स एवेदं च वदति स च वक्तुं न युज्यते । न तदन्यद् इदं नैतत् पश्य मायाम् अनामयाम्
He alone speaks as this, yet speaking does not truly apply to him. This is not other than that, nor is it not that; behold the flawless illusion.
नात्मायम् अयम् अप्य् आत्मा सञ्ज्ञाभेद इति स्वयम् । तेनैव सर्वगतया शक्त्या स्वात्मनि कल्पितः
This is not the Self, nor is that the Self; the difference in names arises by itself. By that all-pervading power, it is imagined within the Self.
संस्थितस् स हि सर्वत्र त्रिषु कालेषु भासुरः । सूक्ष्मत्वात् सुमहत्त्वाच् च केवलं न विभाव्यते
He is established everywhere, radiant in all three times; because of his subtlety and vastness, he simply cannot be perceived.
सत्स्व् अनन्तपदार्थेषु जीवत्वेनाभिबिम्बति । आत्मा पुर्यष्टकादर्शे स्वभाववशतस् स्वतः
Among the countless objects, the Self is reflected as the living being, just as it appears in the mirror of the eightfold subtle body, by its own nature and of itself.
पुर्यष्टकोदयाद् एव स्वयम् आत्मानुभूयते । सर्वदा सर्वसंस्थः खे घनस्पन्दाद् इवानिलः
Only through the arising of the eightfold subtle body does the Self become experienced; always present in all, like the wind arising from the movement of dense space.
चिदात्मा सर्वगो व्यापी न क्वचिन् नाम न स्थितः । यद्वत् सर्वपदार्थानां सत्ता तद्वन् महेश्वरः
The consciousness-Self is all-pervading, all-encompassing, established nowhere in particular, and has no name—just as the existence of all objects is, so too is the Supreme Lord.
सति पुर्यष्टके तस्मिञ् जीवस् स्फुरति नोपलः । सति वायाव् इव रजस् सति दीप इवेक्षणम्
When the eightfold subtle body exists, the living being shines forth, not otherwise—just as dust exists when there is wind, or sight when there is a lamp.
इयं पुर्यष्टकस्येच्छा स्वात्मन्य् एवात्मनि स्थिते । सति स्फुरत्य् अभ्युदिते भानाव् इव जनैषणा
This desire of the eightfold subtle body abides only in the Self, established in itself; it arises when present, like the longing for people when the sun has risen.
यदि सूर्ये स्थिते व्योम्नि तद्वशोदितसंस्थितिः । नश्यति व्यवहारो ऽयं भास्वतः किम् उपागतम्
If, with the sun established in the sky, its arising and setting depend on it, then all worldly activity ceases—what remains when the shining one has arrived?
यद्य् आत्मनि स्थिते देवे तत्सत्तालब्धसंस्थितिः । देहो नाशम् उपायाति तत् किम् उन्नष्टम् आत्मनः
If, with the divine Self established in itself, the body exists only by gaining its being from that, then even if the body perishes, what is lost for the Self?
न जायते न म्रियते नाभिवाञ्छति नोज्झति । न मुक्तो न च बद्धो ऽयम् आत्मा सर्वस्य सर्वदा
This Self is never born, never dies, does not desire, does not abandon, is not liberated, nor is it bound—this is always the Self of all.
आत्मावबोधाभ्युदिता निरात्मन्य् आत्मतां गता । सर्परज्जुभ्रमाकारा भ्रान्तिर् दुःखाय केवलम्
When self-awareness arises in what is devoid of self, the sense of self is attained; like the illusion of a snake in a rope, this delusion exists only for suffering.
अनादित्वान् न जातो ऽयम् अजातत्वान् न नश्यति । आत्मात्मव्यतिरिक्तं तु नाभिवाञ्छत्य् असम्भवात्
Because it is beginningless, this is not born; because it is unborn, it does not perish. The self does not desire anything apart from itself, for such a thing is impossible.
दिक्कालाद्यनवच्छेदान् न बद्धो ऽयं कदाचन । बन्धाभावे ऽप्य् अमुक्तिस् स्याद् अमोक्षस् तेन स स्मृतः
Because it is not limited by directions, time, or other distinctions, it is never bound. Even in the absence of bondage, liberation may not occur; thus, it is called non-liberation.
एवङ्गुणविशिष्टो ऽयम् आत्मा सर्वस्य राघव । अविचारवशान् मूढो लोको ऽयं परिरोदिति
Thus, endowed with these qualities, this self is present in all, O Rāghava. Yet, under the sway of lack of inquiry, this world, deluded, laments.
सम्यगालोकिताशेषपूर्वापरजगत्क्रमः । मा शोकं गच्छ सुमते मौर्ख्योपहतलोकवत्
Having rightly observed the entire sequence of worlds, past and future, do not grieve, O wise one, like the world afflicted by ignorance.
द्वे एव कलने त्यक्त्वा मोक्षबन्धात्मिके सदा । विदुषा व्यवहर्तव्यं यन्त्रेणेवात्ममौनिना
Always abandoning only the two constructs of liberation and bondage, the wise should act, remaining silent within, like a machine.
न मोक्षो नभसः पृष्ठे न पाताले न भूतले । मोक्षो हि चेतो विमलं सम्यग्ज्ञानावबोधितम्
Liberation is not on the surface of the sky, nor in the netherworld, nor on earth; liberation is the mind purified, awakened by true knowledge.
सकलाशास्व् असंसक्त्या यस् स्वयं चेतसः क्षयः । स मोक्षनाम्ना कथितस् तत्त्वज्ञैर् आत्मदर्शिभिः
The complete cessation of all desires, through non-attachment, is called liberation by those who know reality and have seen the self.
यावत् प्रबोधो विमलो नोदितस् तावद् एव सः । मौर्ख्यदीनतया राम भक्त्या मोक्षो ऽभिवाञ्छ्यते
O Rama, as long as pure awakening has not arisen, liberation is desired through devotion, due to ignorance and weakness.
चिरं प्रबोधम् आसाद्य चित्ते ऽवितततां गते । दश मोक्षा न वाञ्छ्यन्ते किम् उतैको हि मोक्षकः
But when awakening is attained after a long time, and the mind has become expansive, not even ten liberations are desired, let alone a single one.
अयं मोक्षस् त्व् अयं बन्धः पेलवां कलनाम् इमाम् । परित्यज्य महात्यागी त्वं त्वम् एव भवाभवः
This is liberation, this is bondage—abandoning this feeble notion completely, the truly great renouncer realizes: you yourself are existence and non-existence.
परिगलितविकल्पतां प्रयातस् सगरसुतौघनिखातमेखलाङ्कम् । अवनिवलयम् अन्तरस्तसङ्गश् चिरम् अनुपालय सर्वदोदितश्रीः
Having reached the state where all doubts have melted away, with the girdle of the ocean’s waves encircling the earth, maintain for a long time the glory that arises everywhere, with all inner attachment cast aside.
लीलयापश्यति वपुः कलनात्मनि जायते । रम्यस्यापश्यतो वक्त्रं हृदि दौरूप्यधीर् इव
By play, one perceives the body; from conceptualization, it arises; but for one who does not perceive the beautiful face, there is a sense of baseness in the heart, as if of inferior metal.
तद्वशाद् इयम् आयाता महती मेदुरोदरा । माया मदमहाशक्तिस् सुरास्वादलवाद् इव
By its influence, this vast, dense-bellied illusion has arisen—great Maya, the power of delusion—just as the taste for wine comes from a drop of liquor.
तयानया विकारिण्या तदतद्भावभूतया । इदं सम्पन्नम् अखिलं तापाद् इव मरौ पयः
By this ever-changing Maya, which assumes the forms of both real and unreal, all this has come into being, just as water appears on a mirage-heated plain.
मनो बुद्धिर् अहङ्कारो वासनाश् चेन्द्रियाण्य् अपि । एवङ्कल्पितनामाङ्कस् स्फुरत्य् आत्माब्धिर् अम्बुभिः
Mind, intellect, ego, tendencies, and even the senses—all these, bearing imagined names and marks, arise and shine forth like waters from the ocean of the Self.
चित्ताहङ्कारयोर् द्वित्वं वचस्य् अस्ति न वस्तुतः । यच् चित्तं स ह्य् अहङ्कारो यो ऽहङ्कारो मनो हि तत्
The duality of mind and ego exists only in speech, not in reality; what is called mind is indeed ego, and what is called ego is truly mind.
व्यतिरिक्तं हिमाच् छौक्ल्यम् इति सङ्कल्प्यते यथा । मुधैव कल्प्यते भेदश् चित्ताहङ्कारयोस् तथा
Just as whiteness is imagined as separate from snow, so too is the distinction between mind and ego merely imagined, and not real.
मनोऽहङ्कारयोर् अन्तर् द्वयोर् एकतरक्षये । क्षीणे द्वे एव हि यथा पटशौक्ल्ये पटक्षये
Between mind and ego, if either one of the two ceases, both are indeed destroyed, just as when the whiteness of cloth is gone, the cloth itself is also gone.