क्षणं वर्षसहस्रं वा तत्र लब्ध्वा स्थितिं मनः । रतिम् एति न भोगौघे दृष्टस्वर्ग इवावनौ
Whether for a moment or a thousand years, having attained that state, the mind finds no delight in a flood of enjoyments, just as one who has seen heaven finds none on earth.
तत् पदं सा गतिश् शान्ता तच् छ्रेयश् शाश्वतं शिवम् । तत्र विश्रान्तिम् आप्तस्य न भूयो जायते श्रमः
That state is the peaceful path, the highest good, the eternal auspiciousness; for one who has attained repose there, fatigue never arises again.
तत् पदं साधवः प्राप्य दृश्यदृष्टिम् इमां पुनः । न यान्ति खदिरोद्यानं लब्धचैत्ररथा इव
Having reached that state, the virtuous do not return to this vision of the seen and the seer, just as those who have gained Chaitraratha do not return to the garden on the mountain peak.
तां महानन्दपदवीं चित्तान्य् आसाद्य देहिनाम् । दृश्यं न बहु मन्यन्ते राजानो दीनताम् इव
Having attained that path of supreme bliss, the minds of embodied beings no longer value the visible, just as kings do not esteem poverty.
चेतस् तत्पदविश्रान्तं बुद्धं दृश्यदशां प्रति । कदर्थाद् बोधम् आयाति न यात्य् एवाथ वानघ
The mind, having found rest in that state and become awakened, regards the condition of the seen with indifference; sometimes it attains knowledge, or sometimes, O sinless one, it does not.
उद्दालको ऽथ षण्मासान् दूरोत्सारितसिद्धभूः । उषित्वोन्मिषतो ऽम्भोदकोशाद् अर्को मधाव् इव
Then Uddālaka, after six months, having been kept away from the realm of the perfected, dwelled as the sun emerges from the ocean’s womb in spring.
ददर्श सम्प्रबुद्धात्मा पुनः परमतेजसः । प्रणामलालसान् सिद्धांश् चन्द्रबिम्बवपुर्धरान्
With his awakened mind, he again beheld those radiant beings, bowing in reverence, whose bodies shone like the disc of the moon.
रमणीर् गौरमन्दाररेण्वभ्रामलचामराः । स्फुरत्पताकापटला द्युविमानपरम्पराः
He saw delightful women, fair as moonlight, with fans made of white mandāra pollen, fluttering banners, and a succession of celestial chariots.
अस्मदादीन् मुनीन् दर्भपवित्राङ्ककराम्बुजान् । विद्याधरीभिर् वलितान् विद्याधरपतीन् अपि
He saw sages like himself, holding darbha grass for purification in their lotus-like hands, surrounded by Vidyādharī women, and even the lords of the Vidyādharas.
ते तम् ऊचुर् महात्मानम् उद्दालकमुनिं तदा । प्रसादेन प्रणामान् नो भगवन्न् अवलोकय
Those beings then addressed the great sage Uddālaka, saying: 'By your grace, O revered one, look upon our respectful salutations.'
आरुह्येमं विमानं त्वम् एहि त्रैविष्टपं पुरं । स्वर्ग एव हि सीमान्तो जगत्सम्भोगसम्पदाम्
Ascend this celestial chariot and come to the city of the three worlds; for heaven is truly the boundary of all enjoyments in the universe.
आकल्पम् उचितान् भुङ्क्ष्व भोगान् अभिमतान् विभो । स्वर्गादिफलभोगार्थम् एवाशेषतपःक्रियाः
Enjoy, for as long as you wish, the pleasures suited to you, O mighty one; for all acts of austerity are performed solely for the enjoyment of rewards such as heaven.
हारचामरधारिण्यो विद्याधरवराङ्गनाः । पश्येमास् त्वाम् उपासीनाः करिण्यः करिणं यथा
Behold us, O best of sages, adorned with necklaces and fans, Vidyādhara maidens seated before you, as elephants before their lord.
कामो धर्मार्थयोस् सारः कामसाराश् शुचिस्मिताः । वसन्त इव मञ्जर्यस् स्वर्ग एव भवन्ति ताः
Desire is the essence of righteousness and wealth; those with pure smiles are the essence of desire, like blossoms in spring—they exist only in heaven.
एवं कथयतस् सिद्धान् अतिथीन् इत्य् असौ मुनिः । परिपूज्य यथान्यायम् अतिष्ठद् गतसम्भ्रमम्
Thus, as he spoke to the perfected beings, treating them as honored guests, that sage duly worshipped them and remained without agitation.
नाभ्यनन्दन् न तत्याज तां विभूतिं स धीरधीः । भोस् सिद्धा व्रजतेत्य् उक्त्वा स्वव्यापारपरो ऽभवत्
He neither rejoiced nor abandoned that glory; with steady mind, he simply said, 'O perfected ones, go,' and turned to his own duties.
अथ स्वकर्मनिरतं भोगेष्व् अरतिम् आगतम् । तम् उपास्य ययुस् सिद्धा दिनैः कतिपयैस् स्वयम्
Then, seeing him engaged in his own actions and indifferent to pleasures, the perfected beings, having honored him, departed after a few days.
जीवन्मुक्तस् स च मुनिर् विजहार यथासुखम् । यावदिच्छं वनान्तेषु मुनीनाम् आश्रमेषु च
That sage, liberated while living, wandered as he pleased in forest groves and in the hermitages of sages, as long as he wished.
मेरुमन्दरकैलासहिमवद्विन्ध्यसानुषु । द्वीपोपवनदिक्कुञ्जजङ्गलारण्यभूमिषु
On the slopes of Meru, Mandara, Kailasa, Himavat, and Vindhya, in islands, groves, directions, thickets, jungles, and forest lands.
ततः प्रभृति सम्प्राप्तपद उद्दालको द्विजः । गुहासु गिरिकुक्षीणां न्यवसद् ध्यानलीलया
From then on, the twice-born Uddalaka, having attained the state, dwelled in the caves of mountain hollows, absorbed in the play of meditation.
कदाचिद् अह्ना मासेन कदाचिद् वत्सरेण च । कदाचिद् वत्सरौघेन ध्यानासक्तो व्यबुध्यत
Sometimes after a day, sometimes after a month, sometimes after a year, or even after many years, absorbed in meditation, he would awaken.
उद्दालकस् तद् आरभ्य व्यवहारपरो ऽपि सन् । सुसमाहित एवासीच् चित्तत्त्वैकत्वम् आगतः
From that point onward, Uddālaka, though engaged in worldly affairs, remained perfectly composed, having attained unity with the essence of consciousness.
चित्तत्त्वैकघनाभ्यासान् महाचित्त्वम् उपेत्य सः । दृश्ये ऽस्मिंश् चित्ररविवन् नास्तम् आयान् न चोदयम्
Through continuous practice of the dense unity of consciousness, he reached the state of the great mind; in this visible world, like a radiant sun, he neither set nor rose.
समपरपदलाभप्राप्तिसंशान्तचेता दलितजननपाशः क्षीणसन्देहदोलः । शरदि खम् इव कान्तं व्याततं चोर्जितं च स्फुटम् अमलम् अलेखं तत् वपुस् स्वं बभार
With a mind pacified by equal attainment of both the highest and lowest states, freed from the bonds of birth, and with the wavering of doubt exhausted, he bore his own form—expansive, luminous, clear, spotless, and unmarked—like the beautiful autumn sky.
आत्मज्ञानदिनैकार्क मत्संशयतृणानल । अज्ञानदाहशीतांशो सत्तासामान्यम् ईश किम्
O Lord, what is the common essence of existence, whose sun is the day of self-knowledge, whose fire consumes the grass of my doubts, and whose moon cools the burning of ignorance?
यदा सङ्क्षीयते चित्तम् अभावात्यन्तभावनात् । चित्सामान्यस्वरूपस्य सत्तासामान्यता तदा
When the mind is diminished through the contemplation of absolute non-being, then the common essence of existence is the nature of universal consciousness.
नूनं चेत्यांशरहिता चिद् यदात्मनि लीयते । असद्रूपवद् अत्यच्छं सत्तासामान्यता तदा
Indeed, when consciousness, devoid of all objects, merges into itself, then the common essence of existence is supremely transparent, like something without form.
यदा सर्वाणि दृश्यानि संशान्तान्योऽन्यवेदनम् । स्वरूपेण स्वरूपाभं भाव्यन्ते समता तदा
When all perceived objects are pacified and there is no sense of otherness, then, by their own nature, they are regarded as resembling the true nature; that is equanimity.
कूर्माङ्गानीव दृश्यानि लीयन्ते स्वात्मनात्मनि । अभावितान्य् एव यदा सत्तासामान्यता तदा
Just as a turtle's limbs withdraw into itself, so all perceived objects dissolve into the self; when they are not imagined at all, then there is the common essence of existence.
दृष्टिर् एषा हि परमा सदेहादेहयोस् सदा । मुक्तयोस् सम्भवत्य् एव तुर्यातीतपदोपमा
This vision is indeed supreme, whether with body or without body, always; it arises only in the liberated, comparable to the state beyond the fourth.