अथ वा निग्रहं प्राप्तं करोम्य् एतेन वै विना । वर्तते न प्रजैवेयं विना वारि सरिद् यथा
Or, if restraint is required, I will accomplish it without him; for this world does not continue without him, just as a river cannot flow without water.
हा कष्टम् एष निग्राह्यो दिष्ट्यानुग्राह्य एष मे । दिष्ट्याद्य सुखवान् अस्मि कष्टम् अद्यास्मि दुःखवान्
Alas, it is hard that he must be restrained; by fortune, he is to be favored by me. By fortune, today I am happy; alas, today I am miserable.
इति दोलायितं चेतो न विशश्राम भूपतेः । एकत्राम्बुमहावर्ते चिरं तृणम् इव भ्रमत्
Thus, the king’s mind, tossed back and forth, found no rest, whirling for a long time like a blade of grass in a great eddy of water.
अथैकदा गृहं तस्य माण्डव्यो मुनिर् आययौ । भ्रान्ताशेषककुप्कुञ्जो वासवस्येव नारदः
Then, one day, the sage Mandavya came to his house, wandering through every mountain cave, like Narada to Indra’s abode.
तम् असौ पूजयाम् आस पप्रच्छ च महामुनिम् । सन्देहदुर्द्रूमस्तम्भपरशुं सर्वकोविदम्
He honored him and questioned the great sage, who was like an axe to the tree of doubt, skilled in all knowledge.
भवदागमनेनास्मि मुने निर्वृतिम् आगतः । परमां वसुधापीठं सम्प्राप्त इव माधवे
O sage, by your arrival I have found peace, as if I have attained the supreme seat of the earth in spring.
अद्य तिष्ठाम्य् अहं नाथ धन्यानां धुरि धर्मतः । विकासि रविणेवाब्जं यत् त्वयास्मि विलोकितः
Today, O master, I stand at the forefront of the blessed by virtue of righteousness, just as a lotus blooms when beheld by the rising sun.
भगवन् सर्वधर्मज्ञ चिरं विश्रान्तवान् असि । तद् इमं संशयं छिन्द्धि ममार्कस् तिमिरं यथा
Lord, knower of all dharma, you have long rested; therefore, dispel this doubt of mine, as the sun removes darkness.
महतां सङ्गमेनार्तिः कस्य नाम न नश्यति । सन्देहं तु पराम् आर्तिम् आहुर् आर्तिविदो जनाः
By the company of the great, whose suffering is not destroyed? Yet those who know affliction say that doubt is the highest pain.
मन्निग्रहानुग्रहजा मद्भृत्यवपुषि स्थिताः । कषन्ति माम् अलं चिन्ता गजं हरिनखा इव
The worries arising from your restraint or favor, residing in the form of my servant, torment me greatly, like lion’s claws tormenting an elephant.
तद् यथा समतोदेति सूर्यांशुर् इव सर्वगा । मतौ मम मुने मान्य तथा करुणया कुरु
Therefore, O venerable sage, by your compassion, make equanimity arise in my mind as the sun’s rays arise everywhere.
स्वायत्तेन स्वसंस्थेन स्वेनोपायेन भूपते । एषा मनःपेलवता हिमवत् प्रविलीयते
O king, by its own power, abiding in itself and by its own means, this mind, like snow, melts away on Mount Meru.
स्वविचारणयैवाशु शाम्यत्य् अन्तर् मनोज्वरः । शरदागममात्रेण मिहिका महती यथा
By self-inquiry alone, the fever of the mind quickly subsides, just as great mist vanishes at the mere arrival of autumn.
स्वेनैव मनसा स्वानि स्वशरीरगतानि च । विचारयेन्द्रियाण्य् अन्तः कीदृशान्य् अथ कानि वा
With your own mind, examine your own senses, including those residing in your body: what are they like, and what are they?
को ऽहं कथम् इदं किं वा कथं मरणजन्मनी । विचारयान्तर् एतत् त्वं महत्ताम् अलम् एष्यसि
Who am I? How is this? What is this? How do birth and death occur? Reflect inwardly on these matters, and you will attain greatness.
विचारेण परिज्ञातस्वभावस्य सतस् तव । हर्षामर्षदृशश् चेतस् तोलयिष्यन्ति नाचलम्
When you have understood your true nature through inquiry, your mind will not be disturbed by feelings of joy or resentment.
मनस् स्वं रूपम् उत्सृज्य शमम् एष्यति विज्वरम् । भूतपूर्ववपुर् भूत्वा तरङ्गः पयसीव ते
Your mind, having abandoned its own form, will reach peace free from affliction, becoming like a wave that returns to its previous state in water.
तिष्ठद् एव मनो रूपं परित्यक्ष्यति ते ऽनघ । कलङ्कविकलं काल ऋत्वन्तरगताव् इव
Even while the mind remains, it will relinquish its form, O sinless one, just as time leaves behind its blemished and incomplete seasons.
अनुकम्प्या भविष्यन्ति श्रीमन्तस् सर्व एव ते । दृष्टतत्त्वस्य तुष्टस्य जनाः पितुर् इवावनौ
All the prosperous people will become compassionate toward you, as people are toward a satisfied father who has seen the truth.
विवेकदीपदृष्टात्मा मेर्वब्धिनभसाम् अपि । अधः करिष्यसि नृप महत्ताम् उत्तमार्थदाम्
With the lamp of discernment seeing the Self, you will bring even Mount Meru, the ocean, and the sky below you, O king, attaining supreme greatness.
महत्ताम् आगतं चेतस् तव संसारवृत्तिषु । न निमङ्क्ष्यति हे साधो गोष्पदेष्व् इव वारणः
When your mind attains greatness in the activities of the world, O noble one, it will not sink, just as an elephant does not sink in a puddle.
कृपणं तु मनो राजन् पेलवे ऽपि निमज्जति । कार्ये गोष्पदतोये ऽपि जीर्णाङ्गो मषको यथा
O King, the pitiable mind sinks even in the slightest matter, just as an aged insect is submerged even in a puddle of water.
चेतो वासनया पङ्के कीटवत् परिमज्जति । दृश्यमात्रावलम्बिन्या स्वया दीनतया तया
The mind, through the mire of its tendencies, becomes entangled like a worm, due to its own weakness, clinging only to what is seen.
तावत् तावन् महाबाहो स्वयं सन्त्यज्यते ऽखिलम् । यावद् यावत् परालोकः परमात्मैव शिष्यते
O mighty-armed one, everything is gradually abandoned by itself, until only the Supreme Self remains at the end, when the other world alone is left.
तावत् प्रक्षाल्यते धातुर् यावद् धेमैव शिष्यते । तावद् आलोक्यते सर्वं यावद् आत्मैव लक्ष्यते
Just as the ore is washed until only pure gold remains, so all is examined until only the Self is recognized.
सर्वं सर्विकया बुद्ध्या स्वयं सर्वत्र सर्वदा । सर्वथा सम्परित्यज्य स्वात्मनात्मोपलभ्यते
Everything, by means of an all-encompassing understanding, is wholly and always relinquished everywhere; then, by one's own Self, the Self is realized.
यावत् सर्वं न सन्त्यक्तं तावद् आत्मा न लभ्यते । सर्ववस्तुपरित्यागे शेष आत्मेति कथ्यते
As long as all is not abandoned, the Self is not attained; when all objects are renounced, what remains is called the Self.
यावद् अन्यन् न सन्त्यक्तं तावत् सामान्यम् एव हि । वस्तु नासाद्यते साधो स्वात्मलाभे तु का कथा
As long as the other is not abandoned, only the general thing is reached; O noble one, the true thing is not attained—what then of attaining the Self?
यत्र सर्वात्मना स्वात्मलाभाय पतति स्वयम् । त्यक्तान्यकार्यः प्राप्नोति तन् नाम नृप नेतरत्
Where one wholly casts oneself for the attainment of the Self, having abandoned all other pursuits, O King, that alone is attainment—not anything else.
आत्मावलोकनार्थं तु तस्मात् सर्वं परित्यजेत् । सर्वं किञ्चित् परित्यज्य यच् छिष्टं तत् परं पदम्
Therefore, for the sake of self-realization, one should abandon everything; having given up all things whatsoever, what remains is the supreme state.