प्रविश्य सर्वभूतानि ज्ञानयुक्तेन तेजसा
entering all beings with knowledge-endowed brilliance,
तत्र यान्ति महात्मानः परमाणुं महेश्वरम्
there the great souls attain the atomic, Supreme Lord.
ततः पश्यन्त्यपर्वाणं परं ब्रह्माणामेव च
Then they perceive the supreme, the imperishable, and the essence of Brahman.
यत्तत्सहस्रं सिंहानामादित्यानां तथैव च
That which is a thousand lions, and likewise a thousand suns.
आवेश्यात्मनि तान्सर्वान् संख्यायोग्यभवांस्तथा
Having absorbed all of them into himself, and made them fit for enumeration.
विष्णुना सह संयुक्तः करोति विकरोति च
United with Vishnu, he acts and transforms.
स एष ओतः प्रोतश्च बहिरन्तश्च निश्चयात्
He is indeed woven and interwoven, both outside and inside, with certainty.
ततस्ते ऋषयः सर्वे दिवाकरसमप्रभाः
Then all those sages shine with radiance equal to the sun.
कर्मणा मनसा वाचा विशुद्धेनान्तरात्मना
By action, by mind, by speech, and by a purified inner self.
व्रतोपवासनिरताः सर्वभूतदयापराः
Engaged in vows and fasting, devoted to compassion for all beings.
प्रपद्य परया भक्त्याज्ञानयुक्तेन तेजसा
Having approached with supreme devotion, endowed with knowledge and brilliance.
यः पठेत्तपसा युक्तो वायुप्रोक्तामिमां श्रुतिम्
Whoever recites this teaching spoken by Vayu, endowed with austerity.
लभते रुद्रलोकं वै कारणं लोककारणम्
He attains the world of Rudra, the cause and origin of worlds.
तदात्यन्तपरोक्षत्वाददृष्टत्वाच्च कस्यचित्
Because of its extreme transcendence and invisibility to anyone.
आगतागतिकत्वाच्च ग्रहणं तन्न विद्यते
And because it is both arrival and departure, its grasping is not possible.
स्थिते तु कारणे तस्मिन्नित्ये सदसदात्मके
When that eternal cause, consisting of both existence and non-existence, remains.
एवं सप्तद्विरभ्यस्ताः क्रमात्प्रकृतयस्तु वै
Thus, those twenty-four principles are repeatedly enumerated in order.
येनेदमावृतं सर्वमण्डमप्सु प्रलीयते
By which all this sphere is enveloped and dissolves into the waters.
उदकावरणं यच्च ज्योतिष्यालीयते तु यत्
And the watery enclosure, which dissolves into light.
यद्वायव्यं चावरणमाकाशग्रसते तु तत्
And the airy enclosure, which is absorbed by space.
भूतादिं ग्रसते चापि महान्वै बुद्धिलक्षमः
Indeed, that which is marked by intellect consumes even the primordial elements.
एतौ संहारविस्तारौ ब्रह्मा व्यक्तौ ततः पुनः
These two—dissolution and expansion—are manifest, O Brahmā, and then again.
संसिद्धकार्यकरणाः संसिद्धा ज्ञानिनस्तु ये
Those who have accomplished their tasks and instruments, and those who are accomplished in knowledge—
प्रत्याहारे ऽधियुज्यन्ते क्षेत्रज्ञाः करणैः पुनः
At the time of withdrawal, the knowers of the field are again engaged with the instruments.
साधर्म्यवैधर्म्यकृतः संयोगो नादिमास्तयोः
The connection between these two, arising from similarity and dissimilarity, is without beginning.
ब्रह्मविच्चैव विज्ञेयः क्षेत्रज्ञानात्पृथक्
One who knows Brahman is to be understood as distinct from the knowers of the field.
ब्रह्मा त्वविषयो ज्ञेयो विषयः क्षेत्रमुच्यते
Brahman, indeed, is to be known as the non-object; the object is called the field.
बहुत्वाच्च शरीराणां शरीरी बहुधा स्मृतः
Because of the multitude of bodies, the embodied self is regarded as manifold.
यस्मात्प्रतिशरीरं हि सुखदुःखो पलब्धिता
For, in each individual body, the experience of pleasure and pain is perceived.
यदा प्रवर्त्तते चैषां भेदानां चैव संयमः
When the restraint of these distinctions arises among them—