यथोक्तनीत्या शिवतुल्यतया नित्यमेवं व्रतजपचर्यानिष्ठत्वात् निजशक्तिचक्रारूढः स एव तत्त्वत उपदेश्यानां प्रतिबोधक इत्याह -योऽविपस्थो ज्ञाहेतुश्च ॥ २९ ॥अवीन् पशून् पाति इति अविपं कवर्गादिषु माहेश्वर्याद्याः पशुमातरः इत्यभिहितदृशा माहेश्वर्यादिशक्तिचक्रं तत्र तिष्ठति विदितस्वमाहात्म्यत्वात् प्रभुत्वेन यः प्रतपति स ज्ञाहेतुः जानाति इति ज्ञा ज्ञानशक्तिः तस्या हेतुः उपदेश्यान् ज्ञानशक्त्या प्रतिबोधयितुं क्षमः ।अन्यस्तु शक्तिचक्रपरतन्त्रीकृतत्वात् स्वात्मनि अप्रभविष्णुः कथमन्यान् प्रबोधयेत् ।यच्छब्दापेक्षया सूत्रेऽत्र तच्छब्दोऽध्याहार्यः ।च शब्दो ह्यर्थे ।योऽयमविपस्थः स यस्मात् ज्ञानप्रबोधनहेतुस्तस्माद्युक्तमुक्तम् दानमात्मज्ञानम् इति ।अन्ये तु अक्षरसारूप्यात् प्रब्रूयात् इति निरुक्तस्थित्या यो इति योगीन्द्र वि इति विज्ञानम् प इति पदम् स्थ इति पदस्थः इत्यस्य अन्त्यमक्षरम् ।ज्ञ इति ज्ञाता हे इति हेयः तु इति तुच्छता विसर्जनीयेन विसर्गशक्तिः चकारेण अनुक्तसमुच्चयार्थेन कर्ता परामृश्यते इत्याश्रित्य यो योगीन्द्रो विमर्शशक्त्या स्वरूपात्मविज्ञानपदस्थः स ज्ञाता कर्ता च अवगन्तव्यः तदा च अस्य हेयतां तुच्छतां निःसारतां न तु उपादेयतामासादयति इति व्याचक्षते ।एतच्च न नः प्रतिभाति पदार्थसङ्गतेर्नातिचारुत्वात् प्रतिसूत्रं च ईदृशव्याख्याक्रमस्य सहस्रशो दर्शयितुं शक्यत्वात् ॥ २९ ॥
In plain words
For he who stands over the guardian of the paśus is the cause of knowledge. Because, in the way described, he is like Śiva and so is always intent in this way on vow, japa and conduct, he is established upon the wheel of his own powers, and he alone, in truth, awakens those who are to be taught. So he says: Avipa is that which guards (pāti) the avis, the paśus: in the way stated in "In the groups of letters beginning with ka, Māheśvarī and the others, the mothers of the paśus", it is the wheel of powers, Māheśvarī and the rest. The one who stands there, that is, who blazes over it with lordship because he knows his own greatness, is the cause of jñā. Jñā is what knows, the power of knowledge; he is its cause, able to awaken those who are to be taught through the power of knowledge. But another, made dependent on the wheel of powers and so without mastery over his own Self: how could he awaken others? In this sūtra the word "he" is to be supplied, answering to the word "who". The word ca has the sense of "for". Since the one who stands over the guardian of the paśus is the cause of awakening knowledge, it is rightly said, "Knowledge of the Self is the gift". Others, though, relying on the way of etymology by which one may explain from a likeness of letters, take it like this: yo is yogīndra, the lord of yogins; vi is vijñāna, knowledge; pa is pada, state; stha is the last syllable of padastha, abiding in the state; jña is jñātā, the knower; he is heya, what is to be rejected; tu is tucchatā, emptiness; by the visarga, the power of emission; and by the syllable ca, whose sense is to gather in what is not stated, the doer is meant. So they explain: the lord of yogins who abides, through the power of reflective awareness, in the state of knowledge of his own nature as the Self, is to be understood as knower and doer; and then he finds this world to be rejected, empty, without substance, and not to be taken up. This does not commend itself to us, because the joining of the meanings of the words is not very fine, and because explanations of this kind could be shown by the thousand for every sūtra.