महाभूतानि सर्वाणि पूर्वसृष्टिः स्वयंभुवः भूयिष्ठं प्राणभृद्ग्रामे निविष्टानि शरीरिषु
All the great elements, the original creation of the Self-born, are mostly established within the community of living beings, residing in bodies.
भूमेर् देहो जलात् स्नेहो ज्योतिषश् चक्षुषी स्मृते प्राणापानाश्रयो वायुः कोष्ठाआकाशं शरीरिणाम्
The body is from earth, moisture from water, the eyes from fire, memory from light, the life-breath and outgoing-breath rest in air, and the cavity of the body is from space.
क्रान्तौ विष्णुर् बले शक्रः कोष्ठे ऽग्निर् भोक्तुम् इच्छति कर्णयोः प्रदिशः श्रोत्रे जिह्वायां वाक् सरस्वती
Vishnu is present in movement, Indra in strength, Agni in the belly desiring to consume, the directions in the ears, sound in hearing, and Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, in the tongue.
कर्णौ त्वक् चक्षुषी जिह्वा नासिका चैव पञ्चमी दश तानीन्द्रियोक्तानि द्वाराण्य् आहारसिद्धये
The ears, skin, eyes, tongue, and the fifth, the nose—these ten are called the senses, the gateways for the accomplishment of nourishment.
शब्दस्पर्शौ तथा रूपं रसं गन्धं च पञ्चमम् इन्द्रियार्थान् पृथग् विद्याद् इन्द्रियेभ्यस् तु नित्यदा
Sound, touch, form, taste, and the fifth, smell—these should always be known as the objects of the senses, distinct from the senses themselves.
इन्द्रियाणि मनो युङ्क्ते अवश्यान् इव राजिनः मनश् चापि सदा युङ्क्ते भूतात्मा हृदयाश्रितः
The mind harnesses the senses as a king would his subjects, and the embodied soul, abiding in the heart, always harnesses the mind.
इन्द्रियाणां तथैवैषां सर्वेषाम् ईश्वरं मनः नियमे च विसर्गे च भूतात्मा मनसस् तथा
Among all the senses, the mind is their lord; in both restraint and release, the embodied soul is likewise the lord of the mind.
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थाश् च स्वभावश् चेतना मनः प्राणापानौ च जीवश् च नित्यं देहेषु देहिनाम्
The senses, their objects, inherent nature, consciousness, mind, the life-breath and outgoing-breath, and the living soul—all these are always present in the bodies of embodied beings.
आश्रयो नास्ति सत्त्वस्य गुणशब्दो न चेतनाः सत्त्वं हि तेजः सृजति न गुणान् वै कथंचन
There is no separate support for sattva, nor is 'quality' its name, nor is it consciousness; sattva produces brilliance, but never qualities in any way.
एवं सप्तदशं देहं वृतं षोडशभिर् गुणैः मनीषी मनसा विप्राः पश्यत्य् आत्मानम् आत्मनि
Thus, the seventeenfold body, enveloped by sixteen qualities, is perceived by the wise, O sages, by the self within the self, through the mind.
न ह्य् अयं चक्षुषा दृश्यो न च सर्वैर् अपीन्द्रियैः मनसा तु प्रदीप्तेन महान् आत्मा प्रकाशते
For this is not seen by the eye, nor by any of the senses; but by the mind, when illumined, the great self is revealed.
अशब्दस्पर्शरूपं तच् चारसागन्धम् अव्ययम् अशरीरं शरीरे स्वे निरीक्षेत निरिन्द्रियम्
That which is without sound, touch, or form, without taste or smell, imperishable, bodiless within the body, and without senses—one should perceive it.
अव्यक्तं सर्वदेहेषु मर्त्येषु परमार्चितम् यो ऽनुपश्यति स प्रेत्य कल्पते ब्रह्मभूयतः
He who perceives the unmanifest, the most revered in all bodies and mortals, after departing attains the state of Brahman.
विद्याविनयसंपन्नब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः
The wise see with equal vision a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.
स हि सर्वेषु भूतेषु जङ्गमेषु ध्रुवेषु च वसत्य् एको महान् आत्मा येन सर्वम् इदं ततम्
For the one great self dwells alone in all beings, both moving and unmoving, by whom all this is pervaded.
सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि यदा पश्यति भूतात्मा ब्रह्म संपद्यते तदा
When the embodied soul sees the self in all beings and all beings in the self, then he attains Brahman.
यावान् आत्मनि वेदात्मा तावान् आत्मा परात्मनि य एवं सततं वेद सो ऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते
As much as the knower of the self perceives in himself, so much does the self exist in the supreme self; whoever knows this constantly becomes fit for immortality.
सर्वभूतात्मभूतस्य सर्वभूतहितस्य च देवापि मार्गे मुह्यन्ति अपदस्य पदैषिणः
Even the gods are bewildered on the path of one who has become the self of all beings and the benefactor of all, seeking the pathless state.
शकुन्तानाम् इवाकाशे मत्स्यानाम् इव चोदके यथा गतिर् न दृश्येत तथा ज्ञानविदां गतिः
Just as the movement of birds in the sky or of fish in water is not seen, so too is the path of those who possess knowledge.
कालः पचति भूतानि सर्वाण्य् एवात्मनात्मनि यस्मिंस् तु पच्यते कालस् तन् न वेदेह कश्चन
Time cooks all beings, each within itself; but that in which time itself is cooked, no one here knows.
न तद् ऊर्ध्वं न तिर्यक् च नाधो न च पुनः पुनः न मध्ये प्रतिगृह्णीते नैव किंचिन् न कश्चन
It is neither above nor across, neither below nor again and again; it does not accept anything in the middle, nor anything at all, nor anyone.
सर्वे तत्स्था इमे लोका बाह्यम् एषां न किंचन यद्य् अप्य् अग्रे समागच्छेद् यथा बाणो गुणच्युतः
All these worlds exist in That; nothing is external to them. Even if they come together at the front, it is like an arrow released from a bowstring.
नैवान्तं कारणस्येयाद् यद्य् अपि स्यान् मनोजवः तस्मात् सूक्ष्मतरं नास्ति नास्ति स्थूलतरं तथा
Even if the mind were swift, it could not reach the end of the cause; therefore, nothing is subtler, nor is anything grosser.
सर्वतःपाणिपादं तत् सर्वतोक्षिशिरोमुखम् सर्वतःश्रुतिमल् लोके सर्वम् आवृत्य तिष्ठति
That has hands and feet everywhere, faces, heads, and mouths everywhere; it hears everywhere in the world, pervading all, it stands.
तद् एवाणोर् अणुतरं तन् महद्भ्यो महत्तरम् तद् अन्तः सर्वभूतानां ध्रुवं तिष्ठन् न दृश्यते
That is subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest; it dwells within all beings, firm, yet unseen.
अक्षरं च क्षरं चैव द्वेधा भावो ऽयम् आत्मनः क्षरः सर्वेषु भूतेषु दिव्यं त्व् अमृतम् अक्षरम्
Imperishable and perishable—this is the twofold nature of the Self; the perishable is in all beings, but the divine, immortal is imperishable.
नवद्वारं पुरं कृत्वा हंसो हि नियतो वशी ईदृशः सर्वभूतस्य स्थावरस्य चरस्य च
Having made a city with nine gates, the swan, controlled and self-governed, is thus in all beings, both stationary and moving.
हानेनाभिविकल्पानां नराणां संचयेन च शरीराणाम् अजस्याहुर् हंसत्वं पारदर्शिनः
Through the loss and accumulation of bodies among men with various distinctions, those who see clearly call the swanhood unborn.
हंसोक्तं च क्षरं चैव कूटस्थं यत् तद् अक्षरम् तद् विद्वान् अक्षरं प्राप्य जहाति प्राणजन्मनी
The perishable spoken of as the swan, and the immutable which is fixed—having attained the imperishable, the wise one abandons breath and birth.
भवतां पृच्छतां विप्रा यथावद् इह तत्त्वतः सांख्यं ज्ञानेन संयुक्तं यद् एतत् कीर्तितं मया
O Brahmins, as you have asked here, I have described the Sāṃkhya doctrine, joined with knowledge, in accordance with truth.