Atma Upanishad: Verse 31
न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः । न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥३१॥
न । निरोधः । न । च । उत्पत्तिः । न । बद्धः । न । च । साधकः । न । मुमुक्षुः । न । वै । मुक्तः । इति । एषा । परमार्थता ।
na nirodho na cotpattir na baddho na ca sādhakaḥ | na mumukṣur na vai mukta ity eṣā paramārthatā ||31||
No hay cesación ni, en verdad, surgimiento; nadie está atado, ni existe practicante. No hay buscador de liberación, ni tampoco alguien liberado: ésta es la verdad suprema (la realidad última).
There is no cessation, nor indeed origination; none is bound, nor is there a practitioner. There is no seeker of liberation, nor indeed anyone liberated—this is the highest truth (ultimate reality).
- cotpattiḥ = ca + utpattiḥ (a+u → o)
- mumukṣur = mumukṣuḥ + (following na) with visarga sandhi (ḥ before n → r)
- ity eṣā = iti + eṣā (i + e → y e)
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Ajātivāda (non-origination) and paramārtha-sattā (ultimate reality) in Advaita Vedānta
- The mahavakyas
- Supports the import of identity taught by mahāvākyas (e.g., ‘अहं ब्रह्मास्मि’, ‘तत्त्वमसि’) by negating all transactional distinctions of bound/seeker/liberated at the paramārtha level.
- Veda
- Atharva
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (śloka)
Yoga and practice
Nididhyāsana on the witness-consciousness: contemplate the unreality (at the ultimate level) of bondage and liberation; cultivate vairāgya toward doership (kartṛtva) and enjoyership (bhoktṛtva); use neti-neti to dissolve identification with mental states of ‘practice’ and ‘attainment’.
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