अहं ममत्त्वादि विहाय सर्वं
श्रीराजयोगे स्थिरमानसानाम् ।
न द्रष्टृता नास्ति च दृश्यभावः
सा जृम्भते केवलसंविदेव ॥१६॥
Verse 16 is one of the clearest Advaitic declarations in the entire sequence.
Up to Verse 15, Shankara had brought the yogin beyond:
- breath,
- prāṇa,
- sensory activity,
- waking,
- sleep,
- life,
- death.
Now he addresses the final and subtlest knot:
Aham ("I") and Mama ("mine").
This is the root of individuality itself.
Literal Translation
"For those whose minds are firmly established in the glorious Rāja Yoga, having abandoned all notions of 'I', 'mine', and the like, there is no state of being a seer, nor any state of being the seen. There alone blossoms the Pure Consciousness."
1️⃣ अहं ममत्त्वादि विहाय सर्वम्
Aham
"I"
The sense of individuality.
Mamatva
"Mineness"
- my body
- my thoughts
- my knowledge
- my achievement
- my realization
Notice how subtle this becomes.
Even:
"my spirituality"
is mamatva.
Ādi
"And the rest"
All related notions:
- I am this
- I am that
- this belongs to me
- I possess
- I know
- I attain
Vihāya
Abandoning,
letting go,
transcending.
Thus:
"having abandoned all notions of I, mine, and everything connected with them."
2️⃣ स्थिरमानसानाम्
Sthira
Steady,
stable,
unwavering.
Mānasa
Mind.
Thus:
"those whose minds are firmly established."
This is important.
The verse is not describing a temporary mystical experience.
It is describing stable abidance.
3️⃣ श्रीराजयोगे
"The glorious Rāja Yoga."
The word Śrī is significant.
It conveys:
- excellence,
- splendor,
- auspiciousness.
Shankara is not speaking of an ordinary meditative condition.
He is speaking of the culmination of yoga.
4️⃣ न द्रष्टृता
This phrase is astonishing.
Draṣṭṛtā
The condition of being a seer.
Recall Verse 15:
There remained:
dṛk — the Seer.
Now even that is transcended.
Why is this important?
Earlier Advaitic analysis often proceeds:
- Reject the seen.
- Abide as the seer.
But Shankara now takes one more step.
Even:
"I am the witness"
contains a subtle duality.
Because:
- witness
- witnessed
still remain.
Verse 16 dissolves that final distinction.
5️⃣ नास्ति च दृश्यभावः
"Nor is there the condition of being an object seen."
This is expected.
If there is no seer,
there cannot be a seen.
The two arise together.
Like:
- subject and object,
- knower and known,
- observer and observed.
When one disappears, the other loses meaning.
6️⃣ A Very Important Progression
Notice the movement between verses:
Verse 15
After abandoning all objects:
- one remains as the Seer.
This is classical Dṛg-Dṛśya Viveka.
Verse 16
Now even the distinction:
- Seer
- Seen
collapses.
This is a deeper non-duality.
7️⃣ सा जृम्भते
Again Shankara uses the same beautiful verb.
Jrimbhate
- unfolds,
- blossoms,
- expands naturally.
The same word was used earlier for Kevala Kumbhaka.
Now it is used for something much higher.
This is deliberate.
The yogic process culminates in the blossoming of pure consciousness.
8️⃣ केवलसंविदेव
The climax of the verse.
Kevala
Only,
alone,
absolute.
Samvid
Consciousness,
awareness,
knowingness.
Thus:
"Pure Consciousness alone."
Or:
"Only Consciousness remains."
Why not "the witness"?
Because witness implies something witnessed.
Why not "the knower"?
Because knower implies something known.
Why not "the experiencer"?
Because experiencer implies something experienced.
Therefore Shankara chooses:
Kevala Samvid
Pure Awareness itself.
9️⃣ Connection with Advaita
This verse echoes some of the deepest teachings of:
- Mandukya Upanishad
- Ashtavakra Gita
- Avadhuta Gita
where the final truth is described as:
- beyond subject and object,
- beyond knower and known,
- beyond witness and witnessed.
Not because awareness disappears,
but because duality disappears.
🔟 References to Earlier Concepts
We repeatedly noticed that Yogataravali begins with yogic language:
- bandhas,
- kumbhaka,
- prāṇa,
- kuṇḍalinī.
Now we can see where Shankara was heading all along.
The culmination is not:
- extraordinary breath control,
- mystical visions,
- subtle energies.
The culmination is:
Kevala Samvid — Pure Consciousness alone.
The yogic processes were the preparation.
This is the revelation.
A Subtle Philosophical Point
Verse 15 still retained a standpoint:
"I am the Seer."
Verse 16 removes even that.
This is why many Advaitins consider pure witnessing to be an intermediate realization.
The final realization is not:
"I witness everything."
but
"There is only Consciousness."
No separate witness remains to claim the witnessing.
Essence of the Verse
When all notions of "I" and "mine" are abandoned and the mind is firmly established in Rāja Yoga, even the duality of seer and seen disappears. Then there blossoms Kevala Samvid—Pure Consciousness alone, free from every trace of subject-object division.
This verse is arguably the philosophical summit of the sequence from verses 8–16: Kevala Kumbhaka ultimately flowers into Kevala Samvid. The movement is from the cessation of breath to the revelation of non-dual awareness.