Shloka 20
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
तृतीयं ज्योतिरित्याहुश्नक्षुरध्यात्ममुच्यते
tṛtīyaṃ jyotir ity āhuḥ nakṣur adhyātmam ucyate
Vāyu said: “They speak of a ‘third light’; and that is called inner spiritual vision (adhyātma)—the insight by which one perceives the Self beyond the outer senses.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to a higher kind of illumination beyond ordinary sensory light: an inward, spiritual ‘light’ identified with adhyātma—self-knowledge or inner realization—through which one discerns the Self and right understanding.
Vāyudeva is speaking in a didactic context, defining a doctrinal term: he explains that what some call the ‘third light’ is actually the inner spiritual faculty (adhyātma), shifting attention from external perception to inward realization.