श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । जगदाकाशमेवेदं यथा हि व्योम्नि मौक्तिकम् । विमले भाति स्वात्मैव जगच्चिद्गगनं यथा ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | jagadākāśamēvēdaṁ yathā hi vyōmni mauktikam | vimalē bhāti svātmaiva jagaccidgaganaṁ yathā || 1 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: This world is space itself. As pearls seem to shine in a clear sky, so the world, which is the sky of awareness, shines as its own Self alone.
Word by word
- jagad
- (jagat) the world
- ākāśam
- space
- ēva
- itself; alone
- idaṁ
- this
- yathā
- as
- hi
- indeed
- vyōmni
- in a sky
- mauktikam
- pearls
- vimalē
- clear
- bhāti
- shines
- svātmā
- its own Self
- jagac
- (jagat) the world
- cid
- (cit) of awareness
- gaganaṁ
- the sky
Meaning
The fourth day begins. The commentary introduces the sarga: through example after example and reasoning of every kind, to make known that awareness and its objects are not different, the long tale of the pavilion is begun. Rāma, this world is of the form of the space of awareness. If so, why does it appear apart? As in a clear sky a string of pearls is seen through error, so it is seen apart through error. The "pearls" are the bright specks a strained eye sees in an empty sky: real to the seer, absent from the sky.