श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । इत्थं जगदहन्तादिदृश्यजातं न किञ्चन । अजातत्वाच्च नाऽस्त्येव यच्चाऽस्ति परमेव तत् ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | itthaṁ jagadahantādidṛśyajātaṁ na kiñcana | ajātatvācca nā’styēva yaccā’sti paramēva tat || 1 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: So the whole mass of the seen, the world, I-ness and the rest, is nothing; and because it is unborn it does not exist at all; and what does exist is the Supreme alone.
Word by word
- itthaṁ
- so
- jagad
- (jagat) the world
- ahantā
- I-ness
- ādi
- and the rest
- dṛśya
- of the seen
- jātaṁ
- the whole mass
- na
- not
- kiñcana
- anything
- ajātatvāc
- (ajātatvāt) because it is unborn
- ca
- and
- nāsti
- does not exist
- ēva
- at all
- yac
- (yat) what
- asti
- exists
- param
- the Supreme
- tat
- that
Meaning
The commentary introduces the sarga: the doubts about the jīva just described (its limits, its number, whether it is cut off from the rest) are to be cut by reasoning, and the oneness of Brahman alone shown. Vasiṣṭha lays the ground by restating the last sarga: as was said there, the mass of the seen, I-ness and the rest, has no existence at all, because it was never born; and what exists is the Supreme Self. The whole sarga will return to this verse from different sides.