Verse 3

Mahavakya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अथ संसृतिबन्धमोक्षयोर्विद्याविद्ये चक्षुषी उपसंहृत्य विज्ञाय—अविद्यालोकाण्डस्तमोदृक्। तमो हि शारीरप्रपञ्चम् आब्रह्मस्थावरान्तम् अनन्ताखिलजाण्डभूतम्। निखिलनिगमोदितसकामकर्मव्यवहारो लोकः॥३–४॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

अथ । संसृति-बन्ध-मोक्षयोः । विद्या-अविद्ये । चक्षुषी । उपसंहृत्य । विज्ञाय । अविद्या-लोक-अण्डः । तमः-दृक् । तमः । हि । शारीर-प्रपञ्चम् । आ-ब्रह्म-स्थावर-अन्तम् । अनन्त-अखिल-जाण्ड-भूतम् । निखिल-निगम-उदित । स-काम-कर्म-व्यवहारः । लोकः ॥

IAST Transliteration

atha saṃsṛtibandhamokṣayor vidyāvidye cakṣuṣī upasaṃhṛtya vijñāya—avidyālokāṇḍas tamodṛk | tamo hi śārīraprapañcam ābrahmasthāvarāntam anantākhilajāṇḍabhūtam | nikhilanigamoditasakāmakarmavyavahāro lokaḥ ||3–4||

Translation

अथ संसृतिबन्धमोक्षयोः विद्याविद्ये चक्षुषी उपसंहृत्य सम्यग्विज्ञाय—अविद्यालोकाण्डः तमोदृक्। तम एव शारीरप्रपञ्चः, आब्रह्मस्थावरान्तः, अनन्ताखिलजाण्डभूतः। निखिलनिगमोदितसकामकर्मव्यवहारो लोकः॥

Academic Translation

Now, having withdrawn (i.e., gathered in) the two ‘eyes’—knowledge and ignorance—pertaining to bondage in saṃsāra and to liberation, and having discerned (their nature): the ‘egg of the world’ born of ignorance is a vision of darkness. For darkness indeed is the embodied manifold (the phenomenal proliferation), extending from Brahmā down to the immobile (plants, etc.), constituted of endless, all-encompassing cosmic eggs. The world is the sphere of activity of desire-motivated rites and actions taught by all the Vedas.

Verse Context

• Avidyā (ignorance) as the basis of saṃsāra; karma-kāṇḍa as within vyavahāra; viveka between vidyā and avidyā
• Mahavakya: Prepares for mahāvākya realization by devaluing avidyā-born world-appearance and sakāma-karma as non-liberating; mahāvākyas function on the vidyā side to reveal identity with Brahman beyond ‘darkness’.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose