प्राणस्पन्दोऽस्य यत्कर्म लक्ष्यते चाऽस्मदादिभिः । दृश्यतेऽस्माभिरेवं तन्न त्वस्याऽस्त्यत्र कर्मधीः ॥ २५ ॥
prāṇaspandō’sya yatkarma lakṣyatē cā’smadādibhiḥ | dṛśyatē’smābhirēvaṁ tanna tvasyā’styatra karmadhīḥ || 25 ||
- Another reading: दृश्यतेऽस्माभिरेवैतन्न (dṛśyatē’smābhirēvaitanna) for दृश्यतेऽस्माभिरेवं तन्न
Translation
The movement of breath that people like us observe in him as action: this is seen thus by us, but there is no thought of action in him.
Word by word
- prāṇa
- of breath
- spandō
- (spandaḥ) the movement
- asya
- in him
- yat
- that
- karma
- as action; action
- lakṣyatē
- observe
- ca
- and
- asmad
- (asmat) us
- ādibhiḥ
- people like
- dṛśyatē
- is seen
- asmābhir
- (asmābhiḥ) by us
- ēvaṁ
- thus
- tat
- this
- na
- no
- tu
- but
- asti
- there is
- atra
- in this
- dhīḥ
- thought of
Meaning
An objection: if he does nothing, how is it that we see him breathe and move like any embodied being? Answer: we see it. The commentary: the movement of his breath and body that we observe, we observe through our own error, born of ignorance; he has no sense that it is real. Action belongs to the one who thinks "I act". The same movement, seen from outside, looks like action; from within, where no one claims it, it is not action at all.