श्रीराम उवाच । किं स्यात्परिमितो जीवो राशिराहो अनन्तकः । आहोस्विदस्त्यनन्तात्मा जीवपिण्डोऽचलोपमः ॥ १५ ॥
śrīrāma uvāca | kiṁ syātparimitō jīvō rāśirāhō anantakaḥ | āhōsvidastyanantātmā jīvapiṇḍō’calōpamaḥ || 15 ||
Translation
Rāma said: Is the jīva a measured thing, or an endless heap? Or is there a mass of jīvas, endless in self, like a mountain?
Word by word
- kiṁ
- is
- syāt
- it
- parimitō
- (parimitaḥ) measured
- jīvō
- (jīvaḥ) the jīva
- rāśir
- (rāśiḥ) a heap
- āhō
- or
- anantakaḥ
- endless
- āhōsvid
- or
- asti
- is there
- ananta
- endless
- ātmā
- in self
- jīva
- of jīvas
- piṇḍō
- (piṇḍaḥ) a mass
- acala
- a mountain
- upamaḥ
- like
Meaning
The commentary sets out Rāma's thought: since the individual and the whole have one root, how can they be called unreal, if the root is real? And as the individual is established by perception and the other means of knowledge, why is the division into individuals not real, as in an army, where the individuals remain when the whole is disbanded? So: is the jīva one, measured by one intellect? Or an endless heap of jīvas? Or a mountain-like mass of endless selves rubbing against one another in one place?