। ॥ २०३ ॥
In plain words
So jīva-hood is nothing apart from this connection — it isn't some separate reality with a nature of its own. It's just the Self's link to the intellect, and that link exists only because of a mistaken cognition to begin with.
Close to the Sanskrit
Jīva-hood is not different from that [connection], distinct in its essential nature. The connection of the Self with the intellect is preceded by false knowledge.