Mandukya Karika, verse 3.23

Sanskrit text, IAST transliteration and English translation

भूततोऽभूततो वापि सृज्यमाने समा श्रुतिः ।
निश्चितं युक्तियुक्तं च यत्तद्भवति नेतरत् ॥ २३ ॥

bhūtato'bhūtato vāpi sṛjyamāne samā śrutiḥ |
niścitaṃ yuktiyuktaṃ ca yattadbhavati netarat || 23 ||

23. The passing into birth may be real or illusory. Both these views are equally mentioned in the Śruti. That which is supported by Śruti and corroborated by reason, is alone true and not the other.

Shankara Bhashya (commentary)

(Objection)—Those¹ who do not admit the change or the passing into birth of Brahman, cannot justify the Scriptural passages which support creation.

(Reply)—Yes, we also admit the existence of Scriptural texts supporting creation as actual, but such texts serve other purposes. Though the question has already been disposed of, the contention is here again made and refuted in order to allay all doubts regarding the applicability or otherwise of the Scriptural texts to the subject-matter² that is going to be dealt with. The Scriptural text regarding creation is the same, whether the creation of things is taken in the real sense or as a mere illusion produced by the juggler.

(Objection)—If words admit of metaphorical and direct meanings, it is reasonable to understand the world according to their direct meaning.

(Reply)—We do not admit it. For,³ creation, in any sense other than illusion, is unknown to us, and further, no purpose is served by admitting (the act of) creation. All⁴ creation, whether metaphorical or actual, refers to the apparent creation caused by Avidyā but not to any creation from the standpoint of Reality. For the Scripture says, “Though existing both within and without, he (the Ātman) is (really) changeless”. Therefore we have stated in the foregoing part of this work only what is supported by reason and determined by the Śruīi such words as, “He is one and without a second and is free from birth and death”. That alone is the true import of the Scripture and not anything else.

Anandagiri Tika (glossary)

¹ Those, etc.—There are some Scriptural passages which state that the Ātman brings about the creation by following the law of causality.

² Subject-matter—The purport of the Śruti is not to establish any act of creation, whether actual or illusory, but to prove the Ajāti or eternal changelessness of Brahman.

³ For, etc.—According to the Advaita philosophy, all creation, whether actual or metaphorical (secondary) whether in dream or in the waking state, is equally illusory from the standpoint of Reality. Further, if creation be admitted as real, no purpose whatsoever is served by creation. It does not help anyone to attain to liberation.

⁴ All, etc.—The creation of objects in dream is called metaphorical or secondary in comparison with the creation of objects such as pot, etc., in the waking state. As the dream objects become unreal in the waking state, similarly the objects perceived in the waking state are known to be unreal when one attains to the knowledge of Ātman. Therefore from the standpoint of Ātman, all objects, perceived in dream or the waking state, are equally unreal.