यदूद्रव्या शिबिका चेयं तदूद्रव्यो भूतसंग्रहः । भवतो मेऽखिलस्यास्य ममत्वेनोपबृ हितः
This palanquin is made of matter, and so is the collection of beings; all this, belonging to you or to me, is supported only by a sense of possession.
एवमुक्त्वाभवन्मैनी स वहञ्छिबिकां द्रिज ! सोऽपि राजावतीर्य्योर्व्यं तत्पादौ जगृहे त्वरन्
Having spoken thus, the wise one continued to carry the palanquin, O twice-born; and that king, descending quickly to the earth, grasped his feet.
भो भो विसृज्य शिबिकां प्रसादं कुरु मे द्रिज! कथ्यतां को भवानत्र जालमरूपधरः स्थितः
"O, O! Release the palanquin and show me your favor, O twice-born! Tell me, who are you here, standing in this mysterious form?"
यो भवान् यन्निमित्तं वा यदागमनकारण्म् । तत्सर्वं कथ्यतां विदून् ! मह्म शुश्रूषवे त्वया
"Who are you, for what reason, and why have you come? Let all this be told, O wise one, for I am eager to hear from you."
श्रूयतां कोऽहमित्येतदूक्तुं भूप! न शक्यते । उपभोगनिमित्तञ्च सर्वत्र गमनक्रिया
Hear this, O king: it is not possible to say who I am; and in all cases, movement is undertaken for the sake of enjoyment.
सुखदुः खोपभोगौ तु तौ देहाद्यु पपादकौ । धर्माधर्मोद्भवौ भोक्तु जन्तुर्देहादिमृच्छति
Pleasure and pain are experienced through the body and the rest; arising from righteousness and unrighteousness, the living being obtains body and so on in order to enjoy them.
सर्वस्यैव हि बूपाल ! जन्तोः सर्वत्र कारणम् । धर्माधर्मौ यतः कस्मात् कारणां पृच्छयते त्वया
For every being, O protector of the earth, righteousness and unrighteousness are the cause of everything; so why do you ask about the cause?
धर्माधमां न सन्देहः सर्वकार्य्येषु कारणम् । उपभोगनिमित्तञ्च देहाद्द हान्तरागमः
There is no doubt that righteousness and unrighteousness are the cause of all actions; and for the sake of enjoyment, the body is obtained and then relinquished.
यत्त्वैतद भवता प्रोक्त कोऽहमित्येतदात्मनः । वक्तु न शक्यते श्रोतु तन्ममेच्छा प्रवर्त्तते
That which you have spoken—'Who am I?'—this concerning the self cannot be expressed or heard; yet, the desire to know this arises in me.
योऽस्ति सोऽहमिति ब्रह्मन्! कथं वक्तुं न शक्यते । आत्मन्येष न दोषाय शब्दोऽहमिति यो द्रिज
O Brahman! If one exists, then 'I am he'—how can this not be spoken? In regard to the self, the word 'I am' is not faulty, O twice-born one.
शब्दोऽहमिति दोषाय आत्मन्येष तथैव तत् । अनात्मन्यात्मविज्ञानं शब्दो वा भ्रान्तिलक्षणाः
To say 'I am the word' is faulty with respect to the self, and likewise so; knowledge of the self in the non-self, or the word itself, is a mark of delusion.
जिह्वा ब्रवीत्यहमिति दन्तोष्ठौ तालुक नृप! एते नाहं यतः सर्वे वाङूनिष्पादनहेतवः
The tongue says 'I am,' O King, as do the teeth, lips, and palate; but none of these are truly 'I,' for all are merely causes for the production of speech.
किंहेतुभिर्वदत्येषा वागेवाहमिति स्वयम् । तथापि वाग् नाहमेतद् वक्तु मित्थं न युज्यते
By what cause does speech itself say 'I am'? Even so, speech is not the self; thus, it is not proper to say so.
पिण्डः पृथग् यतः पुसः शिरः पाण्यादिलक्षणाः । ततोऽहमिति कुत्रैतां संज्ञां राजन्! करोम्यहम्
Since the body is a collection of distinct parts—head, hands, and so on—O King, how can I apply the designation 'I' to any of these?
यद्यन्योऽस्ति परः कोऽपि मत्तः पार्थिवसत्तम ! तदैषोऽहमयञ्चान्यो वक्तुमेवमपीष्यते
If there is some other being apart from me, O best of kings, then it is proper to say 'I am this one, and that is another.'
यदा समस्तदेहेषु पुमानेको व्यवस्थितः । तदा हि को भवान् कोऽहमित्येतद् विफलं वचः
When the one person is established in all bodies, then the statements 'Who are you?' and 'Who am I?' are meaningless.
त्वं राजा शिबिका चेयमिमे वाहाः पुरः सराः । अयञ्च भवतो लोको न सदेतन्नृपोच्यते
You are the king, this is the palanquin, these are the bearers, and this is the road ahead; this world is yours, O King, but none of this is truly real.
वृक्षदू दारु ततश्चैयं शिबिका त्वदधिष्ठिता । किं वृक्षसंज्ञा वास्याः स्याद्दारुसंज्ञाथवा नृप
The palanquin is made from wood that comes from a tree, O King; should it then be called a tree or wood?
वृक्षारूढो महाराजो नायं वदति ते जनः । न च दारुणि सर्वस्त्वां ब्रवीति शिबिकागतम्
No one says, 'The great king is riding a tree,' nor do they say, 'You are in the wood,' when you are seated in the palanquin.
शिबिका दारुसङ्गातो रचनास्थितिसंस्थितः । आन्वष्यतां नृपश्वेष्ठ! तद्भदे शिबिका त्वया
The palanquin is a combination of wood, constructed and assembled; O best of kings, examine this—then, O blessed one, the palanquin is with you.
एवं छत्रशलाकानां पृथगूभागो विमृश्यताम् । क्व यातं छत्रमित्येष न्यायस्त्वयि तथा मयि
In the same way, consider separately the parts of the umbrella and its spokes; where has the umbrella gone? This reasoning applies to you and to me as well.
पुमान् स्त्री गौरजो वाजी कुञ्जरो विहगस्तरुः । देहेषु लोकसंज्ञयं विज्ञया कर्म्महेतुषु
Man, woman, cow-born, horse, elephant, bird, tree—these are names given to bodies in the world, based on knowledge and the causes of action.
पुमान्न देवो न नरो न पशुर्न च पादपः । शरीराकृतिबेदास्तु भूपैते कर्म्मयोनयः
A person is not a god, nor a man, nor an animal, nor a plant; these distinctions of bodily form, O King, are merely the results of actions.
वस्तु राजेति यल्लोके यच्च राजभटात्मकम् । तथान्यज्व नृपेत्थं तन्न सत्सङ्कल्पनामयम्
That which is called 'king' in the world, or that which is of the nature of king and his retinue, or anything else, O King, is not real—it is a product of thought.
यत्तु कालान्तरेणापि नान्यां संज्ञामुपैति वै । परिणामादिसम्भूतां तदूस्तु नृप! तज्व किम्
But that which, even after a long time, does not acquire another name, and is not produced by transformation and the like—let that be, O King; what is that to you?
त्वं राजा सर्व्वलोकस्य पितुः पुत्रो रिपो रिपुः । पत्न्याः पतिः पिता सूनोः किं त्वा भूप ! वदाम्यहम्
You are the king of all people, the son of your father, the enemy of your foe, the husband of your wife, the father of your son—what, O King, should I call you?
त्वं किमेतच्छिरः किं नु ग्रीवा तव तथोदरम् । किमु पादादिकं त्वं वा तवैतत् किं महीपते
Are you this head? Or is your neck yours, as well as your abdomen? Are you your feet and the rest, or is this all yours, O king?
समस्तावयवेभ्यस्त्वं पृथग् भूप ! व्यवस्थितः । कोऽहमित्यत्र निपुणो भूत्वा चिन्तय पार्थिव
You are established separately from all these limbs, O king! Become skilled in this inquiry: Who am I?
एवं व्यवस्थिते तत्त्वे मयाहमिति भाषितुम् । पथक् करणनिष्पाद्य शक्यते नपते! कथम्
When the truth is thus determined, how can I say 'I am this,' O king, without first producing the means of expression?
श्रीपराशर उवाच निशम्य तस्येति वचः परमार्थसमन्वितम् । प्रश्रयावनतो भूत्वा तमाह नृपतिर्द्विजम् ॥ २,१४.
Śrī Parāśara said: Hearing these words, imbued with ultimate truth, the king, bowing respectfully, spoke to the sage.