奥义书 · Kaṭharudra 13
॥
天城文
ब्रह्मभूतात्मनस्तस्मादेतस्माच्छ्क्तिमिश्रितात् । अपञ्चीकृत आकाशसंभूतो रज्जुसर्पवत्
转写 (IAST)
brahmabhūtātmanastasmādetasmācchktimiśritāt | apañcīkṛta ākāśasaṃbhūto rajjusarpavat
逐字释义
梵语IAST释义
ब्रह्म-भूत-आत्मनः तस्मात्brahma-bhūta-ātmanaḥ tasmātfrom that, become the self that is Brahman
एतस्मात् शक्ति-मिश्रितात्etasmāt śakti-miśritātfrom this, mixed with power
अ-पञ्चीकृतः आकाश-संभूतःa-pañcīkṛtaḥ ākāśa-saṃbhūtaḥthe unquintupled space arose
रज्जु-सर्प-वत्rajju-sarpa-vatlike a snake from a rope
译文
From that self which has become Brahman, from this, mixed with power, the unquintupled space arose — like a snake from a rope.
版本
7b8dc18572d9 · 发布于 2026年8月12日 05:00:00 UTC
可用语言RUEN用方向键翻颂
The most famous likeness of Advaita is cited: rajju-sarpa-vat, "like a snake from a rope." In the twilight, a person mistakes a rope for a snake; the rope exists, the snake does not; so too the world: it is seen, but it does not exist. The likeness is forceful, and it must be answered on the merits.
The first objection is old and is brought by every school that has disputed with Advaita. To mistake a rope for a snake, one must first have seen a real snake: otherwise one would imagine anything at all, but not a snake. That is, an error is possible only where an original exists; and if snakes never occurred at all, there would be nothing to mistake something for.
The second is closer to the point and belongs to Rāmānuja. A rope and a snake are things of one class: both are visible, both lie on the road, both have length. Hence they are confused. But between Brahman, who has neither form nor extension, and the world, which has both, there is no such likeness; and without likeness there is no mistaking. No one mistakes a rope for a smell.
The third, the simplest: one who is mistaken is frightened, and his fright is real. The snake was false, but the fear was real, and the heart beat in earnest. So too in the world: let it be false — the pain in it is not false, and it is for the sake of this pain that all this is discussed.
It is worth noting also that the verse itself weakens its own likeness. For it says: it arose from Brahman, śakti-miśrāt, "mixed with power." A rope mixes with nothing and produces nothing; but here an acting principle — power — is named, and with its appearance the explanation is no longer "one was mistaken," but "something was made."