Verse 3

Vajrasuchika

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तत्र प्रथमो जीवो ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न । अतीतानागतानेकदेहानां जीवस्यैकरूपत्वात्, एकस्यापि कर्मवशादनेकदेहसम्भवात्, सर्वशरीराणां जीवस्यैकरूपत्वाच्च । तस्मान्न जीवो ब्राह्मण इति ॥ ३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तत्र । प्रथमः । जीवः । ब्राह्मणः । इति । चेत् । तत् । न । अतीत-अनागत-अनेक-देहानाम् । जीवस्य । एक-रूपत्वात् । एकस्य । अपि । कर्म-वशात् । अनेक-देह-सम्भवात् । सर्व-शरीराणाम् । जीवस्य । एक-रूपत्वात् । च । तस्मात् । न । जीवः । ब्राह्मणः । इति ॥ ३॥

IAST Transliteration

tatra prathamo jīvo brāhmaṇa iti cet tan na | atītānāgatānekadehānāṁ jīvasyaikarūpatvāt, ekasyāpi karmavaśād anekadehasambhavāt, sarvaśarīrāṇāṁ jīvasyaikarūpatvāc ca | tasmān na jīvo brāhmaṇa iti || 3 ||

Translation

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ‘ಜೀವನೇ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣ’ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದರೆ ಅದು ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಭೂತ-ಭವಿಷ್ಯದ ಅನೇಕ ದೇಹಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವದ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ಒಂದೇ; ಒಂದೇ ಜೀವನು ಕರ್ಮವಶದಿಂದ ಅನೇಕ ದೇಹಗಳನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಮತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲ ದೇಹಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಜೀವದ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ಒಂದೇ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಜೀವನು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಲ್ಲ।

Academic Translation

There, if (one says) first: ‘the individual soul is the Brāhmaṇa,’ that is not so. Because the soul is of one and the same form in many bodies of the past and the future; because even one (soul), under the force of karma, comes to have many bodies; and because the soul is of one and the same form in all bodies. Therefore, the soul is not (what is meant by) ‘Brāhmaṇa.’

Verse Context

• Ātman/jīva distinction; rejection of upādhi-based identity; universality of consciousness beyond varṇa
• Mahavakya: Consonant with ‘ahaṁ brahmāsmi’/‘tat tvam asi’ implication that the Self is universal and not a social particular; functions as a negation of empirical identifiers prior to mahāvākya realization
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose