Śreyas and Paramārtha: The Ribhu–Nidāgha Teaching on Non-Dual Self
Advaita
जन्मवृद्ध्यादिरहित आत्मा सर्वगतो नृप । परिज्ञानमयो सद्भिर्नामजात्यादिभिविभुः ॥ ३० ॥
janmavṛddhyādirahita ātmā sarvagato nṛpa | parijñānamayo sadbhirnāmajātyādibhivibhuḥ || 30 ||
Ô roi, l’Ātman est exempt de naissance, de croissance et de tout ce qui s’ensuit ; il est partout présent. Sa nature est la connaissance parfaite ; pourtant, selon la convention des sages, on en parle par des noms, des catégories et d’autres désignations.
Sanatkumara (in instruction to a king, as part of Moksha-Dharma teaching)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
It establishes the Atman as changeless and all-pervading—beyond birth, growth, and decay—pointing the seeker toward liberation through recognizing the Self as pure, complete knowledge rather than a body-based identity.
By showing that names and categories are only conventional pointers, it supports bhakti as focused remembrance of the Supreme beyond form—using names as aids while understanding that the ultimate reality they indicate is limitless and all-pervading.
It implicitly underscores Vyākaraṇa/Nirukta-style discernment: words like “name” and “class” are linguistic conventions used for communication, while the Self they indicate transcends verbal classification—encouraging careful discrimination between term and meaning.