वासनावलितो जीवो यात्य् उत्सृज्य शरीरकम् । कपिर् वनतरुं त्यक्त्वा तर्वन्तरम् इवास्थितः
The living being, carried by tendencies, departs after leaving the body, just as a monkey, leaving one tree, takes up residence in another.
पुनस् तद् अपि सन्त्यज्य प्रयात्य् अन्यद् अपि क्षणात् । अन्यस्मिन् वितते देशे काले ऽन्यस्मिंश् च राघव
Again, even that is abandoned, and in a moment one goes to another; in another expanse of place and in another time, O Raghava.
इतश् चेतश् च नीयन्ते जीवा वासनया स्वया । चिरं तदुपजीविन्या धूर्तधात्र्येव बालकाः
Driven here and there by their own tendencies, living beings are led about for a long time by that which sustains them, like children by a cunning nurse.
वासनारज्जुवलिता जीर्णाः पर्वतकुक्षिषु । जरयन्त्य् अतिदुःखेन जीवितं जीवजीवकाः
Worn out, bound by the cords of tendencies, they dwell in the wombs of mountains; living beings, tormented by great suffering, wear out their lives.
जरढजगदुपोढदुःखभाराः परिणतजर्जरजीविताश् श्वसन्त्यः । हृदयजनितवासनानुवृत्त्या नरकभरे जनताश् चिरं पतन्ति
Burdened by the weight of old age and the world's sorrows, with lives battered by time, they breathe on; following the impulses born of the heart, people fall long into the depths of hell.
इत्य् उक्तवत्य् अथ मुनौ दिवसो जगाम सायन्तनाय विधये ऽस्तम् इनो जगाम । स्नातुं सभा कृतनमस्करणा जगाम श्यामाक्षये रविकरैश् च सहाजगाम
When the sage had spoken thus, the day moved toward evening, and the sun set; the assembly, having offered their salutations, went to bathe, and the rays of the sun departed as well.
देहे जाते न जातो ऽसि देहे नष्टे न नश्यसि । त्वम् आत्मा निष्कलङ्कात्मा देहस् तव न कश्चन
When the body is born, you are not born; when the body perishes, you do not perish. You are the self, the stainless self; the body is not yours at all.
यः कुण्डबदरन्यायो या घटाकाशसंस्थितिः । तत्रैकस्मिन् क्षते क्षीणे द्वे इति व्यर्थकल्पना
The analogy of the well and the berry, the existence of space in a jar—when one is broken or destroyed, to imagine that both are lost is a futile notion.
विनाशिनि विनष्टे ऽस्मिन् देहे स्वां स्थितिम् आगते । विनश्यामीति यः खेदी तं धिग् अस्त्व् अन्धचेतनम्
When this perishable body is destroyed and your own true state is attained, whoever grieves thinking 'I am destroyed'—let that blind-minded one be condemned.
यादृशो रश्मिरथयोस् स्नेहोद्वेगविवर्जितः । सम्बन्धस् तादृशो देहचित्तेन्द्रियसुखैश् चितः
Just as the connection between a sunbeam and a chariot is free from attachment or agitation, so too is the connection among body, mind, senses, and pleasures.
गतेतरेतरापेक्षस् सरःपङ्कोपलाम्भसाम् । यथा राघव सम्बन्धस् तथा देहेन्द्रियात्मनाम्
As the relationship among mud, stones, and water in a pond depends on their mutual presence, O Raghava, so is the connection among body, senses, and self.
यादृशो ऽब्धिधराद्यानां निरिच्छापरिदेवनः । संयोगो विप्रयोगश् च तादृशो देहदेहिनाम्
As the union and separation of clouds, mountains, and the like occur without desire or sorrow, so is the coming together and parting of body and embodied self.
यथा कल्पितवेतालविकारभयभीतयः । मिथ्यैव कल्पिता एते तथा स्नेहसुखादयः
Just as the fear of changes in an imagined ghost is itself imagined and false, so too are attachment, pleasure, and the like merely imagined.
भूतपञ्चकसम्पिण्डाद् रचिता जनताः पृथक् । एकस्माद् एव विटपाद् विचित्रा इव पुत्रिकाः
People, each formed from the aggregate of the five elements, are distinct, just as various dolls are fashioned from a single tree.
काष्ठेतरत् काष्ठनरे किञ्चिद् अन्यन् न विद्यते । भूतपिण्डेतरद् देहे किञ्चिद् अन्यन् न विद्यते
In a wooden man, there is nothing other than wood; likewise, in the body, which is a mass of elements, there is nothing other than those elements.
भूतपञ्चकविक्षोभनाशोत्पादेषु हे जनाः । हर्षामर्षविषादानां किं भवन्तो वशं गताः
O people, when the five elements are stirred, created, or destroyed, why do you come under the sway of joy, anger, or sorrow?
को नामातिशयः पुंसां स्त्रीनाम्न्य् अपरनाम्नि वा । केवले भूतसङ्घाते प्रोद्भूते ऽर्जुनवातवत्
What real distinction exists between men and women, or any other name, when only a mass of elements has arisen, like a whirlwind of dust?
सन्निवेशांशवैचित्र्यम् अज्ञानाम् एव तुष्टये । तज्ज्ञानां तु यथाभूतभूतपञ्चकदर्शनम्
The diversity of forms and arrangements exists only to satisfy the ignorant; for those who know, there is simply the perception of the five elements as they truly are.
मिथश् शिलापुत्रिकयोर् यथैकोपलसंस्थयोः । श्लिष्टयोर् अपि नो रागस् तथा चित्तशरीरयोः
Just as there is no attachment between two clay dolls, even when they are pressed together on the same stone, so too there is no real attachment between mind and body.
मृत्पुंसां यादृशो ऽन्योऽन्यम् आशयस् सङ्गमे भवेत् । बुद्धीन्द्रियात्ममनसाम् सङ्गमे तादृशो ऽस्तु ते
Let the meeting of intellect, senses, self, and mind be for you just as the mutual association of clay figures—without deeper intent or purpose.
नान्योऽन्यस्नेहसम्बन्धभाजनं शैलपुत्रिकाः । देहेन्द्रियात्मप्राणाश् च कस्यात्र परिदेवना
Clay dolls do not possess any real bond of affection with each other; likewise, body, senses, self, and life-breath—who, then, should lament over these?
इतश् चेतश् च यातानि यथा संश्लेषयत्य् अलम् । तरङ्गस् तृणजालानि तथा भूतानि भूतकृत्
Just as waves gather together blades of grass from here and there, so too do the elements, fashioned by the elements, bring beings together.
संयुज्यन्ते वियुज्यन्ते तृणान्य् अब्धिजले यथा । मुक्तान्तःकलनं देहभूतान्य् आत्मनि वै तथा
As blades of grass in the water come together and separate, so too the elements that make up the body come together and dissolve within the self.
आत्मा चित्ततया देहभूतान्य् आश्लेषयन् स्थितः । तृणान्य् आवर्तवृत्त्यान्तःकलनोन्मुक्तम् अम्ब्व् इव
The self, identified with mind, holds together the elements of the body, just as water, by the motion of its currents, gathers blades of grass and then releases them.
प्रबोधाच् चित्ततां त्यक्त्वा व्रजत्य् आत्मात्मतां स्वयम् । स्वस्पन्दवशतो वारि त्यक्त्वावर्तम् इवाच्छताम्
Upon awakening, the self abandons its identification with mind and attains its own true nature, just as water, by its own movement, leaves behind the whirlpool and becomes clear again.
ततो विविक्तं भूतौघं देहसञ्ज्ञं प्रपश्यति । वातस्कन्धगतो जन्तुर् वसुधामण्डलं यथा
Then, he perceives the mass of elements, known as the body, as distinct—like a living being carried by the wind perceives the earth's sphere.
पृथग्भूतगणं त्यक्त्वा देहातीतो भवत्य् अजः । परं प्रकाशम् आयाति सूर्यकान्त इवाहनि
Having abandoned the multitude of separate elements, the unborn one transcends the body and attains the supreme radiance, like a sunstone in daylight.
जानात्य् अथात्मनात्मानं मानमेयामयोज्झितम् । मुक्तः क्षीवतयेवान्तस् स्वां संविदम् अनुस्मरन्
Then he knows himself by himself, free from all measures and objects of measurement; liberated, he inwardly remembers his own awareness, like a pot emptied of water.
आत्मैकस् स्पन्दते चित्खे वस्तुजालैर् इवोदितः । तरङ्गकणकल्लोलैर् अनन्ताम्ब्व् अम्बुधाव् इव
The one Self alone vibrates in the sky of consciousness, appearing as clusters of objects—just as countless waves, droplets, and surges arise in the infinite ocean.
एवम्प्रायमहाबोधा वीतरागा गतैनसः । जीवन्मुक्ताश् चरन्तीह महासत्त्वपदं गताः
Thus, those of great awakening, free from passion and sin, who have attained the state of supreme being, move about here as liberated while living.