Verse 17

Niralamba

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

स्वर्ग इति च सत्संसर्गः स्वर्गः । नरक इति च असत्संसारविषयजनसंसर्ग एव नरकः ॥१७॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

स्वर्गः इति च । सत्-संसर्गः । स्वर्गः । नरकः इति च । असत्-संसार-विषय-जन-संसर्गः । एव । नरकः ॥१७॥

IAST Transliteration

svarga iti ca sat-saṃsargaḥ svargaḥ | naraka iti ca asat-saṃsāra-viṣaya-jana-saṃsarga eva narakaḥ ||17||

Translation

“സ്വർഗം” എന്നു പറയുന്നത് സത്സംഗം; സത്ജനസഹവാസം സ്വർഗമാണ്. “നരകം” എന്നു പറയുന്നത് അസത്സംഗം—സംസാരവും വിഷയങ്ങളും പിടിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ജനസഹവാസം തന്നെയാണ് നരകം.

Academic Translation

And ‘heaven’ is association with the good (sat); ‘hell’ is indeed association with the unreal/ignoble—people bound to saṃsāra and sense-objects.

Verse Context

• Saṅga (association) as a determinant of saṃsāra vs. sādhana; sat/ asat viveka
• Mahavakya: Indirectly supports ‘aham brahmāsmi’/‘tat tvam asi’ by prescribing sat-saṅga as a preparatory condition (sādhana-catuṣṭaya) for recognizing identity with Brahman; frames ‘heaven/hell’ ethically-psychologically rather than as ultimate realities.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose