उपनिषद् · Jābāladarśana 10.7
॥
देवनागरी
समुद्रे लीयते तद्वज्जगन्मय्यनुलीयते । तस्मान्मनः पृथङ् नास्ति जगन्माया च नास्ति हि
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
samudre līyate tadvajjaganmayyanulīyate | tasmānmanaḥ pṛthaṅ nāsti jaganmāyā ca nāsti hi
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
समुद्रे लीयते तत्-वत्samudre līyate tat-vatdissolves in the ocean, likewise
जगत् मायया अनुलीयतेjagat māyayā anulīyatethe world is dissolved by illusion
तस्मात् मनः पृथक्tasmāt manaḥ pṛthaktherefore the mind separately
न अस्तिna astidoes not exist
जगत् माया चjagat māyā cathe world-illusion, too
न अस्ति हिna asti hiindeed does not exist
अनुवाद
"…dissolves in the ocean, — likewise the world is dissolved by illusion. Therefore the mind does not exist separately, and the world-illusion too does not exist."
संस्करण
770ebe721480 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The conclusion is drawn: jagan maya cha nasti hi, "there is no world-illusion." Here is the last word of this teaching, and it deserves pausing on, for a great deal depends on it, and not only in the abstract. Let us first speak of the argument. It is this: since the world dissolves, as a wave dissolves in the ocean, it was therefore never separate.
The objection is simple: what dissolves is what existed. Salt dissolved in water was not nothing before dissolving; and the Chandogya, citing this very image, says the water becomes salty on every side (6.13) — that is, the salt did not vanish, but spread. Now to the consequences, which matter more than the argument.
If the world does not exist, then neither does suffering in it; and if there is no suffering, then mercy is a misunderstanding — there is no one to help and nothing to help against. One might object that mercy is useful to the merciful themselves, as long as they have not yet awakened; and this answer is honest, but it makes mercy an exercise for oneself, not a duty toward another. The Vaishnava side does not declare the world unreal, and its position was discussed when reading the sixth khanda (6.49): the world is His power, and power is never nonexistent.
The Gita speaks of maya in a way that does not oppose appearance to reality: mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te, "those who take refuge in Me alone cross over this maya" (7.14). The word taranti, "cross over," settles it. One does not cross over what does not exist; one crosses over a river. And that a means of crossing is offered, rather than a report that the river is absent, is, in my view, the weightiest objection to this line.