अज्ञानमेव यद्भाति संविदाभासमेव तत् । यज्जगद्दृश्यते स्वप्ने संवित्कचनमेव तत् ॥ १६ ॥
ajñānamēva yadbhāti saṁvidābhāsamēva tat | yajjagaddṛśyatē svapnē saṁvitkacanamēva tat || 16 ||
Translation
What shines as ignorance is only a shining of awareness. The world that is seen in a dream is only the play of awareness.
Word by word
- ajñānam
- ignorance
- ēva
- only
- yad
- (yat) what
- bhāti
- shines
- saṁvid
- of awareness
- ābhāsam
- a shining
- tat
- that
- yaj
- (yat) which
- jagad
- (jagat) the world
- dṛśyatē
- is seen
- svapnē
- in a dream
- saṁvit
- of awareness
- kacanam
- the play, the shining forth
Meaning
The commentary takes up an objection: ignorance is the material cause of the world, so how can it be said that there is no cause? It answers: when ignorance is said to change into the shape of the world, this does not mean that the world is a change of ignorance as curd is of milk; rather ignorance shows awareness (saṃvit, knowing) itself as the world, it makes awareness appear as the world. The "change" of ignorance is only an appearance of awareness, and this is well known from dreams: the world seen in a dream is only the play (kacana, a shining forth) of awareness, nothing beyond it. Another commentary says the same. Ignorance is not a second stuff from which the world is made; it is the name for awareness appearing as what it is not.