अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम् ।परं भावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम् ॥
avajānanti māṃ mūḍhā mānuṣīṃ tanum āśritam | paraṃ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūtamaheśvaram ||
- अवजानन्ति · avajānanti
- they despise, disregard
- माम् · mām
- me
- मूढाः · mūḍhāḥ
- the deluded
- मानुषीम् तनुम् · mānuṣīm tanum
- a human body
- आश्रितम् · āśritam
- having taken, dwelling in
- परम् भावम् · param bhāvam
- my supreme state of being
- अजानन्तः · ajānantaḥ
- not knowing
- भूतमहेश्वरम् · bhūtamaheśvaram
- the great Lord of beings
“Deluded people despise me dwelling in a human form, not knowing my supreme state as the great Lord of beings.”
— Original plain-language translation
The scandal of descent: the infinite in a familiar shape looks ordinary to the scornful. Contempt here is a failure of sight, not of evidence. The verse prepares the contrast with the great souls of verse 13.
— Reader's notes (original)