Skanda Upanishad: Verse 3

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

संविन्मात्रस्थितश्चाहमजोऽस्मि किमतः परम् । व्यतिरिक्तं जडं सर्वं स्वप्नवच्च विनश्यति ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

संवित्-मात्र-स्थितः । च । अहम् । अजः । अस्मि । किम् । अतः । परम् । व्यतिरिक्तम् । जडम् । सर्वम् । स्वप्न-वत् । च । विनश्यति ॥

Recitation with translationSkanda Upanishad 3

IAST Transliteration

saṃvinmātrasthitaś cāham ajo’smi kim ataḥ param | vyatiriktaṃ jaḍaṃ sarvaṃ svapnavac ca vinaśyati ||3||

Translation

Dan aku pun berdiam sebagai kesadaran murni semata; aku adalah aja (tak terlahir)—apa yang melampaui ini? Segala yang lain, yang inert dan terpisah dari kesadaran, lenyap bagaikan mimpi.

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Academic Translation

And I too abide as mere consciousness; I am unborn—what is beyond this? Everything inert that is other (than consciousness) perishes, like a dream.

Word by Word

• saṃvit-mātra-sthitaḥ: abiding in consciousness alone
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃvit-mātra-sthita (प्रातिपदिक; संवित् + मात्र + स्थित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• aham: I
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्-शब्द)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचन

• ajaḥ: unborn
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• asmi: I am
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• kim: what?
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kim (किम्-शब्द)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• ataḥ: beyond this/therefore
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय; इदम्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्)

• param: higher; beyond
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• vyatiriktam: separate (from the Self)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyatirikta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त, vi-ati-√ric (रिच्/रेच्) + kta)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• jaḍam: insentient
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jaḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• sarvam: all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• svapna-vat: like a dream
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svapnavat (अव्यय/तद्धितान्त; स्वप्न + -वत्)
• Form: अव्ययभावे ‘-वत्’ (उपमा)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• vinaśyati: perishes/vanishes
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√naś (नश्)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Sandhi Notes

• sthitaś cāham = sthitaḥ + ca + aham (विसर्गः → ‘ś’ before ‘c’; a + a no coalescence due to padānta/hiatus in recitation)
• ajo’smi = ajaḥ + asmi (विसर्ग-लोप, ‘o’)

About this Verse

Central concept

Ajātivāda/Unborn Self; mithyātva of the inert world; consciousness as the sole reality (saṃvit-mātra)

The mahavakyas

Strongly resonates with «अयमात्मा ब्रह्म» (Ayam ātmā brahma) and «प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म» by asserting the Self as unborn consciousness and treating the objective/inert as dreamlike appearance.

Veda

Atharva

Chandas

Anuṣṭubh (śloka)

Yoga and practice

Meditation on the unborn witness (aja-ātman) beyond arising/ceasing; dream-analogy contemplation (svapna-dṛṣṭānta) to loosen attachment and reduce reification; neti-neti discrimination between awareness and inert objects (jaḍa).