Shloka 4
अन्तर्वन-विद्यारण्योपमा
The Allegory of the Inner Forest of Knowledge
ब्राह्मण उवाच नैतदस्ति पृथग्भाव: किंचिदन््यत् ततः सुखम् | नैतदस्त्यपृथग्भाव: किंचिद् दुःखतरं ततः
brāhmaṇa uvāca: naitad asti pṛthagbhāvaḥ kiṃcid anyat tataḥ sukham | naitad asty apṛthagbhāvaḥ kiṃcid duḥkhataraṃ tataḥ ||
Sang Brahmana berkata: “Di sana tiada keadaan yang terpisah-berbilang—dan tiada pula kebahagiaan lain yang melampaui Itu. Di sana tiada keadaan yang tidak-terpisah—dan tiada pula penderitaan yang lebih dahsyat daripada Itu.” Dalam maksudnya, beliau menunjuk kepada keadaan yang melampaui pertentangan biasa (berbeza dan tidak-berbeza), tempat suka dan duka duniawi tidak lagi terpakai.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques taking either ‘difference’ (pṛthagbhāva) or ‘non-difference’ (apṛthagbhāva) as the final truth. It gestures toward a reality beyond conceptual extremes, where ordinary categories—and thus worldly pleasure and pain—lose their hold.
A Brahmin speaker is instructing his listener in a reflective, philosophical mode, using paired opposites (difference/non-difference; happiness/suffering) to point toward a transcendent state that cannot be captured by common metaphysical labels.