Chapter 1 · Prathamo’dhyāyaḥ (First Chapter)
Verse 48
विषयश्च महाभाग याति चैवं पृथक् पृथक्। दिवान्धाः प्राणिनः केचिद्रात्रावन्धास्तथापरे ॥ ४८ ॥
viṣayaśca mahābhāga yāti caivaṁ pṛthak pṛthak | divāndhāḥ prāṇinaḥ kēcidrātrāvandhāstathāparē || 48 ||
Translation
'And, O fortunate one, the object is perceived differently by each. Some creatures are blind by day, and others are blind at night.'
Word by word
- viṣayaḥ
- the object of perception
- ca
- and
- mahābhāga
- O fortunate one (addressing the king)
- yāti
- goes, is perceived
- evaṁ
- thus
- pṛthak pṛthak
- separately, differently
- divāndhāḥ
- blind by day
- prāṇinaḥ
- creatures
- kēcit
- some
- rātrau
- at night
- andhāḥ
- blind
- tathā
- similarly
- aparē
- others
Meaning
The sage provides an example to illustrate his point. The capability for perception (jñānam) is not uniform. It varies from species to species. An owl (rātrāvandhāḥ - blind by day) and a human (divāndhāḥ - a creature that is effectively blind in the dark) perceive the same world in completely different ways. This establishes that perception is relative and limited.