Devanagari
न तत्रात्मा स्वयंज्योतिर्यो व्यक्ताव्यक्तयो: पर: ।
आकाश इव चाधारो ध्रुवोऽनन्तोपमस्तत: ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
na tatrātmā svayaṁ-jyotir
yo vyaktāvyaktayoḥ paraḥ
ākāśa iva cādhāro
dhruvo ’nantopamas tataḥ
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
tatra
—
there
;
ātmā
—
the soul
;
svayam
—
jyotiḥ — self-luminous
;
yaḥ
—
who
;
vyakta
—
avyaktayoḥ — from the manifest and the unmanifest (the gross and subtle bodies)
;
paraḥ
—
different
;
ākāśaḥ
—
the sky
;
iva
—
as
;
ca
—
and
;
ādhāraḥ
—
the basis
;
dhruvaḥ
—
fixed
;
ananta
—
without end
;
upamaḥ
—
or comparison
;
tataḥ
—
thus .
Translation
The soul within the body is self-luminous and is separate from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The ātmā is not subject to creation and destruction. It is different from the gross and subtle bodies since it is self-luminous. Like the ether, it is the support for everything. It is without change, without end, and beyond comparison.
Saṁsāra like the lamp should be destroyed but the ātmā, like light, should not be destroyed. “Where does the ātmā appear in this saṁsāra?” The ātmā is not involved in creation and destruction like bodies. Ātmā is different from the gross and subtle bodies of the jīva since it is self-luminous, self-revealing. Thus the basis of the body which is made of matter is without change (dhruvaḥ). It has no end (ananta) and nothing can compare to it (upamaḥ). The hidden meaning is as follows. What is superior to cause and effect is the final cause, Paramātmā (instead of ātmā or Brahman). Like the ether it is the basis of everything.