O noble ones, suffering is not limited to mortals alone; even celestial beings, the great overseers of cosmic cycles, the Manus, and others who are attached to their exalted positions are not free from sorrow. Among gods and demons alike, rivalry brings only distress, just as it does among kings, among rākṣasas, and in all the three worlds. Everywhere, competition and attachment breed suffering. The four stages of life exist to encourage effort among the castes, but neither these stages, nor the gods, nor sacrifices, nor the path of Sāṅkhya, nor the practice of vows, nor even the most severe austerities or the giving of many gifts, can by themselves bring one to the realization of the Self. Only the wise, through their own discernment, attain the Self. Therefore, one should apply oneself with all effort to the vow of Pāśupata. The wise should ever remain steadfast in this vow, sleeping upon ashes as a mark of renunciation. Possessing knowledge of the five great principles and absorbed in the essence of Śiva, the wise cut through the bonds of ritual action by the method of yoga and attain liberation. When one is united with the five principles, the wise reach the end of suffering. What is to be known by supreme knowledge cannot be grasped by lower knowledge. Indeed, there are two forms of knowledge to be understood: the higher and the lower. Of these, O best of the twice-born, the lower knowledge consists of the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaveda, all the Vedas that fulfill worldly purposes, and also instruction, ritual, grammar, etymology, metre, and astrology. All this is termed lower knowledge. The higher knowledge is that which is imperishable, which cannot be seen or grasped, which has no lineage and is without characteristics. It is without eyes, ears, hands, or feet; it is unborn, unmanifest, and soundless. It is beyond touch, without form, taste, or smell; it is imperishable, without foundation, eternal, all-pervading, and sovereign. This supreme reality is great, vast, unborn, and composed of pure consciousness. It is without breath, without mind, without moisture or redness. It is immeasurable—not gross, not long, not excessive, not short, without any limit—blissful and unchanging. It is unobstructed, non-dual, infinite, beyond perception, uncovered, of a single essence; it is the supreme knowledge and nothing else. Though spoken of as higher and lower, in truth there is no such distinction. I alone am all this universe, and all the world abides in me. From me, all arises; in me, all abides; and into me, all dissolves. Nothing exists apart from me—neither by mind, nor by speech, nor by action. With concentrated mind, let one perceive everything—both the real and the unreal—as established in the Self. Having perceived all in the Self, one’s mind does not turn outward. Fix your gaze downward, and measure twelve finger-breadths above the navel: there, know the heart as the great abode of the universe. In the center of this heart is a lotus, arising from the root of virtue, with a splendid stalk of knowledge. It has eight white petals representing sovereignty, and the supreme pericarp of detachment. Its openings point to the directions, where the vital airs and other energies are established. United with these vital airs, one perceives, in many ways, the ten channels through which the vital airs move, each individually. There are said to be seventy-two thousand channels. Know that wakefulness is situated in the eyes, dream in the throat, deep sleep in the heart, and the fourth state in the head. In the waking state, Brahmā and Viṣṇu are present; likewise, in the dream state, in due order. Īśvara presides in deep sleep, and Maheśvara in the fourth state. Thus, with all faculties, the person is described. When one abides in these, it is called wakefulness; the mind, intellect, ego, and consciousness—these four. When established in these, it is called the dream state. When these faculties dissolve into the Self, that is deep sleep, distinct from the faculties. The fourth state is so named. Beyond even the fourth is Śiva, the supreme cause. Waking, dream, deep sleep, and the fourth state are called adhibhautika, and, O best of Brahmins, are also said to be ādhyātmika and adhidaivika. One who knows should understand all this as “I am indeed that”—including the senses of knowledge and the organs of action. The mind, intellect, ego, and consciousness—these four are called adhyātma individually, making fourteen in all. To see, to hear, to smell, to taste, and to touch; to think, to understand, to make into ‘I’, and to consider; to speak, to take, to go, to release, and to enjoy—these are the adhibhautika. The sun, the directions, the earth, Varuṇa, the wind, the moon, Brahmā, Rudra, and the knower of the field; Agni, Indra, Viṣṇu, Mitra, and Prajāpati—these, in order, make the fourteenfold adhidaivika. The queens Sudarśanā, Jitā, Saumyā, Moghā, Rudrāmṛtā, Satyā, and Madhyamā, O best of the twice-born; the channels Rāśi, Śukā, Asurā, Kṛttikā, and Bhāsvatī—these channels are bound in fourteen ways. The winds situated in the middle of the channels, and their carriers, are fourteen: prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, udāna, and samāna; Vairambha, Mukhya, Antaryāma, Prabhañjana, Kūrmaka, Śyena, Śveta, Kṛṣṇa, and Anila. Thus, O wise ones, the subtle structure of the self and the universe is revealed, showing the path to transcendence and liberation, rooted in supreme knowledge and the realization of unity with Śiva.