Text 48
yathā śayāna ātmānaṁ
viṣayān phalam eva ca
anubhuṅkte ’py asaty arthe
tathāpnoty abudho bhavam
yathā — as; śayānaḥ — a sleeping person; ātmānam — himself; viṣayān — sense objects; phalam — the fruits; eva — indeed; ca — also; anubhuṅkte — experiences; api — even; asati arthe — in that which is not real; tathā — so; āpnoti — undergoes; abudhaḥ — the unintelligent; bhavam — material existence.
As a sleeping person perceives himself, the objects of sense enjoyment and the fruits of his acts within the illusion of a dream, so one who is unintelligent undergoes material existence.
As stated in śruti, asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ: “The living being has no intimate connection with the material world.” This point is explained in the present verse. A similar statement is found in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.22.56):
arthe ’hy avidyamāne ’pi
saṁsṛtir na nivartate
dhyāyato viṣayān asya
svapne ’narthāgamo yathā
“For one who is meditating on sense gratification, material life, although lacking factual existence, does not go away, just as the unpleasant experiences of a dream do not.”