Shiva Purana (Books 1 & 7)

नैवायं चक्षुषा ग्राह्यो नापरैरिन्द्रियैरपि

He cannot be grasped by the eye, nor by any other senses.

न च स्त्री न पुमानेष नैव चापि नपुंसकः नैवोर्ध्वं नापि तिर्यक् नाधस्तान्न कुतश्चन

He is neither woman nor man, nor is he neuter; he is not above, nor across, nor below, nor from anywhere.

अशरीरं शरीरेषु चलेषु स्थाणुमव्ययम् सदा पश्यति तं धीरो नरः प्रत्यवमर्शनात्

Without a body, yet present in bodies, moving and unmoving, imperishable—the wise person always perceives him through inner reflection.

किमत्र बहुनोक्तेन पुरुषो देहतः पृथक् अपृथग्ये तु पश्यंति ह्यसम्यक्तेषु दर्शनम्

Why speak at length? The person is distinct from the body; those who do not see this distinction have an incorrect view.

यच्छरीरमिदं प्रोक्तं पुरुषस्य ततः परम् अशुद्धमवशं दुःखमध्रुवं न च विद्यते

This body, which is said to belong to the person, is impure, powerless, painful, and impermanent; it is not the true self.

विपदां वीजभूतेन पुरुषस्तेन संयुतः सुखी दुःखी च मूढश्च भवति स्वेन कर्मणा

Joined with the seed of misfortune, the person becomes happy, unhappy, or deluded, according to his own actions.

अद्भिराप्लवितं क्षेत्रं जनयत्यंकुरं यथा आज्ञानात्प्लावितं कर्म देहं जनयते तथा

Just as a field watered by water produces a sprout, so too, action moistened by ignorance gives rise to the body.

अत्यंतमसुखावासास्स्मृताश्चैकांतमृत्यवः अनागता अतीताश्च तनवो ऽस्य सहस्रशः

Abodes of extreme happiness and deaths that are final—both those yet to come and those past—his bodies are thousands in number.

आगत्यागत्य शीर्णेषु शरीरेषु शरीरिणः अत्यंतवसतिः क्वापि न केनापि च लभ्यते

Coming and going, when bodies are worn out, the embodied one does not attain any permanent abode anywhere.

छादितश्च वियुक्तश्च शरीरैरेषु लक्ष्यते चंद्रबिंबवदाकाशे तरलैरभ्रसंचयैः

Covered and separated by bodies, he is perceived like the moon's disk in the sky, veiled by shifting masses of clouds.

अनेकदेहभेदेन भिन्ना वृत्तिरिहात्मनः अष्टापदपरिक्षेपे ह्यक्षमुद्रेव लक्ष्यते

Here, the activity of the self is seen as diverse due to the differences of many bodies, just as in the enclosure of a chessboard, the movement of a piece is observed.

नैवास्य भविता कश्चिन्नासौ भवति कस्यचित् पथि संगम एवायं दारैः पुत्रैश्च बंधुभिः

No one belongs to another, nor does anyone belong to anyone else; this meeting with wives, sons, and relatives is only a chance encounter.

यथा काष्ठं च काष्ठं च समेयातां महोदधौ समेत्य च व्यपेयातां तद्वद्भूतसमागमः

Just as one piece of wood meets another in the vast ocean, and after meeting, they part again—so too is the gathering of beings.

स पश्यति शरीरं तच्छरीरं तन्न पश्यति तौ पश्यति परः कश्चित्तावुभौ तं न पश्यतः

One sees that body, but that body does not see; someone else sees both, but those two do not see him.

ब्रह्माद्याः स्थावरांतश्च पशवः परिकीर्तिताः पशूनामेव सर्वेषां प्रोक्तमेतन्निदर्शनम्

From Brahmā down to the immovable, all are called cattle; this illustration is given for all beings.

स एष बध्यते पाशैः सुखदुःखाशनः पशुः लीलासाधनभूतो य ईश्वरस्येति सूरयः

Bound by fetters, experiencing pleasure and pain, the being is called a 'cattle,' serving as an instrument for the Lord’s play—so say the wise.

अज्ञो जंतुरनीशो ऽयमात्मनस्सुखदुःखयोः ईश्वरप्रेरितो गच्छेत्स्वर्गं वा श्वभ्रमेव वा

This ignorant creature, powerless over its own happiness and suffering, moves to heaven or to hell, driven by the Lord’s will.

इत्याकर्ण्यानिलवचो मुनयः प्रीतमानसाः प्रोचुः प्रणम्य तं वायुं शैवागमविचक्षणम्

Hearing these words of the wind, the sages, their minds delighted, bowed to that Vāyu, the expert in the Śaiva doctrine, and spoke.

यो ऽयं पशुरिति प्रोक्तो यश्च पाश उदाहृतः अभ्यां विलक्षणः कश्चित्कोयमस्ति तयोः पतिः

This one called 'cattle,' and that which is called 'fetters'—who is the distinct master over these two? Who is he?

अस्ति कश्चिदपर्यंतरमणीयगुणाश्रयः पतिर्विश्वस्य निर्माता पशुपाशविमोचनः

There is someone, the abode of endless and delightful qualities, the Lord, creator of the universe, who frees the cattle from their fetters.

अभावे तस्य विश्वस्य सृष्टिरेषा कथं भवेत् अचेतनत्वादज्ञानादनयोः पशुपाशयोः

Without him, how could this creation of the universe exist? For both the cattle and the fetters are insentient and ignorant.

प्रधानपरमाण्वादि यावत्किंचिदचेतनम् तत्कर्तृकं स्वयं दृष्टं बुद्धिमत्कारणं विना

Whatever is insentient, from primal matter down to the atom, is seen to act only when guided by an intelligent cause.

जगच्च कर्तृसापेक्षं कार्यं सावयवं यतः तस्मात्कार्यस्य कर्तृत्वं पत्युर्न पशुपाशयोः

The world, being an effect, depends on a doer and is composite; therefore, the role of doer belongs to the Lord, not to the cattle or the fetters.

पशोरपि च कर्तृत्वं पत्युः प्रेरणपूर्वकम् अयथाकरणज्ञानमंधस्य गमनं यथा

Even the action of the cattle occurs only through the prompting of the Lord, just as a blind person’s movement depends on another’s guidance.

आत्मानं च पृथङ्मत्वा प्रेरितारं ततः पृथक् असौ जुष्टस्ततस्तेन ह्यमृतत्वाय कल्पते

When one recognizes the self as distinct from the prompter, and is thus favored by him, then one becomes fit for immortality.

पशोः पाशस्य पत्युश्च तत्त्वतो ऽस्ति पदं परम् ब्रह्मवित्तद्विदित्वैव योनिमुक्तो भविष्यति

There is, in truth, a supreme state for the cattle, the fetters, and the Lord; knowing this, the knower of Brahman becomes freed from rebirth.

संयुक्तमेतद्द्वितयं क्षरमक्षरमेव च व्यक्ताव्यक्तं बिभर्तीशो विश्वं विश्वविमोचकः

This pair—perishable and imperishable, manifest and unmanifest—are both united; the Lord, the liberator of the universe, sustains all.

भोक्ता भोग्यं प्रेरयिता मंतव्यं त्रिविधं स्मृतम् नातः परं विजानद्भिर्वेदितव्यं हि किंचनः

The enjoyer, the enjoyed, and the prompter—these three are to be understood; beyond this, nothing else is to be known by those who understand.

तिलेषु वा यथा तैलं दध्नि वा सर्पिरर्पितम् यथापः स्रोतसि व्याप्ता यथारण्यां हुताशनः

Just as oil is in sesame seeds, clarified butter in curds, water pervades a stream, and fire is latent in wood,