ऋतमात्मा परं ब्रह्म सत्यमित्यादिका बुधैः । कल्पिता व्यवहारार्थं तस्य संज्ञा महात्मनः ॥ १२ ॥
ṛtamātmā paraṁ brahma satyamityādikā budhaiḥ | kalpitā vyavahārārthaṁ tasya saṁjñā mahātmanaḥ || 12 ||
Translation
The wise have imagined for that great Self names such as Truth, Self, the supreme, Brahman, the Real, for the sake of speaking of it.
Word by word
- ṛtam
- Truth
- ātmā
- Self
- paraṁ
- the supreme
- brahma
- Brahman
- satyam
- the Real
- iti
- such as
- ādikā
- and the like
- budhaiḥ
- by the wise
- kalpitā
- have been imagined
- vyavahāra
- of speaking
- arthaṁ
- for the sake
- tasya
- for that
- saṁjñā
- names
- mahātmanaḥ
- great Self
Meaning
The commentary: for the sake of teaching, the learned have given that real, all-pervading Self many names. In a note it gives the reasons for them: it is called the true (ṛta) because the śruti, the best of the means of knowledge, makes it known; the Self (ātman) because, in Vyāsa's words, it pervades, takes in and enjoys all things and never perishes; Brahman, because it is great and makes the world grow; the Real (satya), because the learned find it in their experience. The names are tools of speech, not parts of the thing named.