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Shrii Shankara sums up the essence of Vedanta in dasashlokii. He states that Only Atman Is while the world of names, form and various manifestations are just maya. He goes on to say that Atman is same as the supreme Brahman . Shankara also emphasises, as do upanishhads that the man who realizes aatma ALONE transcends worldly sorrow (tarati shokaM aatmavit).
After writing a wonderful commentary on Gaudapada's karika on maaNDukya upanishhad, and upadesahasri in my humble opinion, the best philosophical work of Shankara, many scholars consider dashashlokii to be the last pronouncement of Shankara on the non-dual nature of Atman . In a very simple way using just 10 verses, Shankara expounds on the nature of Atman -- the attributeless Truth, indestructible, and the very basis of supreme bliss and purity.
The words of Swami Gambhirananda sums up the significance of the sloka, `This text deals with the nature of Atman in the clearest and simplest language . There is not a single word which is superflous, and the teacher [Shankara] is at this best; the arrow of knowledge is aimed at ignorance and it hits the target directly, destroying the enemy.'
The birth of this Dasasloki is an interesting event. Sri Sankara in imminent danger of death in the jaws of a crocodile in the river Purna in his village Kaladi, takes Sannyasa informally by pronouncing the prescrinebd formula. But when the crocodile immediately frees him from its grip, Sri Sankara is faced with the necessity of seeking a competent teacher who can regularise the Sannyasa and initiate him in the Upanishadic passages. He travelled north and ultimately found such a teacher in Sri Govindapadacharya, who was in deep meditation in a cave on the banks of the Narmada. When fervently implored by Sri Sankara, the Saint woke up and asked Sri Sankara who he was. It was in reponse to this simple question that Sri Sankara burst out in a set of ten pregnant stanzas explaining the real nature of the Self which alone he was. The Saint realising that Sri Sanakara was a realised soul, who had come to him for initiation only to conform to the normal method of entering the Sannyasa Order, immediately accepted him as a disciple.
May ShrI Shankara leads us from ignorance to Truth by helping us realize the aatman.
ॐ तत सत.
.. अथ दशश्लोकी ..
न भूमिर्न तोयं न तेजो न वायुः
न खं नेन्द्रियं वा न तेश्हां समूहः .
अनेकान्तिकत्वात.ह सुश्हुप्त्येकसिद्दः
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. १..
"I am not the Earth nor Water, neither Fire nor Air, I
am not space. Neither am I any of the Faculties nor am I their
aggregrate. [I am not any of these] as they are all uncertain. I
am proved however in the sole experience of deep sleep. That
One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the Only One, am I."
न वर्णा न वर्णाश्रमाचारधर्मा
न मे धारणाध्यानयोगादयोपि .
अनात्माश्रयाहंममाध्यासहानात.ह
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. २..
"The castes are not for me, nor the observances and
duties attached to the castes and the stages of life. Even the
steadying of the mind, concentration, self-communion and other
courses are not for me. For the mistaken senses of I and MINE
which rested on the Non-Self have been abondoned. That One, the
Residue, the Auspicious, the Alone, am I."
न माता पिता वा न देवा न लोका
न वेदा न यघ्य़ा न तीर्थ ब्रुवन्ति .
सुश्हप्तौ निरस्तातिशून्यात्मकत्वात.ह
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ३..
"There is no mother nor father; no gods nor regions of
experience; no scriptures nor sacrifical sites; and no sacred
place-so say the Sages. For, in the state of deep sleep, all
these are negatived and that state is completely devoid(of any
object of perception) That One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the
Alone, am I."
न साख्यं न शैवं न तत्पाञ्चरात्रं
न जैनं न मीमांसकादेर्मतं वा .
विशिश्ह्टानुभूत्या विशुद्धात्मकत्वात.ह
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ४..
"There is no Sankhya nor Saiva, nor that Pancharatra
nor Jaina. The conception of the Mimamsaka and others does not
exist. For, through the direct realisation of what is qualified,
the Self is known as of the nature of the Absolutely Pure. That
One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the Alone, am I."
न चोर्ध्व न चाधो न चान्तर्न बाह्यं
न मध्यं न तिर्य.ण न पूर्वा.अपरा दिक.ह .
वियद.ह्व्यापकत्वादखण्डैकरूपः
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ५..
"There is neither above nor below, neither inside nor
outside, no middle nor crosswise, no direction, east or west.
For it is all-pervasive like space. It is partless and
homogeneous in its nature. That One, the Residue, the
Auspicious, the Alone, am I."
न शुक्लं न कृश्ह्णं न रक्तं न पीतं
न कुब्जं न पीनं न ह्रस्वं न दीर्घम.ह .
अरूपं तथा ज्योतिराकारकत्वात.ह
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ६..
"It is neither white nor black, neither red nor yellow,
neither dwarfish nor stout, neither short nor long. As it is of
the nature of light, it is shapeless also. That One, the
Residue, the Auspicious, the Alone, am I."
न शास्ता न शास्त्रं न शिश्ह्यो न शिक्शा
न च त्वं न चाहं न चायं प्रपञ्चः .
स्वरूपावबोधो विकल्पासहिश्ह्णुः
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ७..
"There is no ruler nor rule, no pupil nor training.
There is no YOU nor I. This universe is not. For the realistion
of the true nature of the Self does not tolerate any distincion.
That One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the Alone, am I."
न जाग्रन.ह न मे स्वप्नको वा सुश्हुप्तिः
न विश्वौ न वा तैजसः प्राघ्य़को वा .
अविद्यात्मकत्वात.ह त्रयाणं तुरीयः
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ८..
"There is no waking state for me nor dream or deep
sleep. I am not Visva[the Self identified with the experiencer
of the waking state], nor Taijasa[identified with dream state],
nor Prajna[identified with deep sleep]. I am really the
Fourth(Turiya). That One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the Alone,
am I."
अपि व्यापकत्वात.ह हितत्वप्रयोगात.ह
स्वतः सिद्धभावादनन्याश्रयत्वात.ह .
जगत.ह तुच्च्हमेतत.ह समस्तं तदन्यत.ह
तदेको.अवशिश्ह्टः शिवः केवलो.अहम.ह .. ९..
"All this universe which is other than the Self is
worthless(having no existence of its own) for it is well known
that the Self is all pervasive, recognised as the reality and
that its existence is self-proven and does not depend upon
anything else. That One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the Alone,
am I."
न चैकं तदन्यद.ह द्वितीयं कुतः स्यात.ह
न केवलत्वं न चा.अकेवलत्वम.ह .
न शुन्यं न चाशून्यमद्वैतकत्वात.ह
कथं सर्ववेदान्तसिद्धं ब्रवीमि .. १०..
"It is not one, for how can there be a second distinct
from it? Aloneness cannot be attributed to it nor even
not-aloneness. It is neither a void nor a non-void. When it does
not admit of a second entity, in what manner can I speak about
it though it is established by all the Upanishads.?"
.. इति श्रीमद.ह शंकराचार्यविरचितं दशश्लोकी समाप्तं ..
