अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च ।नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥
acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca |nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṃ sanātanaḥ ||
- अच्छेद्यः · acchedyaḥ
- uncuttable, uncleavable
- अयम् · ayam
- this (self)
- अदाह्यः · adāhyaḥ
- unburnable
- अयम् · ayam
- this
- अक्लेद्यः · akledyaḥ
- unwettable
- अशोष्यः · aśoṣyaḥ
- undriable
- एव · eva
- indeed
- च · ca
- and
- नित्यः · nityaḥ
- eternal
- सर्वगतः · sarvagataḥ
- all-pervading
- स्थाणुः · sthāṇuḥ
- firm, immovable (like a post)
- अचलः · acalaḥ
- unmoving
- अयम् · ayam
- this
- सनातनः · sanātanaḥ
- primeval, everlasting
“It cannot be cut or burnt, wetted or dried. Eternal, all-pervading, firm, immovable — this self is primeval.”
— Original plain-language translation
Eight epithets, each a fortress wall: four negations (what cannot touch it), four affirmations (what it is). The cumulative effect is deliberate saturation — the mind is given nowhere to grip the self as an object, which is exactly the point.
— Reader's notes (original)