Into blind darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest. Into greater darkness, those who delight in the manifest alone.

This verse repeats the structure of verse 9, but now with a new pair of opposites: sambhūti (the manifest) and asambhūti (the unmanifest).

Ye asambhūtim upāsate — those who worship asambhūti, the unmanifest, the unborn. This can refer to prakṛti (primordial unmanifest nature), or to abstract impersonal Brahman, or to cosmic dissolution.

Ye u sambhūtyāṃ ratāḥ — those who delight only in sambhūti, the manifest. This includes worship of personal deities, effects of creation, particular forms of the divine.

The parallel structure to verse 9 suggests complementary interpretations:

• Verse 9: intellectual knowledge vs. ritual action
• Verse 12: abstract transcendence vs. immanent manifestation

Again, the problem is not one or the other but exclusivity. One who only seeks the abstract, the formless, may get lost in empty concepts. One who only worships particular forms may never transcend to the formless reality that sustains them.

The teaching points toward an integral vision: Brahman is both nirguṇa (without attributes) and saguṇa (with attributes), both transcendent and immanent. Complete practice honors both aspects.