एक एव द्वितामेति स्वप्ने स्वमृतिबोधवत् । किञ्चित्स्थौल्यमिवाऽऽदत्ते ततस्तारकतां विदन् ॥ २१ ॥
ēka ēva dvitāmēti svapnē svamṛtibōdhavat | kiñcitsthaulyamivā’’dattē tatastārakatāṁ vidan || 21 ||
Translation
Being one, it comes to twoness, as in a dream one knows one's own death; it takes on, as it were, a little grossness, then knowing itself as a star.
Word by word
- ēka
- one
- ēva
- being
- dvitām
- to twoness
- ēti
- comes
- svapnē
- in a dream
- sva
- one’s own
- mṛti
- death
- bōdha
- knows
- vat
- as
- kiñcit
- a little
- sthaulyam
- grossness
- iva
- as it were
- ādattē
- takes on
- tatas
- (tataḥ) then
- tārakatāṁ
- as a star
- vidan
- knowing itself
Meaning
The commentary: as in a dream one knows one's own death, one alone yet seeing a second, so the Self of awareness comes to duality; leaving the very subtle state of a spark of light, it takes on a grossness like that of a star; this is its subtle self (the liṅga), joined with the subtle elements. In the dream of one's own death there are two: the one who dies and the one who sees it; yet both are the one dreamer. The "star", tāraka, is the subtle body: a point of light with a little more body than a spark.