Verse 3

Ishavasya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः । ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

असुर्याः । नाम । ते । लोकाः । अन्धेन । तमसा । आवृताः । तान् । ते । प्रेत्य । अभिगच्छन्ति । ये । के । च । आत्म-हनः । जनाः ।

IAST Transliteration

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasā 'vṛtāḥ | tāṃs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ ||3||

Translation

那些世界名为“无日之界”，被致盲的黑暗所覆。凡戕害自我（我性、阿特曼）之人，死后皆趋往彼处。

Academic Translation

Those worlds are called ‘sunless,’ covered by blinding darkness. To them, after death, go those people who are slayers of the Self.

Verse Context

• Avidyā (ignorance) and ātma-han (self-negation); bondage leading to dark states; necessity of Self-knowledge
• Mahavakya: Negative (apophatic) support: warns that failure to realize the Self (implicit in mahāvākya insight) results in darkness; motivates pursuit of ‘tat tvam asi’/‘aham brahmāsmi’ realization.
• Yajurveda
• Shukla (Vajasaneyi) Yajurveda; Madhyandina/Kanva recensions Shakha
• Chandas: Prose (Yajurvedic mantra style)