AVG 5.3

Chapter 5 (Pathways to dissolving the self) Verse 3 
प्रत्यक्षमप्यवस्तुत्वाद्विश्वं नास्त्यमले त्वयि ।
रज्जुसर्प इव व्यक्तमेवमेव लयं व्रज ॥ ५-३॥

PURPORT:
The universe, though perceived by the senses
as conventionally real, is devoid of any inherent
essence and thus empty. In your state of pure
awareness, the recognized universe is akin to
perceiving the form of a snake within a coiled rope.
Clarified thus, realize the path to dissolution.

TRANSLITERATION:
प्रत्यक्षम् अपि अवस्तुत्वात् विश्वम् न अस्ति अमले त्वयि ।
pratyakṣam api avastutvāt viśvam na asti amale tvayi ।
रज्जुसर्प इव व्यक्तम् एवम् एव लयम् व्रज ॥ ५-३॥
rajjusarpa iva vyaktam evam eva layam vraja ॥ 5-3॥

MEANING:
pratyakṣam (प्रत्यक्षम्) = visibly perceived
api (अपि) = although
avastutvāt (अवस्तुत्वात्) = from insubstantiality (From chimerical and illusory sources)
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe
na (न) = not
asti (अस्ति) = is
amale (अमले) = pure (as in pure awareness devoid of any thought fluctuations; thought to be sometimes achieved through non-conceptual meditative states that de-emphasize the value or role of dialectical thought or reasoning)
tvayi (त्वयि) = in you ।
rajjusarpa (रज्जुसर्प)* = the snake in the rope (first encountered in verse 1.10)
iva (इव) = like
vyaktam (व्यक्तम्) = manifested
evam (evam) = thus
eva (एव) = surely
layam (लयम्) = dissolution/disintegration (awareness results from such a state of dissolution)
vraja (व्रज) = attain ॥ 5-3॥

COMMENT:
Here Ashtavakra is highlighting the conventionally real aspects of the world while simultaneously emphasizing the truth that all conventional entities are ultimately empty of any underlying essence or everlasting characteristic. By using the example of the snake being mistakenly perceived in the presentation of a coiled rope in a dimly lit place, Ashtavakra states that the nature of conventional objects will be both; appearance as designated - abiding temporally based upon causal conditions - but truly empty insofar as reducing the entity down to an essential underlying marrow. If objects existed truly in the way it appears, then it would not be conventional. Tables, chairs, souls, self etc. would have the defining characteristic of 'tableness', 'chairness', 'soulness', 'selfness' etc. and such defining characteristics would persist till the end of time (if these were ultimately real). However, this is not so. Tables, chairs, the model of the self and soul are all designated characteristics that originate based upon dependencies and they cease to exist when the dependent conditions upon which they arise and abide cease to exist. Conventionality stems from the fact that the objects do not truly exist in the way it appears. In a similar manner, our minds, mental states and the entities perceived by our mental states appear to exist as if they have a definite nature. These appearances have the same characteristic as the conventional entities described above. Extending the analogy, ultimately, minds, mental states and the entities perceived thereof are empty of the nature they appear to have.

NOTE:
*A brief note on the word rajjusarpa (रज्जुसर्प): a compound meaning 'the snake within the rope'. Imagine on a dark night, a rope lying on the ground could be mistaken for a snake. We know that the rope alone is real, not the snake. However, the failure to perceive the rope gives rise to the false perception of the snake. Once the darkness goes away, the rope alone remains; the snake disappears. It is held that at the moment of illusion, the ignorance in the perceiver instantly creates that illusory snake. Upon dispelling of illusion, that illusory snake is sublated by correct knowledge of rope. Our experience of the world is also similarly regarded as an illusion.