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Īśopaniṣad with Śaṅkara's bhāṣya · 5
tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike | tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ
Translation. That Self-reality (ātmatattva) appears to move; of itself, that does not move.
That is far from those who do not know; to those who know, that also is utterly near, being their Self.
That is within all this;
that too is outside all this.
Grammar check: 19 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 |
| tat | tad | pass |
| ejati | ej | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| na | na | pass |
| ejati | ej | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| dūre | dūra | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| u | u | pass |
| antike | antika | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| antar | antar | pass |
| asya | idam | pass |
| sarvasya | sarva | pass |
| tat | tad | pass |
| u | u | pass |
| sarvasya | sarva | pass |
| asya | idam | pass |
| bāhyataḥ | bāhyatas | 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.
The repeated tat refers to the previously introduced reality of the Self (ātmatattva) and is the neuter nominative subject throughout.→ The previously introduced ātmatattva, translated initially as 'that Self-reality.'
isup [1]tadātmatattvaṃ yatprakṛtaṃ tadejati
That which is under discussion is the reality of the Self; that moves.
The first ejati denotes apparent movement, while na ejati denies intrinsic movement; the clauses are not two unqualified and contradictory assertions.→ It appears to move, but does not move of itself.
isup [1]tadejati calati tadeva ca naijati svato naiva calati svato 'calameva sat calatīvetyarthaḥ /
That moves; and that very thing does not move—it does not move of itself. Though intrinsically unmoving, it is as if moving: this is the meaning.
Dūre and antike are locative predicates expressing remoteness and nearness from different epistemic standpoints: it is unattainably far for non-knowers but utterly near to knowers because it is their Self.→ Epistemic remoteness and identity-based nearness.
isup [2]kiñca taddūre varṣakoṭiśatairapyaviduṣāmaprāpyatvād dūra iva /
Moreover, that is far: because it is unattainable to those who do not know, even in hundreds of crores of years, it is as though far away.
isup [4]tadvantike samīpe 'tyantameva viduṣāmātmatvānna kevalaṃ dūre 'ntike ca /
That is near, utterly close to those who know because it is their Self; it is not merely far, but near as well.
The printed tad v antike must be segmented as tat u antike; v is the sandhi form of the particle u, not part of tad or an occurrence of vā.→ tat u antike, with u rendered cumulatively as 'also.'
isup [3]tad u antike iti cchedaḥ /
The division is: tad u antike.
isup [4]na kevalaṃ dūre 'ntike ca /
It is not only far, but near as well.
Antar is an indeclinable governing asya sarvasya, while the genitive phrase denotes 'this entire universe,' understood as jagat and characterized by name, form, and activity.→ Adverbial antar: 'within all this [universe].'
isup [5]tadantarabhyantare 'sya sarvasya
That is antar—within the interior of all this.
isup [7]asya sarvasya jagato nāma rūpakriyātmakasya
Of this entire universe, which consists of name, form, and activity.
In the final clause, u has cumulative force equivalent to api, and bāhyataḥ governs sarvasya asya: the Self is also outside all this by virtue of its all-pervasiveness.→ “That too is outside all this,” with the exteriority grounded in all-pervasiveness.
isup [7]tadu api sarvasya asya bāhyato vyāpakatvādākāśavat
That u—also—is outside all this because of its pervasiveness, like space.
The two genitive sequences asya sarvasya and sarvasya asya are syntactically equivalent descriptions of the same total manifest universe, not references to two different entities.→ Both words qualify the commentary's implied jagat: 'all this' or 'this entire universe.'
isup [7]asya sarvasya jagato nāma rūpakriyātmakasya tadu api sarvasya asya bāhyato
Of this entire universe consisting of name, form, and activity; that also is outside all this.
Śaṅkara's commentary on this unit
1tadātmatattvaṃ yatprakṛtaṃ tadejati calati tadeva ca naijati svato naiva calati svato 'calameva sat calatīvetyarthaḥ /
2kiñca taddūre varṣakoṭiśatairapyaviduṣāmaprāpyatvād dūra iva /
3tad u antike iti cchedaḥ /
4tadvantike samīpe 'tyantameva viduṣāmātmatvānna kevalaṃ dūre 'ntike ca /
5tadantarabhyantare 'sya sarvasya"ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ"(bṛ. u. 3 /
64 /
71) iti śruteḥ asya sarvasya jagato nāma rūpakriyātmakasya tadu api sarvasya asya bāhyato vyāpakatvādākāśavanniratiśayasūkṣmatvād antaḥ /
8"prajñānaghana eva"(bṛ. u. 4 /
95 /
1013) iti ca śāsanānnirantaraṃ ca