Bhashya
एतस्य पुरुषस्य प्रकृतस्य लिङ्गात्मन एतानि रूपाणि ;कानि तानीत्युच्यन्ते-यथा लोके, महारजनं हरिद्रा तयारक्तं माहारजनम् यथा वासो लोके, एवं स्त्र्यादिविषयसं-योगे तादृशं वासनारूपं रञ्जनाकारमुत्पद्यते चित्तस्य, येना-सौ पुरुषो रक्त इत्युच्यते वस्त्रादिवत्-यथा च लोकेपाण्ड्वाविकम्, अवेरिदम् आविकम् ऊर्णादि, यथा च तत्पाण्डुरं भवति, तथा अन्यद्वासनारूपम्- यथा च लोकेइन्द्रगोपः अत्यन्तरक्तो भवति, एवमस्य वासनारूपम्-क्वचिद्विषयविशेषापेक्ष्या रागस्य तारतम्यम्, क्वचित्पुरुषचि-त्तवृत्त्यपेक्ष्या- यथा च लोके अग्न्यर्चिः भास्वरं भवति,तथा क्वचित् कस्यचित् वासनारूपं भवति-यथा पुण्डरीकंशुक्लम्, तद्वदपि च वासनारूपं कस्यचिद्भवति-यथा सकृ-द्विद्युत्तम्, यथा लोके सकृद्विद्योतनं सर्वतः प्रकाशकं भव-ति, तथा ज्ञानप्रकाशविवृद्ध्यपेक्षया कस्यचित् वासनारू-पम्-उपजायते ।न एषां वासनारूपाणाम् आदिः अन्तःमध्यं संख्या वा, देशः कालो निमित्तं वा अवधार्यते-असंख्येयत्वाद्वासनायाः, वासनाहेतूनां च आनन्त्यात् ।तथा च वक्ष्यति षष्ठे 'इदमयोऽदोमयः' इत्यादि ।तस्मात् न स्वरूपसंख्यावधारणार्था दृष्टान्ताः- 'यथाशक्यते-इदं तदिति-गौरसौ स्पन्दते शुक्लो विषाणीति यथा लोके निर्दिश्यते, तथा; अध्यारोपितनामरूपकर्मद्वारेण ब्रह्म निर्दिश्यते 'विज्ञानमानन्दं ब्रह्म' 'विज्ञानघन एव ब्रह्मात्मा' इत्येवमादिशब्दैः ।यदा पुनः स्वरूपमेव निर्दिदिक्षितं भवति निरस्तसर्वोपाधिविशेषम्, तदा न शक्यते केनचिदपि प्रकारेण निर्देष्टुम्; तदा अयमेवाभ्युपायः-यदुत प्राप्तनिर्देशप्रतिषेधद्वारेण 'नेति नेति' इति निर्देशः ॥
In plain words
These, then, are the forms belonging to this person we've been discussing — the one whose very self is the subtle body. What are they exactly? Here they are. In ordinary speech, 'mahārajana' means turmeric, and cloth dyed with it is called 'māhārajana' — the way we'd describe any dyed garment. In just the same way, when the mind comes into contact with something like a woman, or any such object, a colouring kind of impression rises up in it — and because of that we say the person is 'coloured,' 'tinted,' exactly the way we'd describe a piece of cloth. And in ordinary speech, 'pāṇḍvāvika' means wool from a sheep, pale in colour — and just as that wool turns pale, some impressions turn pale too. And just as the indragopa insect is a blazing red, some impressions blaze that same red — sometimes the intensity of the passion depends on the particular object involved, sometimes on the turn the person's own mind happens to take. And just as a flame is bright, some impressions, in some people, are bright. Just as the white lotus is white, some impressions, in some people, are pure white. And just as a single flash of lightning lights up everything around it at once, some impressions, as the light of understanding grows, arise the same way, all at once. None of these impressions can be pinned down to a beginning, an end, a middle, or a fixed count — no place, no time, no single cause can be assigned to them, because impressions are countless and their causes are endless. And this is exactly what will be said later, in the sixth chapter: 'made of this, made of that,' and on and on. So these comparisons were never meant to fix the exact number or shape of Brahman's own nature. They work the way any pointing-out works in daily life — 'this is that one,' 'look, that cow is moving,' 'the white one, the one with horns.' In just that rough, approximate way, Brahman gets pointed to through borrowed name, form, and action — through phrases like 'Brahman is consciousness and bliss,' 'the self of Brahman is one solid mass of awareness.' But the moment someone wants to point, not at a borrowed image, but at Brahman's own bare nature — every last trace of an adopted identity stripped away — no such pointing is possible, by any method at all. And that is exactly when the only option left appears: to point by taking back every pointer already offered. That is what 'not this, not this' actually is.
Close to the Sanskrit
Of this person under discussion, whose self is the subtle body, these are the forms. What are they? They are stated thus: as in the world, 'mahārajana' is turmeric; dyed by it is called 'māhārajana' — as with a garment, in the world. Similarly, upon contact with objects such as women, such a latent-impression-form having the character of colouring arises in the mind, by which that person is called 'coloured,' just like a cloth. And as in the world 'pāṇḍvāvika' means this — wool, 'āvika,' belonging to a sheep — and as that becomes pale, so is another latent-impression-form. And as in the world the indragopa insect is exceedingly red, so is this one's latent-impression-form — in some cases there is a gradation of passion depending on the particular object, in some cases depending on the mental disposition of the person. And as in the world the flame of fire is radiant, so in some case, for someone, the latent-impression-form is radiant. As the white lotus is white, so too, for someone, the latent-impression-form is pure. As a single flash of lightning — as in the world a single flash of lightning illuminates on all sides — so, depending on the increase of the light of knowledge, the latent-impression-form arises for someone. Of these latent-impression-forms, no beginning, end, middle, or number, nor place, time, or cause can be determined — because the latent impression is innumerable, and the causes of latent impression are infinite. And accordingly it will be said in the sixth chapter: 'made of this, made of that,' and so forth. Therefore these examples do not serve to ascertain the exact number of [Brahman's] own nature — rather, just as, so far as possible, one points out something in the world saying 'this is that,' 'that cow moves,' 'the white one with horns' — so Brahman is pointed out by means of superimposed name, form, and action, with words such as 'Brahman is consciousness and bliss,' 'the self of Brahman is a solid mass of consciousness,' and the like. But when it is [Brahman's] own true nature alone that one wishes to point out, with every particular condition-adjunct removed, then it cannot be pointed out by any means whatsoever. Then this alone is the recourse: namely, by way of negating whatever designation has been reached, the designation 'not this, not this.'