तदात्मनि स्वयं किञ्चिच्चेत्यतामिव गच्छति । अगृहीतात्मकं संविदहंमर्शनपूर्वकम् ॥ ४ ॥
tadātmani svayaṁ kiñciccētyatāmiva gacchati | agṛhītātmakaṁ saṁvidahaṁmarśanapūrvakam || 4 ||
Translation
that, in itself, of its own accord, goes, as it were, to a slight knowability: awareness preceded by a touch of "I", whose self has not been grasped.
Word by word
- tad
- (tat) that
- ātmani
- in itself
- svayaṁ
- of its own accord
- kiñcic
- (kiñcit) slight
- cētyatām
- knowability
- iva
- as it were
- gacchati
- goes
- agṛhīta
- not grasped
- ātmakaṁ
- whose self has
- saṁvid
- awareness
- ahaṁ
- of I
- marśana
- a touch
- pūrvakam
- preceded by
Meaning
The commentary introduces verses 4 to 6 with the Upaniṣad: "He thought: let me create the worlds" (Aitareya 1.1.1). The first stirring of creation is īkṣaṇa, a looking, a thought. The words are careful: "as it were", "slight", "of its own accord". Nothing outside pushes it; nothing real changes. "Whose self has not been grasped": the I is touched, not yet taken up and owned. Another commentary: without yet grasping the ego that is superimposed on awareness, the subtle knowing first comes, as it were, to knowability in the Self. The "touch of I", aham-marśana, is the first faint sense of a centre, before any "I am this".