Verse 12.84-85

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

सर्वेषामपि चैतेषां शुभानामिह कर्मणाम् ।
किं चित्श्रेयस्करतरं कर्मोक्तं पुरुषं प्रति ॥ ८४ ॥
सर्वेषामपि चैतेषामात्मज्ञानं परं स्मृतम् ।
तद् ह्यग्र्यं सर्वविद्यानां प्राप्यते ह्यमृतं ततः ॥ ८५ ॥

sarveṣāmapi caiteṣāṃ śubhānāmiha karmaṇām |
kiṃ citśreyaskarataraṃ karmoktaṃ puruṣaṃ prati || 84 ||
sarveṣāmapi caiteṣāmātmajñānaṃ paraṃ smṛtam |
tad hyagryaṃ sarvavidyānāṃ prāpyate hyamṛtaṃ tataḥ || 85 ||

[Question]—“From among all these good acts, is t here any one act which has been described as more efficacious in securing to man his Highest Good?”—(84)

[Answer]—Of all these, Knowledge of the Self has been declared to be the most efficacious; since it is the best of all sciences, as Immortality is attained by its means.—(85)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

(verses 12.84-85)

The ‘Knowledge of Self’ is of two kinds—(1) the Knowledge of the Self, as something distinct from the body, the sense-organs and other things,—as the doer of acts and the experiencer of results, as the object of the notion of ‘I’ which forms part of the conception of the Self, as bearing the names of ‘Soul,’ ‘Conscious Being,’ and so forth, as enjoying, even after the death of the body, the fruits of actions that have not been spent up; and (2) the Knowledge of the Self as the one Supreme Entity ensouling all entities, including men and animals,—the one eternal cause of the birth, existence and dissolution of the entire universe which assumes diverse forms through the encrustations of Illusion,—whose exact nature is indicated by such Śruti texts as—‘The Self is to be seen, to be listened to, to be meditated upon,’ and so forth.

Now of these two, the Knowledge of the Soul comes useful în the performance of acts. If there were no such entity, distinct from the body and other things, the experiencer of effects appearing after death,—then all injunctions relating to Heaven as the desired result and such others would be meaningless; and no one would undertake these acts; hence the said knowledge is of use in this.

As for the knowledge of the one Supreme Self, which is attained by long-continued meditation and service, it would be useful in the attaining of the realisation of the Self in its pristine nature, pure, enlightened, free, blissful, eternal and imperishable.

‘It is the bent of all Sciences, as Immortality is attained by its means.’

‘Immortality’ stands for the cessation of transmigration.—‘By its means’—‘its’ referring to ‘Science,’ stands for the ‘Science’ or Knowledge of the Supreme Self; its the Knowledge of the individual Soul, being useful in the performance of acts, could not bring about Immortality; hence it must stand for the realisation of the True Self, including all that is dual and nondual, which has been taught in the Vedānta texts.—(84-85)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

(verse 12.85)

‘Ātmajñānam.’—‘Knowledge of the Supreme Soul, taught in the Upaniṣads’ (Medhātithi, Govindarāja, Kullūka and Nandana);—‘Meditation’ (Nārāyaṇa).