Verse 9

Sarvasara

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

ज्ञातृज्ञानज्ञेयानामाविर्भावतिरोभावज्ञाता स्वयमाविर्भावतिरोभावरहितः स्वयंज्योतिः साक्षीत्युच्यते॥९॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

ज्ञातृ-ज्ञान-ज्ञेयानाम् । आविर्भाव-तिरोभाव-ज्ञाता । स्वयम् । आविर्भाव-तिरोभाव-रहितः । स्वयम्-ज्योतिः । साक्षी । इति । उच्यते ॥९॥

IAST Transliteration

jñātṛjñānajñeyānām āvirbhāvatirobhāvajñātā svayam āvirbhāvatirobhāvarahitaḥ svayaṃjyotiḥ sākṣīty ucyate ||9||

Translation

ज्ञातृ-ज्ञान-ज्ञेयानाम् आविर्भाव-तिरोभावयोः ज्ञाता, स स्वयम् आविर्भाव-तिरोभाव-रहितः; स्वयंज्योतिः साक्षी इत्युच्यते॥९॥

Academic Translation

The knower of the appearance and disappearance of the knower, knowledge, and the known—(that principle) itself is free from appearance and disappearance; self-luminous, it is called the Witness (sākṣin).

Verse Context

• Sākṣin (witness), svayaṃ-jyotis (self-luminosity), triad of knower–knowledge–known and its sublation
• Mahavakya: Directly supports ‘prajñānam brahma’ by identifying pure awareness as the self-luminous witness of all cognitive events, and ‘aham brahmāsmi’ by locating true ‘I’ beyond the changing knower-sense.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose