एषा तत्त्वचतुर्विंशा सर्वाकृतिः प्रवर्तते यां ज्ञात्वा नाभिशोचन्ति ब्राह्मणास् तत्त्वदर्शिनः
This is the twenty-fourfold principle, which operates in all forms. Knowing this, the Brahmins who see the truth do not grieve.
एवम् एतत् समुत्पन्नं त्रैलोक्यम् इदम् उत्तमम् वेदितव्यं नरश्रेष्ठ सदैव नरकार्णवे
Thus, this excellent threefold world has arisen; it must always be understood, O best of men, in the ocean of hell.
सयक्षभूतगन्धर्वे सकिंनरमहोरगे सचारणपिशाचे वै सदेवर्षिनिशाचरे
With yakṣas, bhūtas, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, great serpents, with cāraṇas, piśācas, and with devas, ṛṣis, and night-wanderers.
सदंशकीटमशके सपूतिकृमिमूषके शुनि श्वपाके चैणेये सचाण्डाले सपुल्कसे
With ants, insects, mosquitoes, putrid worms, mice, dogs, dog-eaters, birds, caṇḍālas, and Pulkasas.
हस्त्यश्वखरशार्दूले सवृके गवि चैव ह या च मूर्तिश् च यत् किंचित् सर्वत्रैतन् निदर्शनम्
In the elephant, horse, boar, tiger, wolf, and cow, and in whatever form there may be—everywhere, this is the manifestation.
जले भुवि तथाकाशे नान्यत्रेति विनिश्चयः स्थानं देहवताम् आसीद् इत्य् एवम् अनुशुश्रुम
In water, on earth, and in the sky—nowhere else, this is certain—was the abode of embodied beings; thus have we heard.
कृत्स्नम् एतावतस् तात क्षरते व्यक्तसंज्ञकः अहन्य् अहनि भूतात्मा यच् चाक्षर इति स्मृतम्
All of this, O dear one, which is called manifest, perishes day by day; and that which is called imperishable is the essence of beings.
ततस् तत् क्षरम् इत्य् उक्तं क्षरतीदं यथा जगत् जगन् मोहात्मकं चाहुर् अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तसंज्ञकम्
Therefore, it is called perishable, for this world perishes; the world, composed of delusion, is said to be the manifest arising from the unmanifest.
महांश् चैवाक्षरो नित्यम् एतत् क्षरविवर्जनम् कथितं ते महाराज यस्मान् नावर्तते पुनः
And the great imperishable is eternal, free from perishing—this has been told to you, O great king—because from it there is no return.
पञ्चविंशतिको ऽमूर्तः स नित्यस् तत्त्वसंज्ञकः सत्त्वसंश्रयणात् तत्त्वं सत्त्वम् आहुर् मनीषिणः
The twenty-fifth is formless, eternal, known as the principle; because it is based in sattva, the wise call it sattva.
यद् अमूर्तिः सृजद् व्यक्तं तन् मूर्तिम् अधितिष्ठति चतुर्विंशतिमो व्यक्तो ह्य् अमूर्तिः पञ्चविंशकः
That formless one creates the manifest and abides in that form; the twenty-fourth is manifest, indeed, and the formless is the twenty-fifth.
स एव हृदि सर्वासु मूर्तिष्व् आतिष्ठतात्मवान् चेतयंश् चेतनो नित्यं सर्वमूर्तिर् अमूर्तिमान्
He himself, abiding in the heart of all forms, conscious, ever-aware, dwells in all forms as the formless one.
सर्गप्रलयधर्मेण स सर्गप्रलयात्मकः गोचरे वर्तते नित्यं निर्गुणो गुणसंज्ञितः
By the law of creation and dissolution, he, whose nature is creation and dissolution, always operates within the field, qualityless yet called by qualities.
एवम् एष महात्मा च सर्गप्रलयकोटिशः विकुर्वाणः प्रकृतिमान् नाभिमन्येत बुद्धिमान्
Thus, this great self, producing countless cycles of creation and dissolution, though possessing nature, should not be regarded as involved, O wise one.
तमःसत्त्वरजोयुक्तस् तासु तास्व् इह योनिषु लीयते प्रतिबुद्धत्वाद् अबुद्धजनसेवनात्
Endowed with darkness, goodness, and passion, he merges into various wombs here, due to awakening and serving the unawakened.
सहवासनिवासत्वाद् बालो ऽहम् इति मन्यते यो ऽहं न सो ऽहम् इत्य् उक्तो गुणान् एवानुवर्तते
Because of dwelling together with impressions, he thinks, 'I am a child'; but he who knows 'I am not that I,' follows only the qualities.
तमसा तामसान् भावान् विविधान् प्रतिपद्यते रजसा राजसांश् चैव सात्त्विकान् सत्त्वसंश्रयात्
Through darkness, he attains various dark states; through passion, passionate states; and through sattva, sattvic states, by resorting to sattva.
शुक्ललोहितकृष्णानि रूपाण्य् एतानि त्रीणि तु सर्वाण्य् एतानि रूपाणि जानीहि प्राकृतानि तु
These three forms—white, red, and black—know that all these forms are indeed products of nature.
तामसा निरयं यान्ति राजसा मानुषान् अथ सात्त्विका देवलोकाय गच्छन्ति सुखभागिनः
Those of darkness go to hell, those of passion to human birth, and those of sattva, being happy, go to the world of the gods.
निष्केवलेन पापेन तिर्यग्योनिम् अवाप्नुयात् पुण्यपापेषु मानुष्यं पुण्यमात्रेण देवताः
With unmitigated sin, one attains an animal birth; with both merit and sin, a human birth; with merit alone, the state of the gods.
एवम् अव्यक्तविषयं मोक्षम् आहुर् मनीषिणः पञ्चविंशतिमो यो ऽयं ज्ञानाद् एव प्रवर्तते
Thus, the wise declare liberation as pertaining to the unmanifest; this twenty-fifth arises only through knowledge.
एवम् अप्रतिबुद्धत्वाद् अबुद्धम् अनुवर्तते देहाद् देहसहस्राणि तथा च न स भिद्यते
Thus, due to lack of awakening, he follows the unknowing; from body to thousands of bodies, yet he is not divided.
तिर्यग्योनिसहस्रेषु कदाचिद् देवतास्व् अपि उत्पद्यति तपोयोगाद् गुणैः सह गुणक्षयात्
Among thousands of animal births, sometimes one is born even among the gods, through ascetic practice and union with qualities; but with the decline of those qualities, one falls again.
मनुष्यत्वाद् दिवं याति देवो मानुष्यम् एति च मानुष्यान् निरयस्थानम् आलयं प्रतिपद्यते
From human birth one attains heaven, and a god is born as a human; from humanity one goes to the realm of hell, entering that abode.
कोषकारो यथात्मानं कीटः समभिरुन्धति सूत्रतन्तुगुणैर् नित्यं तथायम् अगुणो गुणैः
Just as a silkworm encloses itself with threads it has spun, so too does this quality-less self become bound by qualities.
द्वंद्वम् एति च निर्द्वंद्वस् तासु तास्व् इह योनिषु शीर्षरोगे ऽक्षिरोगे च दन्तशूले गलग्रहे
He experiences dualities and freedom from duality in these various wombs here—diseases of the head, diseases of the eyes, toothache, and throat affliction.
जलोदरे ऽतिसारे च गण्डमालाविचर्चिके श्वित्रकुष्ठे ऽग्निदग्धे च सिध्मापस्मारयोर् अपि
Dropsy, diarrhea, glandular swelling, skin eruptions, leucoderma, leprosy, burns by fire, scurf, and epilepsy as well.
यानि चान्यानि द्वंद्वानि प्राकृतानि शरीरिणाम् उत्पद्यन्ते विचित्राणि तान्य् एवात्माभिमन्यते
And whatever other natural dualities arise in embodied beings, all these various conditions the self identifies as its own.
अभिमानातिमानानां तथैव सुकृतान्य् अपि एकवासाश् चतुर्वासाः शायी नित्यम् अधस् तथा
Because of pride and arrogance, even good deeds are performed; wearing a single garment or four garments, lying always below as well.
मण्डूकशायी च तथा वीरासनगतस् तथा वीरम् आसनम् आकाशे तथा शयनम् एव च
Lying like a frog, sitting in the heroic posture, heroic seat in the sky, and likewise lying in the same way.