श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । बहुकालमियं रूढा मिथ्याज्ञानविषूचिका । जगन्नाम्न्यविचाराख्या विना ज्ञानं न शाम्यति ॥ २ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | bahukālamiyaṁ rūḍhā mithyājñānaviṣūcikā | jagannāmnyavicārākhyā vinā jñānaṁ na śāmyati || 2 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: This cholera of false knowledge, named the world and called non-inquiry, has grown deep-rooted over a long time; without knowledge it does not subside.
Word by word
- bahu
- a long
- kālam
- time
- iyaṁ
- this
- rūḍhā
- has grown deep-rooted
- mithyā
- false
- jñāna
- of knowledge
- viṣūcikā
- cholera
- jagan
- (jagat) the world
- nāmni
- named
- avicāra
- non-inquiry
- ākhyā
- called
- vinā
- without
- jñānaṁ
- knowledge
- na
- not
- śāmyati
- does subside
Meaning
The commentary: this cholera of false knowledge has been rooted for ages; its names are "the world" and "non-inquiry" (avicāra), and it does not go without knowledge. Non-inquiry is the disease's own name: the world persists because it has never been looked into. Cholera returns from 3.6.15, where passion and aversion were the disease; here it is the whole false knowledge of the world.