प्राप्तश्चेत्प्रतिषिध्येत मोक्षोऽनित्यो भवेद्ध्रुवम् । अतोऽप्राप्तनिषेधोऽयं दिव्यग्निचयनादिवत् ॥
prāptaścetpratiṣidhyeta mokṣo'nityo bhaveddhruvam | ato'prāptaniṣedho'yaṃ divyagnicayanādivat ||
If [bondage] had really been there and were then negated, liberation would surely be impermanent. Therefore this is a negation of what was never there, like [the prohibition of] building the fire-altar in the sky.
यदि [बन्धन] सचमुच प्राप्त होता और फिर उसका निषेध होता, तो मोक्ष निश्चय ही अनित्य होता। इसलिए यह अप्राप्त का निषेध है, जैसे आकाश में अग्निचयन [का निषेध]।
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
If freedom were something gained, it could also be lost. Because it is what you always were, it cannot be taken away.
यदि मुक्ति कोई पाई हुई चीज़ होती तो खोई भी जा सकती। क्योंकि वह वही है जो आप सदा थे, इसलिए उसे छीना नहीं जा सकता।
Shankaracharya argues that bondage was never real: if something real were negated, liberation would be impermanent; so the negation is of what never was, like the Vedic rule not to build the fire-altar in the sky.