मरुनद्यां यथा तोयं द्वितीयेन्दौ यथेन्दुता । नास्त्येवेह जगन्नाम दृष्टमप्यमलात्मनि ॥ १२ ॥
marunadyāṁ yathā tōyaṁ dvitīyēndau yathēndutā | nāstyēvēha jagannāma dṛṣṭamapyamalātmani || 12 ||
Translation
As there is no water in a river of the desert, and no moonhood in a second moon, so what is called the world does not exist here at all in the stainless Self, even though it is seen.
Word by word
- maru
- in the desert
- nadyāṁ
- in a river
- yathā
- as
- tōyaṁ
- water
- dvitīyēndau
- in a second moon
- indutā
- moonhood
- nāsti
- is not
- ēva
- at all
- iha
- here
- jagan
- (jagat) the world
- nāma
- called
- dṛṣṭam
- seen
- api
- even though
- amala
- stainless
- ātmani
- in the Self
Meaning
The commentary: as there is no water in the river that seems to be there in a desert, and no moonness in the second moon that appears, so in Brahman, free of every kind of stain, there is no world, though the world is experienced. The second moon is the double image seen by an eye pressed or unwell: a real appearance with nothing behind it but the one moon. The two examples change the tone of the series. The earlier ones showed the world as not apart from Brahman; these show that, as a world, it is not there at all, though seen: "what is called the world", jagan-nāma, a name.