हेम्न्यूर्मिका रूपधरेऽप्यूर्मिकात्वं न विद्यते । यथा तथा जगद्रूपे जगन्नाऽस्ति च ब्रह्मणि ॥ ३३ ॥
hēmnyūrmikā rūpadharē’pyūrmikātvaṁ na vidyatē | yathā tathā jagadrūpē jagannā’sti ca brahmaṇi || 33 ||
Translation
As in gold that bears the form of a ring there is no ring-ness, so in Brahman, which bears the form of the world, there is no world.
Word by word
- hēmnya
- (hemni) in gold
- ūrmikā
- of a ring
- rūpa
- the form
- dharē
- that bears
- api
- even
- ūrmikātvaṁ
- ring-ness
- na
- no
- vidyatē
- there is
- yathā
- as
- tathā
- so
- jagad
- (jagat) of the world
- rūpē
- which bears the form
- jagan
- (jagat) world
- asti
- there is
- ca
- and
- brahmaṇi
- in Brahman
Meaning
The commentary: as in gold there is no being-a-ring, so in Brahman, which bears the world's form, there is no world. The ring is real as gold; as a ring it adds nothing to the gold. So the world is real as Brahman, and as a world it is only a name and a shape.