In Nirvāṇaṣaṭkam, Śaṅkarācārya is speaking from the standpoint of absolute truth (pāramārthika satya). From that level, what he says is perfectly consistent with rebirth once the levels of reality are understood.
Let’s unpack this carefully.
1. What Śaṅkara means by “no vice or virtue of Ātman”
In the verse:
na puṇyaṁ na pāpaṁ na saukhyaṁ na duḥkham
I have no merit or sin, no pleasure or pain
Śaṅkara is stating:
- Ātman is actionless (akartā)
- Ātman is experienceless (abhoktā)
- Karma never belongs to the Self
This is affirmed throughout the Upaniṣads:
“This Self is untouched by good or evil.”
— Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.22
So vice and virtue do not belong to Ātman at any time—not before birth, not during life, not after death.
2. Then why does rebirth occur?
Rebirth does NOT occur to Ātman.
Rebirth occurs to the jīva due to avidyā (ignorance).
Key Advaita distinction:
| Principle | Subject to rebirth? |
|---|---|
| Ātman | ❌ No |
| Body | ❌ No |
| Prāṇa | ❌ No |
| Mind + intellect + ego (subtle body) | ✅ Yes |
| Ignorance (avidyā) | ✅ Yes |
3. Who is reborn, then?
The jīva, which is:
Ātman + ignorance + identification with body-mind
Śaṅkara explains this repeatedly in his commentaries.
Mechanism:
- Due to ignorance, the Self identifies as:
- “I am the doer”
- “I am the enjoyer”
- This false identification creates:
- Karma (puṇya & pāpa)
- Karma attaches to the subtle body (liṅga śarīra)
- At death:
- Gross body falls
- Subtle body + karma migrate
- A new body is acquired → rebirth
Ātman itself never moves.
4. Important analogy used in Advaita
Rope–snake analogy
- The rope is mistaken for a snake
- Fear arises
- Actions occur
- When knowledge arises, the snake is known to have never existed
Similarly:
- Ātman is mistaken for the doer
- Rebirth appears to occur
- With knowledge, rebirth is known to have never touched the Self
Śaṅkara’s position is radical but precise:
Bondage and liberation both belong to the jīva, not to Ātman.
5. Two levels of truth (this is crucial)
1️⃣ Vyāvahārika (empirical reality)
- Karma is real
- Rebirth is real
- Ethics matter
- Spiritual practice is necessary
2️⃣ Pāramārthika (absolute reality)
- No bondage
- No rebirth
- No karma
- Only Brahman exists
Nirvāṇaṣaṭkam speaks entirely from the second level.
6. Why realization ends rebirth
When ignorance is destroyed by knowledge:
“For one who knows the Self, there is no return.”
— Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.15.1
Not because karma is “forgiven,” but because:
- The false doer is dissolved
- Karma has no locus to attach to
Like burnt seeds:
- Past karma may continue as prārabdha for the body
- But no new birth occurs
7. Final one-line answer
Rebirth occurs not because of Ātman, but because of ignorance falsely superimposed on Ātman.
When ignorance ends, rebirth is known to have never belonged to the Self at all.