जालान्तर्गतसूर्याभाजालाकाररजांस्यपि । जगद्भानं प्रति स्थूलान्यणुं प्रति यथाऽचलाः ॥ ४ ॥
jālāntargatasūryābhājālākārarajāṁsyapi | jagadbhānaṁ prati sthūlānyaṇuṁ prati yathā’calāḥ || 4 ||
Translation
Even the specks of dust shaped by the lattice in the sunlight coming through it are gross beside the appearing of the world, as mountains are beside an atom.
Word by word
- jāla
- the lattice; by the lattice
- antargata
- coming through
- sūrya
- of the sun
- ābhā
- in the light
- ākāra
- shaped
- rajāṁsi
- the specks of dust
- api
- even
- jagad
- (jagat) of the world
- bhānaṁ
- the appearing
- prati
- beside
- sthūlāni
- are gross
- aṇuṁ
- an atom
- yathā
- as
- acalāḥ
- mountains
Meaning
The commentary: though the world seems vast to the deluded, in truth it is smaller even than the motes dancing in the shaft of sunlight that falls through a high window or chimney; as mountains are gross beside atoms, so beside the knowing of the world even those finest specks are gross. A note gives another reading of the commentaries: the witness-awareness that lights the world is subtler than the motes in the sunbeam, as an atom is subtler than a mountain.