Verse 3

Mahavakya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अथ संसृतिबन्धमोक्षयोर्विद्याविद्ये चक्षुषी उपसंहृत्य विज्ञाय—अविद्यालोकाण्डस्तमोदृक्। तमो हि शारीरप्रपञ्चम् आब्रह्मस्थावरान्तम् अनन्ताखिलजाण्डभूतम्। निखिलनिगमोदितसकामकर्मव्यवहारो लोकः॥३–४॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

अथ । संसृति-बन्ध-मोक्षयोः । विद्या-अविद्ये । चक्षुषी । उपसंहृत्य । विज्ञाय । अविद्या-लोक-अण्डः । तमः-दृक् । तमः । हि । शारीर-प्रपञ्चम् । आ-ब्रह्म-स्थावर-अन्तम् । अनन्त-अखिल-जाण्ड-भूतम् । निखिल-निगम-उदित । स-काम-कर्म-व्यवहारः । लोकः ॥

IAST Transliteration

atha saṃsṛtibandhamokṣayor vidyāvidye cakṣuṣī upasaṃhṛtya vijñāya—avidyālokāṇḍas tamodṛk | tamo hi śārīraprapañcam ābrahmasthāvarāntam anantākhilajāṇḍabhūtam | nikhilanigamoditasakāmakarmavyavahāro lokaḥ ||3–4||

Translation

अब, संसृति के बन्धन और मोक्ष से सम्बन्धित ‘विद्या’ और ‘अविद्या’—इन दोनों नेत्रों को समेटकर और उनका यथार्थ विवेक करके (यह जाना कि) अविद्या से उत्पन्न ‘लोकाण्ड’ अन्धकार-दृष्टि है। क्योंकि अन्धकार ही देहधारी प्रपञ्च है—ब्रह्मा से लेकर स्थावर (अचल) तक फैला हुआ—असंख्य सर्वव्यापी ब्रह्माण्डों के रूप में। समस्त वेदों द्वारा प्रतिपादित सकाम कर्मों का व्यवहार-क्षेत्र ही यह लोक है॥

Academic Translation

Now, having withdrawn (i.e., gathered in) the two ‘eyes’—knowledge and ignorance—pertaining to bondage in saṃsāra and to liberation, and having discerned (their nature): the ‘egg of the world’ born of ignorance is a vision of darkness. For darkness indeed is the embodied manifold (the phenomenal proliferation), extending from Brahmā down to the immobile (plants, etc.), constituted of endless, all-encompassing cosmic eggs. The world is the sphere of activity of desire-motivated rites and actions taught by all the Vedas.

Verse Context

• Avidyā (ignorance) as the basis of saṃsāra; karma-kāṇḍa as within vyavahāra; viveka between vidyā and avidyā
• Mahavakya: Prepares for mahāvākya realization by devaluing avidyā-born world-appearance and sakāma-karma as non-liberating; mahāvākyas function on the vidyā side to reveal identity with Brahman beyond ‘darkness’.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose