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Īśopaniṣad with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 12
andhaṃ tamaḥ praviśanti ye 'sambhūtim upāsate | tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u sambhūtyāṃ ratāḥ
Translation. Into blind darkness enter those who worship the Unmanifest (asambhūti)—the causal Nature, ignorance called the Undifferentiated;
into darkness as though still greater than that enter those indeed devoted to the Manifest (sambhūti)—the effect-Brahman called Hiraṇyagarbha.
Grammar check: 15 words pass / 0 flagged / 0 beyond the checkerPāṇini-verified
Every word's claimed grammar is re-derived with vidyut-prakriya, software implementing Pāṇini's rules. Flags are shown, never hidden; some are the text taking epic or Vedic liberties the classical rules do not generate.
Word by word
| surface | lemma | grammar |
|---|
| andham | andha | pass |
| tamaḥ | tamas | pass |
| praviśanti | viś | pass |
| ye | yad | pass |
| asambhūtim | asambhūti | pass |
| upāsate | ās | pass |
| tataḥ | tatas | pass |
| bhūyaḥ | bhūyas | pass |
| iva | iva | pass |
| te | tad | pass |
| tamaḥ | tamas | pass |
| ye | yad | pass |
| u | u | pass |
| sambhūtyām | sambhūti | pass |
| ratāḥ | rata | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Śaṅkara's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Take andham as an adjective qualifying tamaḥ, “blind darkness,” and understand that blindness as the absence of vision or knowledge.→ Adjectival “blind,” with tamaḥ denoting a darkness whose nature is non-seeing.
isup [1]tadanurūpamevāndhaṃ tamo 'darśanātmakaṃ praviśanti
They enter a corresponding blind darkness whose nature is non-seeing.
Interpret asambhūti technically as the unmanifest causal Nature: ignorance called the Undifferentiated, the seed of desire and action—not simply “nonexistence” or “destruction.” The unsegmented tāmasambhūtim... in the caveated file is read as tām asambhūtim..., as required by the surrounding syntax.→ The unmanifest causal Nature, namely causal ignorance called the Undifferentiated.
isup [1]tasyā anyā asambhūtiḥ prakṛtiḥ kāraṇamavidyā avyākṛtākhyā
What is other than that production is asambhūti: Nature, the cause—ignorance called the Undifferentiated.
isup [1]tāmasambhūtimavyākṛtākhyāṃ prakṛtiṃ kāraṇamavidyāṃ kāmakarmabījabhūtāmadarśanātmikāmupāsate
They worship that asambhūti—the Nature called the Undifferentiated, causal ignorance, which is the seed of desire and action and whose nature is non-seeing. The source is unsegmented here; tāmasambhūtim is read tām asambhūtim.
Construe asambhūtim as the accusative object of upāsate and translate upāsate as “worship,” in its contemplative sense.→ “Worship the Unmanifest,” with asambhūtim as the direct object.
isup [1]tāmasambhūtimavyākṛtākhyāṃ prakṛtiṃ kāraṇamavidyāṃ kāmakarmabījabhūtāmadarśanātmikāmupāsate ye
Those who worship that asambhūti—the Nature called the Undifferentiated, causal ignorance, the seed of desire and action, and non-seeing in nature.
Read ye ... te as a relative-correlative construction: “those who worship ... they enter.”→ Relative ye and correlative te jointly identify the plural subject of praviśanti.
isup [1]upāsate ye te tadanurūpamevāndhaṃ tamo 'darśanātmakaṃ praviśanti
Those who worship it enter precisely the corresponding blind darkness whose nature is non-seeing.
Take tataḥ as the ablatival standard “than that” and bhūyaḥ as a neuter accusative singular comparative adjective agreeing with tamaḥ. Retain iva as “as though/as it were.”→ “Darkness as though still greater than that,” with bhūyaḥ adjectivally qualifying tamaḥ.
isup [2]tatastasmādapi bhūyo bahutaramiva tamaḥ praviśanti
Than that—even than it—they enter darkness as though much greater.
Supply praviśanti in the second half from the first half and take tamaḥ as its accusative object.→ “They enter darkness,” as the commentary explicitly supplies tamaḥ praviśanti.
isup [2]bhūyo bahutaramiva tamaḥ praviśanti ya u sambhūtyāṃ kāryabrahmaṇi hiraṇyagarbhākhye ratāḥ
Those indeed who are devoted to sambhūti—the effect-Brahman called Hiraṇyagarbha—enter darkness as though much greater.
Interpret sambhūti not merely as abstract birth or production, but as the manifested effect-Brahman called Hiraṇyagarbha.→ The Manifest, specifically the effect-Brahman named Hiraṇyagarbha.
isup [2]ya u sambhūtyāṃ kāryabrahmaṇi hiraṇyagarbhākhye ratāḥ
Those indeed who are devoted to sambhūti, the effect-Brahman called Hiraṇyagarbha.
Construe the locative sambhūtyām with ratāḥ and render ratāḥ as “devoted to,” rather than merely physically resting in something.→ “Devoted to the Manifest,” with the locative governed by rata.
isup [2]sambhūtyāṃ kāryabrahmaṇi hiraṇyagarbhākhye ratāḥ
Devoted to sambhūti, the effect-Brahman called Hiraṇyagarbha.
Treat u as a contrastive-emphatic particle applying to the second group and render it “indeed.”→ Contrastive “indeed,” lightly marking the second relative clause.
isup []
The commentary repeats u but does not gloss it; the decision rests on particle usage and the contrastive syntax.
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1andhaṃ tamaḥ praviśanti ye asambhūtiṃ sambhavanaṃ sambhūtiḥ sā yasya kāryasya sā sambhūtiḥ tasyā anyā asambhūtiḥ prakṛtiḥ kāraṇamavidyā avyākṛtākhyā tāmasambhūtimavyākṛtākhyāṃ prakṛtiṃ kāraṇamavidyāṃ kāmakarmabījabhūtāmadarśanātmikāmupāsate ye te tadanurūpamevāndhaṃ tamo 'darśanātmakaṃ praviśanti /
2tatastasmādapi bhūyo bahutaramiva tamaḥ praviśanti ya u sambhūtyāṃ kāryabrahmaṇi hiraṇyagarbhākhye ratāḥ