मायाहस्तिनमारुह्य मायाव्येको यथा व्रजेत् । आगच्छंस्तद्वदेवात्मा प्राणस्वप्नादिगोऽचलः ॥
māyāhastinamāruhya māyāvyeko yathā vrajet | āgacchaṃstadvadevātmā prāṇasvapnādigo'calaḥ ||
Just as a single magician, mounted on an illusory elephant, might seem to go and come, so the Self, though unmoving, [seems] to go into vital breath, dream and the rest.
जैसे एक ही जादूगर माया के हाथी पर चढ़कर आता-जाता-सा लगता है, वैसे ही आत्मा अचल होकर भी प्राण, स्वप्न आदि में जाती-सी लगती है।
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
We say 'I went to sleep', 'I woke up', 'I got upset', as if we travelled. The verse suggests these are scenes passing, and the one watching has not gone anywhere.
हम कहते हैं 'मैं सो गया', 'मैं जाग गया', 'मैं परेशान हो गया', मानो हम कहीं गए हों। यह श्लोक बताता है कि ये गुज़रते दृश्य हैं, और देखने वाला कहीं नहीं गया।
Shankaracharya gives the image of a magician riding an illusory elephant: he seems to come and go, yet nothing has moved. So the motionless Self seems to travel through breath, dream and the other states.