पावकस्योष्णतेवेयमुष्णांशोरिव दीधितिः । चन्द्रस्य चन्द्रिकेवेयं ममेयं सहजा ध्रुवा
Just as heat belongs to fire, rays to the sun, and moonlight to the moon, so too is this my innate, eternal power.
तस्यां कर्माणि जीवानां जीवाः कालाश्च सञ्चरे । अभेदेन विलीनाः स्युः सुषुप्तौ व्यवहारवत्
Within her, the actions, souls, and times of beings move about; in deep sleep, they are dissolved into her without distinction, just as in practical experience.
स्वशक्तेश्च समायोगादहं बीजात्मतां गता । स्वाधारावरणात्तस्या दोषत्वं च समागतम्
By union with my own power, I become the very essence of the seed; due to her own veiling, impurity also arises in her.
चैतन्यस्य समायोगान्निमित्तत्वं च कथ्यते । प्रपञ्चपरिणामाच्च समवायित्वमुच्यते
Because of union with consciousness, she is said to be the cause; and because of the transformation of the manifest world, she is called the inherent basis.
केचित्तां तप इत्याहुस्तमः केचिज्जडं परे । ज्ञानं मायां प्रधानं च प्रकृतिं शक्तिमप्यजाम्
Some call her darkness, others call her inertness, and others still call her knowledge, Māyā, Pradhāna, Prakṛti, power, or the unborn.
विमर्श इति तां प्राहुः शैवशास्त्रविशारदाः । अविद्यामितरे प्राहुर्वेदतत्त्वार्थचिन्तकाः
Those skilled in Śaiva scriptures call her Vimarśa (reflective awareness); others, contemplating the meaning of Vedic truth, call her ignorance (Avidyā).
एवं नानाविधानि स्युर्नामानि निगमादिषु । तस्या जडत्वं दृश्यत्वाज्ज्ञाननाशात्ततोऽसती
Thus, various names are found for her in the scriptures; her insentience is due to being an object of perception, and her unreality is due to the destruction of knowledge.
चैतन्यस्य न दृश्यत्वं दृश्यत्वे जडमेव तत् । स्वप्रकाशं च चैतन्यं न परेण प्रकाशितम्
Consciousness is not an object of perception; if it were, it would be insentient. Consciousness is self-luminous and is not revealed by anything else.
अनवस्थादोषसत्त्वान्न स्वेनापि प्रकाशितम् । कर्मकर्त्रीविरोधः स्यात्तस्मात्तद्दीपवत्स्वयम्
Because of the fault of infinite regress, it is not revealed even by itself; otherwise, there would be a contradiction between agent and action. Therefore, like a lamp, it shines by itself.
प्रकाशमानमन्येषां भासकं विद्धि पर्वत । अत एव च नित्यत्वं सिद्धसंवित्तनोर्मम
Know, O Mountain, that it illuminates others and is the source of their light; for this reason, the eternal nature of my established consciousness is proven.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्त्यादौ दृश्यस्य व्यभिचारतः । संविदो व्यभिचारश्च नानुभूतोऽस्ति कर्हिचित्
In waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, the objects of perception change, but consciousness itself never ceases to be experienced.
यदि तस्याप्यनुभवस्तर्ह्ययं येन साक्षिणा । अनुभूतः स एवात्र शिष्टः संविद्वपुः पुरा
If even consciousness were to be experienced, then by whom would it be witnessed? That very witness alone remains, as the true form of consciousness from the beginning.
अत एव च नित्यत्वं प्रोक्तं सच्छास्त्रकोविदैः । आनन्दरूपता चास्याः परप्रेमास्पदत्वतः
Therefore, those skilled in true scriptures declare its eternity; and its nature as bliss is due to being the very abode of supreme love.
मा न भूवं हि भूयासमिति प्रेमात्मनि स्थितम् । सर्वस्यान्यस्य मिथ्यात्वादसङ्गत्वं स्फुटं मम
The wish 'May I not cease to exist, may I continue to be' is established in the self out of love; because all else is false, my detachment is clear.
अपरिच्छिन्नताप्येवमत एव मता मम । तच्च ज्ञानं नात्मधर्मो धर्मत्वे जडताऽऽत्मनः
Even though it is without limitation, this is my view; and that knowledge is not the essential nature of the self, for if it were a property, the self would be inert.
ज्ञानस्य जडशेषत्वं न दृष्टं न च संभवि । चिद्धर्मत्वं तथा नास्ति चितश्चिन्न हि भिद्यते
It is neither seen nor possible that knowledge is merely inert residue; likewise, consciousness does not have the property of knowledge, for consciousness is not divided.
तस्मादात्मा ज्ञानरूपः सुखरूपश्च सर्वदा । सत्यः पूर्णोऽप्यसङ्गश्च द्वैतजालविवर्जितः
Therefore, the self is always of the nature of knowledge and bliss, is real, complete, unattached, and free from the net of duality.
स पुनः कामकर्मादियुक्तया स्वीयमायया । पूर्वानुभूतसंस्कारात् कालकर्मविपाकतः
Again, that self, joined with desire, action, and so on, by its own māyā, due to impressions from previous experience and the results of time and action—
अविवेकाच्च तत्त्वस्य सिसृक्षावान्प्रजायते । अबुद्धिपूर्वः सर्गोऽयं कथितस्ते नगाधिप
—and because of lack of discernment of reality, becomes possessed of the will to create; this creation, O lord of mountains, is said to be without prior understanding.
एतद्धि यन्मया प्रोक्तं मम रूपमलौकिकम् । अव्याकृतं तदव्यक्तं मायाशबलमित्यपि
What I have described to you is my extraordinary form; that unmanifest is called undifferentiated, also pervaded by māyā.
प्रोच्यते सर्वशास्त्रेषु सर्वकारणकारणम् । तत्त्वानामादिभूतं च सच्चिदानन्दविग्रहम्
It is spoken of in all scriptures as the cause of all causes, the original source of all principles, having the form of existence, consciousness, and bliss.
सर्वकर्मघनीभूतमिच्छाज्ञानक्रियाश्रयम् । ह्रीङ्कारमन्त्रवाच्यं तदादितत्त्वं तदुच्यते
It is the support of all actions, will, knowledge, and activity, condensed into one; that original principle is expressed by the mantra 'hrīṃ'.
तस्मादाकाश उत्पन्नः शब्दतन्मात्ररूपकः । भवेत्स्पर्शात्मको वायुस्तेजोरूपात्मकं पुनः
From that, space is produced, having the form of the subtle element of sound; then air, whose nature is touch, and again fire, whose nature is form.
जलं रसात्मकं पश्चात्ततो गन्धात्मिका धरा । शब्दैकगुण आकाशो वायुः स्पर्शरवान्वितः
After that, water, whose essence is taste, and then earth, whose essence is smell; space has only the quality of sound, air is endowed with sound and touch.
शब्दस्पर्शरूपगुणं तेज इत्युच्यते बुधैः । शब्दस्पर्शरूपरसैरापो वेदगुणाः स्मृताः
Fire, the wise say, has the qualities of sound, touch, and form; water is said to have the qualities of sound, touch, form, and taste.
शब्दस्पर्शरूपरसगन्धैः पञ्चगुणा धरा । तेभ्योऽभवन्महत्सूत्रं यल्लिङ्गं परिचक्षते
Earth has five qualities: sound, touch, form, taste, and smell; from these, the great principle and the subtle body, which is called the linga, arise.
सर्वात्मकं तत्सम्प्रोक्तं सूक्ष्मदेहोऽयमात्मनः । अव्यक्तं कारणो देहः स चोक्तः पूर्वमेव हि
That is said to be the essence of all, and this is the subtle body of the self; the unmanifest is the causal body, which has already been described.
यस्मिञ्जगद्बीजरूपं स्थितं लिङ्गोद्भवो यतः । ततः स्थूलानि भूतानि पञ्चीकरणमार्गतः
In which the seed-form of the world is established, from which the linga body arises; from that, the gross elements come forth by the process of combination.
पञ्चसंख्यानि जायन्ते तत्प्रकारस्त्वथोच्यते । पूर्वोक्तानि च भूतानि प्रत्येकं विभजेद् द्विधा
They arise as five in number; now the method is explained: each of the previously mentioned elements is divided into two parts.
एकैकं भागमेकस्य चतुर्धा विभजेद् गिरे । स्वस्वेतरद्वितीयांशे योजनात्पञ्च पञ्च ते
Then, O mountain, one part of each is divided into four; by combining each with the other four, there are five of each.