Mandukya Karika, verse 3.27

Sanskrit text, IAST transliteration and English translation

सतो हि मायया जन्म युज्यते न तु तत्त्वतः ।
तत्त्वतो जायते यस्य जातं तस्य हि जायते ॥ २७ ॥

sato hi māyayā janma yujyate na tu tattvataḥ |
tattvato jāyate yasya jātaṃ tasya hi jāyate || 27 ||

27. That which is ever-existent appears to pass into birth through illusion (Māyā) and not from the standpoint of Reality. He who thinks that this passing into birth is real asserts, as a matter of fact, that what is born is born again (and so on without end).

Shankara Bhashya (commentary)

Thus hundreds of Scriptural passages conclude that the essence which is the non-dual and birthless Self, existing both within and without, is the only Reality, and that nothing else, besides the Self, exists. Now, in order to determine this very Reality through reason, again it is stated:—

(Objection)—It may also be true that if Reality be incomprehensible then the knowledge of Self would be unreal.

(Reply)—No, this cannot be, for¹ the effect is comprehended. As the effects, that is to say creation (of new things), come from a really existent magician through Māyā (magic), so also the comprehension of the effects, in the form of the creation of the universe, leads us to infer the existence of the Ātman, the Supreme Reality, who, like the magician, is, as it were, the substratum of the illusion which is seen in the form of the creation of the universe. For, the creation of the universe is possible only with a Reality, i.e., an existing cause, like the birth of the effects, such as the elephant, etc., conjured up through illusion (by an existing magician); and this creation is never possible with a non-existing cause. It is not, however, possible for the unborn Ātman to really pass into birth. Or,² the first line of the text may be explained in another manner. As a really existing entity, such as the rope, etc., passes into such effects as the snake, etc., only through Māyā and not in reality, similarly, the real and the incomprehensible Ātman is seen to pass into birth, in the form of the universe, like the rope becoming the snake, only through illusion. The birthless Ātman cannot pass into birth from the standpoint of Reality. But the disputant who holds that the unborn Ātman, the Supreme Reality, is really born in the form of the universe, cannot assert that the unborn is born, as this implies a contradiction.³ In that case he must admit that, in fact, what is (already) born, again passes into birth. If, thus, birth is predicated of that which is already born, then the disputant is faced with what is known in logic as regressus ad infinitum. Therefore it is established that the Essence which is Ātman is ever unborn and non-dual.

Anandagiri Tika (glossary)

It has already been established on Scriptural evidence that the Ātman which is the Supreme Reality is birthless and non-dual. All duality is mere imagination due to ignorance and hence unreal. This is now established independently by reason. Śaṅkara always maintains a dual aspect. For those who believe in Scripture, Śaṅkara quotes the Scripture to establish his point. Again for those who do not believe in the Vedas as the supreme authority but who depend upon reason alone, Śaṅkara gives rational proof of his conclusion.

¹ For, etc.—The opponent believes in causality but denies Ātman. This is illogical. If one admits the creation of the universe then one must believe in its cause also. Every effect presupposes a cause. Even every illusion must have a substratum. A positive effect cannot be produced from a non-existing cause. The position of the Advaitin is this: If you believe in the universe as a created entity, you must admit its cause, namely, Brahman. The positive effect of the universe cannot come from a non-existing cause. Brahman or Ātman, however, does not really create the universe nor transform itself into the universe, as the rope does not really create the snake nor does it become the snake. The appearance of creation is due to ignorance. Therefore the theory of Māyā or vivarta which posits a real Ātman is the best explanation of the universe when such universe is recognised as a fact.

² Or, etc.—The first interpretation of the first line points to Ātman as the instrumental cause (Nimitta Kāraṇa) of the universe, though the very perception of the creation is due to illusion. This interpretation stresses the Reality of Ātman. The second interpretation stresses on the fact that the idea of the unborn Ātman passing into birth is due to ignorance. The process of creation and creation itself are illusory.

³ Contradiction—It is because the unborn cannot give birth to a new thing. If this causality be admitted then the so-called unborn cause must itself come from another cause and so on ad infinitum. Thus we never come across an unborn cause. There will be thus an endless past in the case of causes and an equally endless future in the case of effects. If the cause produces an effect that effect, in its turn, must produce new effect and so on ad infinitum (Hegel’s position). Thus there can be no mukti or liberation which means freedom from the causal chain.