इन्द्रियैर् इन्द्रियेष्व् अङ्गैर् मनो मनसि वल्गति । चिद् अलुप्तवपुः केन सम्बद्धं कस्य किं कथम्
The senses move among the sense-objects, the limbs among the limbs, the mind wanders within the mind; consciousness, whose form is never lost, is not bound—by whom, to what, or how?
उपलायश्शलाकानां सम्बन्धो न यथा मिथः । तथैकत्रापि दृष्टानां देहेन्द्रियमनश्चिताम्
Just as there is no real connection among the sticks in a bundle, so too, even when seen together, there is no true union among body, senses, mind, and consciousness.
असदभ्युत्थिते व्यर्थम् अहङ्कारमहाभ्रमे । ममेदम् इदम् अस्येति विपर्यस्तम् इदं जगत्
When the great delusion of ego arises from unreality, this world becomes distorted, with thoughts like 'this is mine,' 'this belongs to that,' and so on, all in vain.
अतत्त्वालोकजातेयम् अहङ्कारचमत्कृतिः । तापेन हिमलेखेव तत्त्वालोकेन लीयते
This marvel of ego, born from a false perception of reality, dissolves in the light of truth just as frost vanishes in the warmth of sunlight.
आत्मनो व्यतिरेकेण न किञ्चिद् अपि विद्यते । शब्दब्रह्मेति तत् तत्त्वम् एतत् तद् भावयाम्य् अलम्
Apart from the Self, nothing whatsoever exists. This is the truth called 'sound-Brahman'; this alone I contemplate—enough.
अहङ्कारभ्रमस्यास्य जातस्याकाशवर्णवत् । अपुनस्स्मरणं मन्ये नूनं विस्मरणं वरम्
I consider it surely better to forget, never to recall again, this delusion of ego that has arisen, like the color of the sky.
समूलं परिविस्मृत्य चिरायाहङ्कृतिभ्रमम् । तिष्ठाम्य् आत्मनि सत्यात्मा शरत्खे शरदीव खम्
Having completely forgotten, root and all, the long-standing delusion of ego, I remain established in the true Self, like the autumn sky in the clear expanse of space.
ददात्य् अनर्थनिचयं विकासयति दुष्कृतम् । विस्तारयति सन्तापम् अहम्भावो ऽनुसंहितः
When the sense of 'I' is present, it brings forth heaps of misfortune, expands wrongdoing, and spreads suffering.
स्फुरत्य् अहङ्कारघने हृद्व्योम्नि सलिलात्मनि । विकसत्य् अभितः कायकदम्बे दोषमञ्जरी
Within the heart's sky, dense with ego and water-like nature, the cluster of faults blooms openly throughout the body.
मरणम् जीवितोपान्तं जीवितं मरणान्तगम् । भावो ऽभावावधिच्छिन्नः कष्टेयं दुःखवेदना
Death is the end of life; life concludes in death. This state, cut off between existence and nonexistence, is a painful experience of suffering.
इदं लब्धम् इदं प्राप्स्यामीत्य् अन्तर्दाहकारिणी । न शाम्यत्य् अर्करत्नानां ग्रीष्मे ऽर्चिर् इव दुर्धियाम्
The thought, 'I have gained this, I will obtain that,' acts as an inner fire; it does not cease, like the blazing rays of gems in summer for those with misguided minds.
नास्तीदम् इदम् अस्तीति चिन्ता धावत्य् अहङ्कृतिम् । जडाशया जडाम् अभ्रमाला शैलावलीम् इव
The mind races with thoughts of 'this does not exist, this exists,' driven by ego, dull in its foundation, like a mass of clouds along a mountain range.
अहङ्कारे परिक्षीणे शुष्कस् संसारपादपः । भूयः प्रयच्छत्य् अरसो न पाषाणवद् अङ्कुरम्
When ego is diminished, the tree of worldly existence dries up; it no longer produces sap or sprouts, like a stone.
सुतृष्णाकृष्णभोगिन्यो देहद्रुमकृतालयाः । क्वापि यान्ति विचारात्मन्य् आगते विनतासुते
The black serpents of intense craving, dwelling in the tree of the body, depart somewhere when inquiry arises and humility is born.
असदभ्युत्थिते विश्वे तज्जा वयम् असन्मयाः । असन्मयपरिस्पन्दे त्वम् अहं चेति कः क्रमः
When the universe arises from the unreal, we are made of that unreality; in the vibration of unreality, what is the sequence of 'you' and 'I'?
इदं जगद् उदेत्य् आदाव् अकारणम् अकारणात् । यद् अकारणम् उच्छूनं तत् सद् इत्य् उच्यते कथम्
This world arises at first without a cause, from the causeless; how can that which is causeless and perished be called real?
अपर्यन्तं पुरा कालं मृदि कुम्भ इवाकृतः । देहो ऽभवद् इदानीं तु तथैवान्ते भविष्यति
In the beginning, time was endless, like clay before a pot is shaped; now the body has come into being, and so it will be at the end.
मध्ये नरवयोमात्रं कञ्चित् कालं तु चञ्चलम् । आद्यन्तसोम्यते त्यक्त्वा वारि वीचितया यथा
In the middle, there is only a brief, restless span of human life; abandoning the beginning and end, it is like a wave leaving water.
अस्मिन् क्षणपरिस्पन्दे देहे विशरणोन्मुखे । तरङ्गे च निबद्धास्था ये हतास् ते कुदृष्टयः
In this momentary flicker, as the body is inclined toward dissolution, those who cling to the wave are destroyed—they are of misguided vision.
प्राक् पुरस्ताच् च सर्वाणि सन्ति वस्तूनि चाभितः । मध्यस्फुटत्व एतेषां केवास्था हतरूपिणि
Before and after, all things exist everywhere; their clarity in the middle is only a temporary state—what remains when the form is destroyed?
चित्त पूर्वं पुरस्ताच् च विदेहं शान्तम् इत्य् असि । सद् असद् वा खसंलीनं मध्ये ऽस्मिन् किं तवोग्रता
Mind existed before and after, and the bodiless is peaceful; whether real or unreal, merged in space, what is your intensity in this middle?
यथा स्वप्नविकारेषु यथा सम्भ्रमदृष्टिषु । यथा वा मदलीलासु यथा नौयानसम्भ्रमे
As in the transformations of dreams, as in confused perceptions, as in the play of intoxication, as in the agitation of a boat's journey,
यथा धातुविकारेषु यथा वेन्द्रियविप्लवे । यथातिसम्भ्रमानन्ददोषावेशवशेषु च
As in the changes of bodily elements, as in the disruption of the senses, as in the overpowering of excessive agitation, delight, and fault.
दृश्यते क्षीयते चैव रूपं सदसतोश् चलम् । तथैवेदम् इयं त्व् एषा काले न्यूनातिरिक्तता
The form, unstable, of both existence and non-existence, is seen and perishes; likewise, this—here and now—has deficiency and excess in time.
सा च त्वया कृता नित्यं चित्त दुःखसुखोदयैः । यथा वियोगसंयोगयामिन्योर् अनुरागिणाम्
And this is made by you continually, mind, through the arising of sorrow and joy; just as union and separation occur for those who are attached.
त्वम् अप्य् एवासदाभासं मिथ्या सद् इव लक्ष्यसे । मृगतृष्णेव तेनैतत् त्वत्कृतं सत् कथं भवेत्
You too are perceived as the semblance of the unreal, falsely appearing as real; like a mirage, therefore, how can this, made by you, be real?
यद् इदं किञ्चिद् आभोगि तत् सर्वं दृश्यमण्डलम् । अवस्त्व् इति विनिर्णीय मनो याह्य् अमनःपदम्
Whatever is experienced here, all of it is the domain of the visible; having determined it as unreal, let the mind proceed to the state beyond mind.
अवस्त्व् इदम् इति स्फारे रूढे मनसि निश्चये । हेमन्त इव पद्मिन्यः क्षीयन्ते भोगवासनाः
When the conviction 'this is unreal' is firmly established in the expansive mind, desires for enjoyment wither away like lotuses in winter.
चिता दृष्टात्मना नूनं सन्त्यक्तमननौजसा । मनसा वीतरागेण स्वयं स्वस्थेन भूयते
Certainly, when the mind is abandoned by the force of one who perceives the Self, with a mind free from passion, one becomes established in oneself.
परमात्मानले क्षिप्तसंवित्त्यवयवं स्वयम् । दग्धात्मकम् अलं चित्तं शुद्धताम् एति शाश्वतीम्
When the fragments of consciousness are cast into the fire of the Supreme Self, the mind, burned within, attains everlasting purity.