Shloka 4
Atithi’s Direction to the Nāga-sage Padma at Naimiṣa (अतिथ्युपदेशः—नैमिषे पद्मनागोपाख्यानप्रस्तावः)
आप इत्येवं ब्रह्मभूतसंज्ञकेउद्धितीये प्रतिछिते,सब ओर केवल जल-ही-जल स्थित था। दूसरा कोई तत्त्व नहीं दिखायी देता था, मानो एकमात्र उद्वितीय ब्रह्म अपनी ही महिमामें प्रतिष्ठित हो
Āpa ity evaṁ brahma-bhūta-saṁjñake ’dvitīye pratiṣṭhite, sarvataḥ kevalaṁ jala-hī-jalaṁ sthitaṁ āsīt. Dvitīyaṁ kaścid api tattvaṁ na dṛśyate sma, māno ’dvitīyaṁ brahma svayaṁ mahimni pratiṣṭhitam.
Arjuna thưa: “Khi trạng thái được gọi là ‘tồn tại như Brahman’—thực tại bất nhị—được an lập, thì khắp nơi chỉ còn nước mà thôi. Không thể nhận thấy bất cứ nguyên lý thứ hai nào, như thể Brahman duy nhất, vô song, an trụ trong chính uy nghiêm của mình.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes advitīya (non-dual) reality: when Brahman is established, no ‘second’ principle is truly apprehended. The imagery of all-pervading waters underscores a condition where multiplicity is not manifest and ultimate reality stands self-supported in its own glory.
Arjuna describes a cosmological/ontological vision: everywhere appears only water, with no other distinct element visible. This scene is framed as the establishment of the non-dual Brahman, suggesting a primordial or dissolution-like state where differentiation has not arisen (or has subsided).