Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 2.9 · Janaka speaks
O, the universe appears in me being conceived through ignorance, even as silver appears in the mother-of-pearl, snake in the rope and water in the sunbeam.
Word by word
अहो
aho
O! how wonderful
interjection
विकल्पितम्
vikalpitam
imagined, conceived
past passive participle, neuter, nominative singular
Vikalpita = projected by mental construction; the world is not real but an imaginative superimposition on pure awareness.
विश्वम्
viśvam
the universe
noun, neuter, nominative singular
अज्ञानात्
ajñānāt
from ignorance
noun, neuter, ablative singular
Ajñāna = spiritual ignorance; the veil of māyā that causes the non-Self to appear as real.
मयि
mayi
in me
pronoun, locative singular
भासते
bhāsate
appears
verb, 3rd person singular, present middle
रूप्यम्
rūpyam
silver
noun, neuter, nominative singular
शुक्तौ
śuktau
in mother-of-pearl
noun, feminine, locative singular
Śukti-rūpya (mother-of-pearl/silver illusion) is the classical Advaita example of adhyāsa — mistaking the substratum for something else.
फणी
phaṇī
snake
noun, masculine, nominative singular
रज्जौ
rajjau
in the rope
noun, feminine, locative singular
वारि
vāri
water
noun, neuter, nominative singular
सूर्यकरे
sūrykare
in the sunbeam (mirage)
compound noun, masculine, locative singular
यथा
yathā
just as
indeclinable