पूर्वं चेत्यत्वकलनं सतश्चेत्यांशचेतनात् । उदेति चित्तकलनं चितिशक्तिस्वचेतनात् ॥ २ ॥
pūrvaṁ cētyatvakalanaṁ sataścētyāṁśacētanāt | udēti cittakalanaṁ citiśaktisvacētanāt || 2 ||
Translation
first there arises the conceiving of something knowable, from the real's knowing a part of itself as knowable; then the conceiving of mind, from the power of awareness knowing itself.
Word by word
- pūrvaṁ
- first
- cētyatva
- of something knowable
- kalanaṁ
- the conceiving
- sataś
- (sataḥ) of the real
- cētya
- as knowable
- aṁśa
- a part
- cētanāt
- from knowing
- udēti
- arises
- citta
- of mind
- citi
- of awareness
- śakti
- the power
- sva
- itself
Meaning
The commentary: in the Supreme, a mass of awareness, the notion of the knowable (the object) is first imagined, through the shining of the part that is to be seen; for the jīva, the one who knows, is established only once objects and faculties are established, so the superimposition of objects and faculties is shown first in the Self of awareness. Then, because it is the nature of the power of awareness to light up what is superimposed, the notion of mind arises. The order is worth noticing: the object comes before the knower. A self that knows is defined by what it knows.