आकाशे च यथा नास्ति शून्यत्वं व्यतिरेकवत् । जगत्त्वं ब्रह्मणि तथा नाऽस्त्येवाऽप्युपलब्धिमत् ॥ ९ ॥
ākāśē ca yathā nāsti śūnyatvaṁ vyatirēkavat | jagattvaṁ brahmaṇi tathā nā’styēvā’pyupalabdhimat || 9 ||
Translation
And as in space there is no emptiness as something apart, so in Brahman there is no worldhood at all, though it is perceived.
Word by word
- ākāśē
- in space
- ca
- and
- yathā
- as
- nāsti
- there is not
- śūnyatvaṁ
- emptiness
- vyatirēkavat
- as something apart
- jagattvaṁ
- worldhood
- brahmaṇi
- in Brahman
- tathā
- so
- na
- not
- asti
- there is
- ēva
- at all
- api
- though
- upalabdhimat
- perceived
Meaning
The commentary: as the emptiness perceived in space is not different from space, so this world, though perceived, is not different from Brahman. Emptiness is not a second thing that space has; it is simply what space is. Another commentary adds that the world is not in Brahman as something truly separate but is of the form of Brahman. "Though it is perceived", upalabdhimat: the perception is granted; what is denied is a separate existence. This is the line Vasiṣṭha draws throughout the sarga: seen, but not apart.