action. It acts as a shortcut for a longer phrase like “cuando se adopta” (when one adopts).

• Al adoptar… = Upon adopting… / When adopting… / By adopting…

2. Breakdown of the Phrase

The full phrase: el fruto a alcanzar (al adoptar este upāya)

• El fruto a alcanzar: “The fruit to be reached” or “The result to be achieved.”
• (al adoptar…): “(upon adopting…)” or “(when you adopt…)”
• este upāya: “this upaya” (a Sanskrit term for “skillful means” or a specific method in Buddhist/Hindu practice).

3. How to translate it

Because the phrase is in parentheses, it is providing the condition or the moment in which the fruit is reached. You can translate the whole thing as:

“The fruit to be reached upon adopting this upaya” or “The fruit to be achieved (when adopting this skillful means)”

Why not just use “a”?

If you only used “a” (a adoptar), it would mean “to adopt,” which wouldn’t make sense here. By adding the article “el” (to make al), you turn the action into a temporal event.

Summary of the meaning: The “al” tells the reader that the “fruit” is something that happens at the same time as or as a direct result of the act of adopting the upaya.