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.
व्युत्थितस्य भवत्य् एषा समाधिस्थस्य चानघ । ज्ञस्य केवलम् अज्ञस्य न भवत्य् एव बोधजा
O sinless one, this arises in one who is active and in one established in samadhi; it occurs only in the knower, not at all in the ignorant, for it is born of awakening.
अस्यां दृशि स्थितास् सर्वे जीवन्मुक्ता महाशयाः । सिद्धा रसा इव भुवि व्योमवीथ्याम् इवानिलाः
All the great ones who are liberated while living abide in this vision, like alchemical essences on earth, like winds in the pathways of the sky.
अस्मत्प्रभृतयस् सर्वे नारदाद्याश् च राघव । ब्रह्मविष्ण्वीश्वराद्याश् च दृष्टाव् अस्यां व्यवस्थिताः
All like us, and Narada and others, O Raghava, and Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and the rest, are established in this vision.
एताम् आलम्ब्य पदवीं समस्तभयनाशिनीम् । उद्दालको ऽसाव् अवसद् यावदिच्छं जगद्गृहे
Relying on this path, which destroys all fear, Uddalaka dwelt in the house of the world as long as he wished.
अथ कालेन महता बुद्धिस् तस्य बभूव ह । विदेहमुक्तस् तिष्ठामि देहं त्यक्त्वेति निश्चला
Then, after a long time, his mind became firmly resolved: 'I will remain liberated from the body, having abandoned the body.'
एवं निश्चयवान् अद्रेर् गुहायां पल्लवासने । बद्धपद्मासनस् तस्थाव् आमीलितविलोचनः
Thus determined, he sat in the cave of the mountain, on a seat of leaves, in the lotus posture, with eyes closed.
संयम्य गुदसंरोधाद् द्वाराणि नव चेतसः । मात्रास्पर्शान् अचिन्वानो भावितस्वाङ्गचिद्घनः
Restraining the nine doors of the mind by contraction of the anus, not attending to sense contacts, he remained absorbed, his body and consciousness unified.
संरुद्धप्राणपवनस् समसंस्थानकन्धरः । तालुमूलतलालग्नजिह्वामूलोल्लसन्मुखः
With the breath held and the neck steady and upright, the mouth shines with the root of the tongue pressed against the palate.
न बहिर् नान्तरे नाधो नोर्ध्वे नार्थे न शून्यके । संयोजितमनोदृष्टिर् दन्तैर् दन्तान् असंस्पृशन्
Neither outside nor inside, neither below nor above, neither in meaning nor in emptiness, with the mind joined to vision, the teeth do not touch each other.
प्राणप्रवाहसंरोधसमस् स्वच्छाननच्छविः । अङ्गचित्संविदुत्तानरोमकण्टकिताङ्गभूः
Balanced in the restraint of the breath’s flow, with a clear and radiant face, the body becomes thrilled and bristling with the rising awareness of consciousness.