तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् ।सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥
tatra sattvaṃ nirmalatvāt prakāśakam anāmayam |sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha ||
- तत्र · tatra
- among them
- सत्त्वम् · sattvam
- lucidity (sattva)
- निर्मलत्वात् · nirmalatvāt
- because of its stainlessness
- प्रकाशकम् · prakāśakam
- illuminating
- अनामयम् · anāmayam
- free from suffering, wholesome
- सुखसङ्गेन · sukhasaṅgena
- by attachment to happiness
- बध्नाति · badhnāti
- it binds
- ज्ञानसङ्गेन · jñānasaṅgena
- by attachment to knowledge
- अनघ · anagha
- O sinless one
“Of these, lucidity is stainless, illuminating, and free from suffering — yet it binds, O sinless one, through attachment to happiness and to knowledge.”
— Original plain-language translation
A subtle warning: even the highest quality binds, only with golden chains. The pleasure of clarity and the pride of knowing can quietly become a new ego. Sattva is the stairway upward, but the stairway is not the destination.
— Reader's notes (original)