yathā - as; ghanaḥ - a cloud; arka - of the sun; prabhavaḥ - the product; arka - by the sun; darśitaḥ - made visible; hi - indeed; arka - of the sun; amśa-bhūtasya - which is the partial expansion; ca - and; cakṣuṣaḥ - of the eye; tamaḥ - darkness; evam - in the same way; tu - indeed; aham - false ego; brahma-guṇaḥ - a quality of the Absolute Truth; tat-īkṣitaḥ - visible through the agency of that Absolute Truth; brahma-amśakasya - of the partial expansion of the Absolute Truth; ātmanaḥ - of the jīva soul; ātma-bandhanaḥ - serving to obstruct perception of the Supreme Soul.

Although a cloud is a product of the sun and is also made visible by the sun, it nevertheless creates darkness for the viewing eye, which is another partial expansion of the sun. Similarly, material false ego, a particular product of the Absolute Truth made visible by the Absolute Truth, obstructs the individual soul, another partial expansion of the Absolute Truth, from realizing the Absolute Truth.