Devanagari
स्वप्ने यथा शिरश्छेदं पञ्चत्वाद्यात्मन: स्वयम् ।
यस्मात् पश्यति देहस्य तत आत्मा ह्यजोऽमर: ॥ ४ ॥
Verse text
svapne yathā śiraś-chedaṁ
paṣcatvādy ātmanaḥ svayam
yasmāt paśyati dehasya
tata ātmā hy ajo ’maraḥ
Synonyms
svapne
—
in a dream
;
yathā
—
as
;
śiraḥ
—
of one’s head
;
chedam
—
the cutting off
;
paṣcatva
—
ādi — the condition of being composed of the five material elements, and other material conditions
;
ātmanaḥ
—
one’s own
;
svayam
—
oneself
;
yasmāt
—
because
;
paśyati
—
one sees
;
dehasya
—
of the body
;
tataḥ
—
therefore
;
ātmā
—
the soul
;
hi
—
certainly
;
ajaḥ
—
unborn
;
amaraḥ
—
immortal .
Translation
In a dream one can see his own head being cut off and thus understand that his actual self is standing apart from the dream experience. Similarly, while awake one can see that his body is a product of the five material elements. Therefore it is to be understood that the actual self, the soul, is distinct from the body it observes and is unborn and immortal.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In a dream, one can see his own head being cut off and thus understand that his actual self is standing apart from the dream experience. Similarly, while awake, the ātmā sees his body, a product of the five material elements. Therefore the ātmā is unborn and without death.
The difference of the ātmā from the body which undergoes birth and death is shown by an example. One cannot actually witness one’s head being cut off. Thus the separate ātmā is the seer in this case. In the waking state a separate being sees the body made of five elements. Therefore (tatah) this ātmā is without birth and without death.