Devanagari
यथोल्मुकाद्विस्फुलिङ्गाद्धूमाद्वापि स्वसम्भवात् ।
अप्यात्मत्वेनाभिमताद्यथाग्नि: पृथगुल्मुकात् ॥ ४० ॥
Verse text
yatholmukād visphuliṅgād
dhūmād vāpi sva-sambhavāt
apy ātmatvenābhimatād
yathāgniḥ pṛthag ulmukāt
Synonyms
yathā
—
as
;
ulmukāt
—
from the flames
;
visphuliṅgāt
—
from the sparks
;
dhūmāt
—
from the smoke
;
vā
—
or
;
api
—
even
;
sva
—
sambhavāt — produced from itself
;
api
—
although
;
ātmatvena
—
by nature
;
abhimatāt
—
intimately connected
;
yathā
—
as
;
agniḥ
—
the fire
;
pṛthak
—
different
;
ulmukāt
—
from the flames .
Translation
The blazing fire is different from the flames, from the sparks and from the smoke, although all are intimately connected because they are born from the same blazing wood.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as fire is actually different from a blazing coal, and similarly is different from the spark and the smoke, which arise from the fire, though by imagination they appear to be fire, similarly, Bhagavān, possessor of inconceivable powers, who also appears as impersonal Brahman, is different from pradhāna, the conscious jīva, and the body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa, because he is the witness of the others.
“Though the father can be perceived to be different from the son and wealth, since they are separately situated, the same does not apply to the jīva and his body and senses. And how can the Paramātmā be understood to be different from the jīva?” [Note: Those who have realized ātmā should understand Paramātmā as well.] Though not situated separately, the jīva is different from the products of māyā, and Paramātmā is different from the jīva. An example is given.
An explanation will be given which accounts for the repetition of the two words yathā and ulmukaḥ. Fire is different from wood which is burning, and just as it is different from wood, it is different from sparks, and just as it is different sparks, it different from smoke, its product. The foolish person however will think that the wood, spark and smoke are fire, because of imagining (abhimatāt) them to be the svarūpa of fire. Similarly, Paramātmā is different from the jīva. Or, the second yathā can stand for yathāvat (correctly) and the second ulmukāt can be a combination of ulmuka and the verb at meaning “to eat.” It thus means “blazing” which modifies the word “fire.” Thus the verse means “Just as blazing fire is correctly different from wood, sparks and fire, though by imagination they are considered the same, so Paramātmā is different from jīva.”
The last part of the example is in the second verse. Pradhāna is compared to the wood. The jīva is compared to the spark, since it has consciousness (saṁjṣitāt). The body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa are compared to the smoke. Paramāmtā (ātmā) is compared to the fire. Paramātmā is different from pradhāna, the jīva, the body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa because he is the witness (drastā). Because he sees everything else, he is different. Though situated together with the other items, he is not contaminated, because he possesses inconceivable powers (bhagavān). He also appears as Brahman: to some persons of certain qualification, he makes an appearance as consciousness alone without qualities.
Purport
Although the blazing firewood, the sparks, the smoke and the flame cannot stay apart because each of them is part and parcel of the fire, still they are different from one another. A less intelligent person accepts the smoke as fire, although fire and smoke are completely different. The heat and light of the fire are separate, although one cannot differentiate fire from heat and light.