Once, in the ancient times, Death himself approached Yama, the great dispeller of doubts, and humbly questioned him: “O Lord, why is it that I cannot consume this being who is born of space?” Yama, serene and wise, replied, “O Death, understand that you alone do not possess the power to kill anyone by force. It is only the actions destined for death that empower you; nothing else is the cause here.” He continued, “Therefore, if you wish to overcome this Brahmin, you must diligently seek out the actions that make him subject to death. Only through those actions will you be able to devour him.” Hearing this, Death set out with determination, searching everywhere for those actions. He wandered through all regions and horizons, across lakes and rivers, and in every direction. He searched the forests and jungles, the shores of mountains and oceans, distant islands, wildernesses, bustling cities, and ancient towns. He traveled through villages, kingdoms, and the remotest lands, roaming the entire earth in his quest. Yet, nowhere could he find any trace of the Brahmin’s actions. Eager and persistent, Death found nothing—just as a wise man would not find the son of a barren woman, or as one might seek a mountain made only of imagination. Disappointed, Death returned to Yama, the all-knowing and ultimate refuge for those in doubt, and asked, “O Lord, where are the actions of one born of space established?” Yama, the King of Dharma, pondered for a long while before replying. “O Death, for one born of space, there are no actions whatsoever. This Brahmin, born only from space, has arisen solely from the sky. He who is born from space becomes pure space itself; there are no cooperating causes for him. He has not the slightest connection with previous actions, just as the son of a barren woman or one who has never been formed. Therefore, he is truly unborn, self-existent, and uncreated. He has no prior actions—like a great tree growing in the sky, which is impossible. “His mind is not bound by any past actions, for none exist, and as of today, he has accumulated no new actions at all. He is the very essence of the space-casket, having the form of clear space, always established in samadhi, and utterly without actions. He has no past actions nor does he perform any now; in this matter, he is pure consciousness-space. “The movement of life that we and others observe as action in him is seen only by us; he himself has no notion of action. His body is visible to us, but he does not know it at all, just as the sky is unaware of the figure of a statue carved within a pillar. Just as a statue remains uncarved within a pillar, so this supreme Self, having become its own self, abides within, O twice-born one. “As liquidity is in water, as emptiness is in space, and as movement is in wind, so is this one in the supreme state. He has no present actions accumulated, nor any past ones; he has not come under the sway of worldly existence. When something arises in the absence of cooperating causes, it is experienced as not different from its own cause. “This twice-born one is self-existent, whose essence is the pure, space-like sheath; he is not a doer in the past nor now—tell me, how can he be affected? Only when, by intellect, he imagines what is called death, then, devoid of intellect, he himself will die at that very moment. Whoever is firmly convinced, ‘I am composed of earth and the like,’ quickly becomes identified with the element of earth, and such a one can indeed be grasped. “But this one, whose form is not of earth and who is of the nature of pure consciousness, cannot be grasped—just as the sky cannot be seized with a sturdy rope. O venerable one, you ask how the void comes into being, and how it is said to exist. Do earth and the other elements exist or not, or in what manner do they exist or not exist? “That which is pure consciousness has never been born nor does it ever not exist; it shines alone, and so it remains. At the time of the great dissolution, nothing at all remains—only the tranquil, undecaying, infinite Self of Brahman exists. Know that as pure consciousness, free from objects of cognition, it is the subtlest of the subtle; just as the sky appears like a mountain when seen from near, so too is that subtlety. “Because its very nature is pure consciousness, when the idea ‘I am the body’ arises in the mind, it appears to take on a form, just as a chance conjunction—like a crow alighting on a palm tree—seems meaningful by coincidence. This very Brahman, at the beginning of creation, within the womb of space, shines forth by itself, becoming self-existent, undecaying, and immortal. “He has neither body nor actions, neither agency nor latent tendencies; he is pure consciousness-space, pervaded by the mass of awareness. There is not even a trace of previous webs of latent impressions in him; he is simply of the nature of space, just as radiance is of the nature of weight. He is perceived only through pure sensation; when even pure sensation subsides, such a one is not seen. “Therefore, just as consciousness-space is, so are its apprehensions; how, then, could earth and the rest arise here, and in what manner? In the attempt to seize this, O Death, do not strive; for space can never be grasped by anyone at any time. “Brahman alone has been described to me, O Brahmin, by my great-grandfather: self-born, unborn, one in essence, the consciousness-self—this is my conviction.” Thus, O Rama, I have told you about Brahman and the ancient dispute between Death and Yama over this profound matter. In a certain Manvantara, when Death, devourer of all, was seizing beings, he gained strength and began his own undertaking in the realm of the lotus-born.