Verse 3

Ishavasya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः । ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

असुर्याः । नाम । ते । लोकाः । अन्धेन । तमसा । आवृताः । तान् । ते । प्रेत्य । अभिगच्छन्ति । ये । के । च । आत्म-हनः । जनाः ।

IAST Transliteration

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasā 'vṛtāḥ | tāṃs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ ||3||

Translation

ಆ ಲೋಕಗಳು ‘ಸೂರ್ಯರಹಿತ’ವೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ; ಅವು ಅಂಧಕಾರಮಯ ತಮಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ಆವೃತವಾಗಿವೆ. ಆತ್ಮಹನನ ಮಾಡುವವರು ಮರಣಾನಂತರ ಅತ್ತ ಸೇರುತ್ತಾರೆ.

Academic Translation

Those worlds are called ‘sunless,’ covered by blinding darkness. To them, after death, go those people who are slayers of the Self.

Verse Context

• Avidyā (ignorance) and ātma-han (self-negation); bondage leading to dark states; necessity of Self-knowledge
• Mahavakya: Negative (apophatic) support: warns that failure to realize the Self (implicit in mahāvākya insight) results in darkness; motivates pursuit of ‘tat tvam asi’/‘aham brahmāsmi’ realization.
• Yajurveda
• Shukla (Vajasaneyi) Yajurveda; Madhyandina/Kanva recensions Shakha
• Chandas: Prose (Yajurvedic mantra style)