Devanagari
अनाद्यविद्यायुक्तस्य पुरुषस्यात्मवेदनम् ।
स्वतो न सम्भवादन्यस्तत्त्वज्ञो ज्ञानदो भवेत् ॥ १० ॥
Verse text
anādy-avidyā-yuktasya
puruṣasyātma-vedanam
svato na sambhavād anyas
tattva-jṣo jṣāna-do bhavet
Synonyms
anādi
—
without beginning
;
avidyā
—
with ignorance
;
yuktasya
—
who is joined
;
puruṣasya
—
of a person
;
ātma
—
vedanam — the process of self-realization
;
svataḥ
—
by his own ability
;
na sambhavāt
—
because it cannot occur
;
anyaḥ
—
another person
;
tattva
—
jṣaḥ — the knower of transcendental reality
;
jṣāna
—
daḥ — the bestower of real knowledge
;
bhavet
—
must be .
Translation
Because a person who has been covered by ignorance since time immemorial is not capable of effecting his own self-realization, there must be some other personality who is in factual knowledge of the Absolute Truth and can impart this knowledge to him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Because a person whether covered or not covered by beginningless ignorance cannot realize ātmā on his own, there must a separate Supreme Lord who knows and gives knowledge.
“I accept that there is different counting because of the inclusion of elements within others. How can some claim that jīva and the Lord are different, maintaining that there are twenty-six elements (by substituting prakṛti for the three guṇas, which made twenty-eight elements)?” Because it is not possible for the jīva, whether covered by avidyā or not, to have knowledge of ātmā on his own, there must exist a separate Supreme Lord. This is the Vaisṇava philosophy.
Purport
Although the Lord tolerates different methods of calculating material causes within their effects and material effects within their causes, there cannot be any speculation regarding the two spiritual elements found in this universe, namely the individual soul and the Supersoul. Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly states in this verse that the living entity is incapable of effecting his own enlightenment. The Supreme Lord is
tattva-jṣa,
omniscient, and
jṣāna-da,
the spiritual master of the entire universe. Śrī Uddhava mentioned that some philosophers describe twenty-five elements and others twenty-six. The difference is that the twenty-six elements include a separate category for the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, Lord Kṛṣṇa, whereas the proponents of twenty-five elements artificially merge the two transcendental categories of
jīva-tattva
and
viṣṇu-tattva,
hiding the eternal supremacy of the Personality of Godhead.
Knowledge based on the three modes of material nature cannot rise to the transcendental platform, where the Personality of Godhead exists as the supreme enjoyer of eternal spiritual varieties of form, color, flavor, musical sounds and loving affairs. Mundane philosophers simply bounce back and forth between material enjoyment and material renunciation. Being victims of Māyāvāda (impersonal) perception of the Absolute Truth, they cannot achieve the shelter of the Personality of Godhead and thus cannot understand Him. Because foolish, impersonal philosophers consider themselves supreme, they are unable to appreciate that loving service exists on the spiritual platform. Stubbornly rejecting subservience to the Personality of Godhead, the impersonalists are eventually overwhelmed by the illusory potency of the Lord and undergo the miseries of material existence. The Vaiṣṇavas, on the other hand, are not envious of the Personality of Godhead. They gladly accept His shelter and supremacy, and thus the Lord personally takes charge of His devotees and enlightens them, filling them with His own transcendental bliss. Spiritual service to the Supreme Lord is in this way free from the disappointment and repression of material service.