Verse 9

Ishavasya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अन्धं तमः प्रविशन्ति येऽविद्यामुपासते । ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ विद्यायां रताः ॥९॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

अन्धम् । तमः । प्रविशन्ति । ये । अविद्याम् । उपासते । ततः । भूयः । इव । ते । तमः । ये । उ । विद्यायाम् । रताः ॥

IAST Transliteration

andhaṃ tamaḥ praviśanti ye'vidyām upāsate | tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāṃ ratāḥ ||9||

Translation

Into blind darkness enter those who worship ignorance; and, as it were, into still greater darkness—those who are devoted to knowledge.

Academic Translation

Into blind darkness enter those who worship ignorance; as it were, into still greater darkness—those who are devoted to knowledge.

Verse Context

• Vidyā–avidyā dialectic; critique of one-sided paths; necessity of integral understanding (later resolved in 10–11)
• Mahavakya: Indirect: warns that partial ‘vidyā’ (often ritualistic/deity-knowledge) is not identical with liberating mahāvākya-realization; points toward the need for brahmajñāna that culminates in identity statements like ‘tat tvam asi’.
• Yajur
• Śukla (Vājasaneyī) Yajurveda; commonly transmitted with the Mādhyandina/Kāṇva recensions Shakha
• Chandas: Anuṣṭubh