Bhashya
अत्र विज्ञानमयः स्वयंज्योतिः आत्मा स्वप्ने प्रदर्शितः, स्वप्नान्तबुद्धान्तसंचारेण कार्यकारणव्यतिरिक्तता, कामकर्मप्रविवेकश्च असङ्गतया महामत्स्यदृष्टान्तेन प्रदर्शितः ; पुनश्च अविद्याकार्यं स्वप्न एव 'घ्नन्तीव' इत्यादिना प्रदर्शितम्; अर्थात् अविद्यायाः सतत्त्वं निर्धारितम् अतद्धर्माध्यारोपणरूपत्वम् अनात्मधर्मत्वं च ; तथा विद्यायाश्च कार्यं प्रदर्शितम्, सर्वात्मभावः, स्वप्ने एव प्रत्यक्षतः- 'सर्वोऽस्मीति मन्यते सोऽस्य परमो लोकः' इति ; तत्र च सर्वात्मभावः स्वभावोऽस्य, एवम् अविद्याकामकर्मादिसर्वसंसारधर्मसंबन्धातीतं रूपमस्य, साक्षात् सुषुप्ते गृह्यते- इत्येतद्विज्ञापितम्; स्वयंज्योतिरात्मा एषः परम आनन्दः, एष विद्याया विषयः, स एष परमः संप्रसादः, सुखस्य च परा काष्ठा- इत्येतत् एवमन्तेन ग्रन्थेन व्याख्यातम् ।तच्च एतत् सर्वं विमोक्षपदार्थस्य दृष्टान्तभूतम्, बन्धनस्य च ; ते च एते मोक्षबन्धने सहेतुके सप्रपञ्चे निर्दिष्टे विद्याविद्याकार्ये, तत्सर्वं दृष्टान्तभूतमेव- इति, तद्दान्तिकस्थानीये मोक्षबन्धने सहेतुके कामप्रश्नार्थभूते त्वया वक्तव्ये इति पुनः पर्यनुयुङ्क्ते जनकः- अत ऊर्ध्वं विमोक्षायैव ब्रूहीति ।तत्र महामत्स्यवत् स्वप्नबुद्धान्तौ असङ्गः संचरति एक आत्मा स्वयंज्योति-रित्युक्तम् ; यथा च असौ कार्यकारणानि मृत्युरूपाणि परित्यजन् उपाददानश्च महामत्स्यवत् स्वप्नबुद्धान्तावनुसंचरति, तथा जायमानो म्रियमाणश्च तैरेव मृत्युरूपैः संयुज्यते वियुज्यते च— 'उभौ लोकावनुसंचरति' इति संचरणं स्वप्नबुद्धान्तानुसंचारस्य दार्ष्टान्तिकत्वेन सूचितम् ।तदिह विस्तरेण सनिमित्तं संचरणं वर्णयितव्यमिति तदर्थोऽयमारम्भः ।तत्र च बुद्धान्तात् स्वप्नान्तम् अयमात्मा अनुप्रवेशितः ; तस्मात् संप्रसादस्थानं मोक्षदृष्टान्तभूतम् ; ततः प्राच्यव्य बुद्धान्ते संसारव्यवहारः दर्शयितव्य इति तेन अस्य संबन्धः ।स वै बुद्धान्तात् स्वप्नान्तक्रमेण संप्रसन्नः एषः एतस्मिन् संप्रसादे स्थित्वा, ततः पुनः ईषत्प्रच्युतः— स्वप्नान्ते रत्वा चरित्वेत्यादि पूर्ववत्— बुद्धान्तायैव आद्रवति ॥
In plain words
Here, then, the Self -- made of pure cognition, needing no other light to shine by -- was shown to us in dream. That it is distinct from both cause and effect, moving as it does between dream and waking, and that it stands apart from desire and action alike, unattached to either, was shown through the image of the great fish. And more: the effect of nescience was shown, right there in dream, through that one phrase, 'as if striking.' From that, we can work out nescience's real nature: it consists purely in laying something not the Self's own over the Self, and it is never itself a property of the Self. In the same way, the effect of knowledge was shown -- becoming the self of everything -- directly, in the very same dream: 'he thinks, "I am all this"; this is his highest world.' And that becoming-everything is simply his own nature. So his true form -- utterly beyond nescience, desire, action, and every condition of ordinary existence -- is grasped directly, in deep sleep. That is what this whole passage has told us. This self-luminous Self is the supreme bliss. This is what knowledge is really about. This same Self is the deepest peace there is, happiness carried to its very limit. All of that is what this passage, ending exactly where it does, has explained. And everything in it has only ever been an illustration -- an illustration of what liberation means, and of what bondage means. Both of these, bondage and liberation, along with their causes, laid out in full through the workings of knowledge and nescience, are nothing more than illustrations. And that is exactly why Janaka presses again: 'It's the real things themselves -- liberation and bondage, with their causes -- that my question about desire was really asking after, and those are what you still owe me. So, beyond this, speak only of liberation.' Here is how it works: like that great fish, one and the same self-luminous Self moves, unattached, between dream and waking -- that much has already been said. And just as it drops one body and picks up another, both of them really just shapes of death, moving between dream and waking the way the fish moves between the two banks, so too, being born and dying, it is joined to those death-shaped bodies and then parted from them -- exactly as the verse says: 'it moves back and forth through both worlds.' That movement is the real thing the earlier image of dream-and-waking was pointing to all along. So now, at length, this movement and its cause need to be laid out -- that is the whole purpose of what comes next. The Self is led, here, out of the waking state into the state of dream; and that is why deep, tranquil repose stands as the very picture of liberation. Then, falling back from there into waking, the ordinary business of everyday life must be shown -- and that is how this passage connects to what came before. This same Self, having grown perfectly still by passing through the dream state on its way out of waking, and having rested there in that deep repose, slips slightly out of it once more -- takes its pleasure in the dream, wanders through it, just as before -- and rushes straight back, once again, to waking.
Close to the Sanskrit
Here the Self, made of cognition, self-luminous, was shown in dream; its distinctness from cause and effect, through its transit between dream and waking, and its discrimination from desire and action, by way of non-attachment, were shown by the illustration of the great fish. And, further, the effect of nescience was shown in dream alone, by the phrase beginning 'as if striking'; by implication, the real nature of nescience was thereby determined -- that it consists in superimposing what does not belong to the Self, and that it is not a property of the Self. Likewise the effect of knowledge was shown: the state of becoming the Self of all -- directly, in dream itself: 'he thinks "I am all"; this is his supreme world.' And there, this becoming-the-Self-of-all is his own inherent nature; thus his true form, transcending all connection with the conditions of nescience, desire, action, and the rest of transmigratory existence, is grasped directly in deep sleep -- this has been conveyed. This self-luminous Self is the supreme bliss; this is the object of knowledge; this same [Self] is the supreme, deep tranquil repose, the highest limit of happiness -- this whole matter has been explained by a passage ending just so. And all of this has served as an illustration of what the word 'liberation' means, and of bondage; these two, liberation and bondage, together with their causes and in full detail, having been pointed out in the effects of knowledge and nescience, all of that is merely an illustration -- given this, Janaka presses again: 'since it is the real counterparts, liberation and bondage together with their causes, which are in fact the very subject of the question about desire, that you must now address, speak only, beyond this, of liberation.' On this point: it has been said that, like the great fish, one Self, self-luminous, moves unattached between dream and waking; and just as it, abandoning and taking up bodies that are really forms of death, moves back and forth between dream and waking like the great fish, so too, being born and dying, it is joined and disjoined with those very forms of death -- as it is said, 'it moves back and forth through both worlds.' This movement has thereby been indicated as the real counterpart of the transit between dream and waking. Here, then, this movement, together with its cause, is to be described at length; that is the purpose of this undertaking. There, this Self is made to enter, from the waking state, into the dream state; therefore the position of deep tranquil repose serves as the illustration of liberation. Then, having fallen back from there into the waking state, the ordinary business of worldly life is to be shown; that is this passage's connection [to what precedes]. This same [Self], having become perfectly tranquil by way of the dream state from the waking state, having remained in this deep repose, then, having slightly slipped from it again -- having taken delight and wandered about in the dream state, and so on, as before -- hastens back, precisely, to the waking state.