Verse 2.69

या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी ।

यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः ॥

2.69

Transliteration

yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṃ tasyāṃ jāgarti saṃyamī |

yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man is awake; when all beings are awake, that is night for the Muni (sage) who sees.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

what
night
for all beings
in that
is awake
the self-controlled

in which
are awake
beings
that
night
who sees
for the sage

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

This verse uses a striking paradox. What is night for all beings, the self-controlled one is awake to; what beings are awake to is night for the sage who sees. The meaning is that the wise and the worldly live by opposite values. What absorbs ordinary people, such as gain, pleasure and status, holds no light for the sage, while the inner reality ordinary people ignore is where the sage is fully awake. The verse invites a reversal of what one considers important.