यः कीटस् तालकन्दान्तर् दंशको य उदुम्बरे । यः प्राजिको विन्ध्यवने स त्वं पुत्र ममानुजः
You who were the insect inside a palm root, the biting gnat in a fig tree, and the peacock in the Vindhya forest—O son, you are my younger brother.
हिमवत्कन्दराभूर्जतरुत्वग्रन्ध्रकोटरे । पिपीलको यष् षण् मासान् सो ऽयं त्वम् अनुजो मम
That ant which dwelt for six months in the crevice of the bark of a birch tree in a cave of the Himalayas—that was you, my younger brother.
सुह्मसीमान्तकुग्रामगोमये यश् च वृश्चिकः । सार्धं संवत्सरं साधो सो ऽयं त्वम् अनुजो मम
And that scorpion which lived for a year and a half in a dung heap in a remote village at the border of Suhma—that too was you, my younger brother.
पुलिन्दीस्तनपीठेषु निलीनं येन कानने । षट्पदेनेव पद्मेषु सो ऽयं त्वम् अनुजो मम
And that bee which hid in the breasts of a tribal woman in the forest, just as a bee in a lotus—that too was you, my younger brother.
एतास्व् अन्यासु चान्यासु बह्वीषु जनयोनिषु । जातो ऽसि जम्बुद्वीपे ऽस्मिन् पुरा शतसहस्रशः
In these and many other countless wombs, you have been born on this Jambudvīpa, thousands and hundreds of thousands of times before.
इत्थं तवात्मनश् चैव प्राक्तनं वासनाक्रमम् । पश्यामि सूक्ष्मया बुद्ध्या सम्यग्दर्शनशुद्धया
In this way, I perceive with subtle intellect, purified by true insight, the sequence of your own past tendencies and mine as well.
ममापि बह्व्यो बहुधा योनयो मोहमन्थराः । समतीतास् स्मराम्य् अद्य ता ज्ञानोदितया दृशा
I too have passed through many, various wombs, weighed down by delusion; today I recall them with the vision awakened by knowledge.
त्रिगर्तेषु शुको भूत्वा हंसो भूत्वा सरित्तटे । पक्कणे वायसो भूत्वा जातो ऽहम् इह कानने
Having been a parrot in Trigarta, a swan on the riverbank, and a crow in Pakkaṇa, I was born here in this forest.
भुक्त्वा पुलिन्दतां विन्ध्ये कृत्वा वङ्गेषु वृक्षताम् । उष्ट्रत्वम् अतिवाह्याद्रौ जातो ऽहम् इह कानने
Having lived as a tribal in the Vindhya, as a tree in Vaṅga, and as a camel in the high mountains, I was born here in this forest.
यश् चातको हिमगिरौ यो राजा पुण्ड्रमण्डले । व्याघ्रो यस् सह्यकुञ्जेषु स एवेह तवाग्रजः
The same one who was a chataka bird in the Himalayas, who was a king in the land of Pundra, and who was a tiger in the Sahya mountains—he is now your elder brother here.
यो गृध्रो दशवर्षाणि यो मृगो मासपञ्चकम् । यस् समानां शतं सिंहस् स एवेह तवाग्रजः
The one who was a vulture for ten years, who was a deer for five months, and who was a lion for a hundred years—he is now your elder brother here.
अन्ध्रग्रामचकोरेण तुखारनृपवाजिना । श्रीशैलाचार्यपुत्रेण मयेदं तव कथ्यते
With the body of a chakora in the Andhra village, as a horse of the Tukhara king, and as the son of a teacher on Mount Shri Shaila, I am telling you this.
सर्वे विविधसंरम्भा विविधाचारचेष्टिताः । विलासा जन्मनां भ्रातस् स्मर्यन्ते प्राक्तना मया
All the various efforts and diverse behaviors, the pleasures of many births, brother, are remembered by me as things of the past.
एवं स्थिते जगज्जाताव् आवयोश् शतशो गताः । पितरो मातरश् चैव भ्रातरस् सुहृदस् तथा
In this world as it stands, hundreds of fathers, mothers, brothers, and friends have passed for both of us.
कांस् तान् समनुशोचावो न शोचावश् च कान् अपि । बन्धून् किं वापि शोचाव ईदृश्य् एव जगत्स्थितिः
Which of them should we grieve for, and which should we not? Or why should we grieve for any relatives at all, since such is the nature of the world?
अनन्ताः पितरो यान्ति यान्त्य् अनन्ताश् च मातरः । इह संसारिणां पुंसां वनपादपपर्णवत्
Endless fathers come and go, endless mothers as well, for those who wander in this world, like leaves of trees in a forest.
किं प्रमाणम् अतः पुत्र दुःखस्यात्र सुखस्य वा । तस्मात् सर्वं परित्यज्य तिष्ठावस् स्वस्थतां गतौ
What certainty is there, my son, of sorrow or happiness here? Therefore, abandoning everything, let us remain established in equanimity.
प्रपञ्चभावनां त्यक्त्वा मनस्य् अहम् इति स्थिताम् । तां गतिं गच्छ भद्रं ते यां यान्ति गतिकोविदाः
Abandon the conception of the world and remain established in the mind as 'I am'; proceed toward that state, blessed one, which is attained by those skilled in the path.
इहाजवञ्जवीभावं पतनोत्पतनात्मकम् । नानुशोचन्ति सुधियश् चिकित्सन्ते च केवलम्
Wise people do not grieve over the fleeting and unstable nature of existence here, which is characterized by rising and falling; they simply treat it as it is.
भावाभावविनिर्मुक्तं जरामरणवर्जितम् । संस्मरात्मानम् अव्यग्रो मा विमूढमना भव
Recall your own self, free from both existence and non-existence, untouched by old age and death; remain unperturbed and do not let your mind be confused.
न ते दुःखं न ते जन्म न ते माता न ते पिता । आत्मैवासि न सद्बुद्धे त्वम् अन्यः कश्चिद् एव हि
There is no suffering for you, no birth, no mother, no father; you are only the Self, O wise one, and truly, there is no other.
अस्यां संसारयात्रायां नानाभिनयदायिनः । अज्ञा एव नटास् साधो रसभावसमन्विताः
In this journey of worldly existence, those who enact various roles are merely ignorant actors, O noble one, endowed with the moods of different sentiments.
मध्यस्थदृष्टयस् स्वस्था यथाप्राप्तार्थदर्शिनः । तज्ज्ञास् तु प्रेक्षका एव साक्षिधर्मे व्यवस्थिताः
Those who are impartial, established in themselves, and see things as they come, are the observers; while those who know the truth are witnesses, abiding in the witness principle.
कर्तारो ऽपि न कर्तारो यथा दीपा निशागमे । आलोककर्मणाम् एवं तज्ज्ञा लोकस्थिताव् इह
Even those who act are not truly actors, just as lamps at night are only the agents of illumination; likewise, those who know the truth are only agents of worldly existence here.
प्रतिबिम्बैर् न दूष्यन्ते स्वात्मबिम्बगतैर् अपि । यथा दर्पणरत्नाद्यास् तथा कार्यैर् महाधियः
Great minds are not tainted by reflections, even those arising from their own self-image, just as mirrors and jewels are not affected by the images within them, nor by their functions.
सर्वैषणामयकलङ्कविवर्जितेन स्वच्छात्मभावकलितेन हृदब्जमध्ये । पुत्रात्मनात्मनि महामणिनामुनैव सन्त्यज्य सम्भ्रमम् अलं परितोषम् एहि
With a mind free from all taints of desire, pure and established in the essence of the Self within the lotus of the heart, O child, abandon agitation and attain complete contentment here and now.
एवं प्रबोधितस् तेन तदा पुण्येन पावनः । प्रबोधम् आप प्राकाश्यं प्रभात इव भूतलम्
Thus, awakened by that virtuous one, he became pure and radiant, like the earth illuminated at dawn.
उभाव् अपि ततस् सिद्धौ ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगौ । विचेरतुर् वने तस्मिन् यावदिच्छम् अनिन्दितौ
Both, accomplished in knowledge and realization, wandered blamelessly in that forest as they wished.
ततः कदाचित् कालेन निर्वाणपदम् आगतौ । तौ विदेहौ गतस्नेहौ दीपाव् इव शमं गतौ
Then, after some time, they attained the state of liberation; freed from attachment to the body, they entered peace like lamps extinguished.
एवं प्राग्भुक्तदेहानाम् अनन्ता धनबन्धुजाः । आशाः किं गृह्यते ताभ्यः किं वा सन्त्यज्यते ऽनघ
Thus, for those whose bodies have been enjoyed before, endless hopes arise from wealth and kin; what is there to gain or renounce from them, O sinless one?