अज्ञातैषा मनोमत्तमृगं विषयतर्षुलम् । असत्यैव हि सत्येव मृगतृष्णेव कर्षति
When not understood, this (ignorance) drives the mind, like a mad deer, pierced by the thirst for sense-objects; though unreal, it drags one as if it were real, just like a mirage.
विज्ञाता सत्यरूपेयं नाशं याति पलायते । विप्रमध्यात् परिज्ञाता यथा चण्डालकन्यका
When recognized as it truly is, this (ignorance) vanishes and flees; when discerned by the wise, it departs like an outcaste girl (when recognized for who she is).
अविद्या सम्परिज्ञाता न मनः परिकर्षति । मृगतृष्णा परिज्ञाता तर्षुलं नापकर्षति
When ignorance is fully understood, it no longer drags the mind; just as, when a mirage is recognized, it no longer draws the thirsty.
परमार्थावबोधेन समूलं राम वासना । दीपेनेवान्धकारश्रीर् गलत्य् आलोक एति च
By the realization of the highest truth, O Rama, latent tendencies are uprooted; just as darkness vanishes and light appears when a lamp is lit.
नास्त्य् अविद्येति सञ्जाते निश्चये शास्त्रयुक्तितः । गलत्य् अविद्या तापेन तुषारकणिका यथा
When, through reasoning based on scripture, the conviction arises that ignorance does not exist, ignorance melts away under the heat of knowledge, like frost under the sun.
देहस्यास्य जडस्यार्थे किं भोगैर् इति निश्चयी । भिनत्त्य् आशामयं ज्ञानी पञ्जरं केसरी यथा
Firm in the understanding that there is no purpose in enjoyments for this inert body, the wise one shatters the cage of desire, like a lion breaking free.
आशापरिकरे राम नूनं परिहृते हृदः । पुमान् आगतसौन्दर्यो ह्लादम् आयाति चन्द्रवत्
O Rama, when the collection of desires is truly abandoned from the heart, a person attains a beauty and delight like the moon.
परां शीतलताम् एति वृष्टिधौत इवाचलः । निर्वृतिं परमां धत्ते प्राप्तराज्य इवाधनः
He attains supreme coolness, like a mountain washed by rain; he enjoys the highest bliss, like a poor man who has gained a kingdom.
शोभते ऽमलया लक्ष्म्या शरदीव नभस्तलम् । आत्मन्य् एव न मात्य् उच्चैः कल्पस्यान्त इवार्णवः
He shines with spotless fortune, like the autumn sky; he does not swell with pride in himself, like the ocean at the end of the age.
भवत्य् अपेतसंरम्भो वृष्टमूक इवाम्बुदः । तिष्ठत्य् आत्मनि संवेत्ता प्रशान्त इव वारिधिः
He becomes free from agitation, like a cloud emptied of rain; he abides in his own self, like a calm ocean.
परं धैर्यम् उपादत्ते स्थैर्यं मेरुर् इवाचलः । राजते स्वस्थया लक्ष्म्या शान्तेन्धन इवानलः
He acquires supreme courage, steadfast like Mount Meru; he radiates with his own natural prosperity, like a fire whose fuel is spent.
भवत्य् आत्मनि निर्वाणः प्रशान्त इव दीपकः । दृष्टिम् आयाति परमां नरः पीतामृतो यथा
Liberation arises within oneself, like a lamp that has become calm; a person attains the highest vision, as one who has drunk the nectar of immortality.
अन्तर्दीपो घट इव मध्यज्वाल इवानलः । स्फुरद्दीप्तिर् मणिर् इव प्रयात्य् अन्तः प्रकाशताम्
Like a lamp shining inside a jar, like fire with a central flame, like a jewel radiating light, he attains inner illumination.
सर्वात्मकं सर्वगतं सर्वेशं सर्वनायकम् । सर्वाकारं निराकारं स्वम् आत्मानं प्रपश्यति
He perceives his own Self as all-pervading, present everywhere, the lord of all, the leader of all, of every form and yet formless.
हसत्य् अलम् अतीतास् ताः पेलवा दिवसावलीः । यासु स्मरशरश्रेणीचपलं चित्तम् अच्छिनत्
He laughs at those feeble days now past, in which his mind, restless as a row of Cupid’s arrows, was cut down.
सङ्गरङ्गविनिष्क्रान्तश् शान्तमानमनोज्वरः । अध्यात्मरतिर् आसीनः पूर्णपावनमानसः
Having departed from the battlefield of passions, with the fever of the mind calmed, he sits delighting in the Self, his mind completely purified.
निर्मृष्टकामपङ्काङ्कश् छिन्नजन्मनिबन्धनः । द्वन्द्वदोषभयोन्मुक्तस् तीर्णसंसारसागरः
With the stains of desire cleansed away, the bonds of birth severed, freed from the womb of duality’s faults, he has crossed the ocean of worldly existence.
प्राप्तानुत्तमविश्रान्तिर् लब्धालभ्यपदास्पदः । अनिवर्तिपदं प्राप्तः कर्मणाम् अन्तम् आगतः
He has attained supreme rest, reached the state that is rarely attained, arrived at the point of no return, and come to the end of all actions.
सर्वाभिवाञ्छितारम्भो न किञ्चिद् अपि वाञ्छति । सर्वानुमोदितानन्दो न किञ्चिद् अनुमोदते
Though he initiates all that is desired, he desires nothing; though he is the joy of all, he himself delights in nothing.
न ददाति न चादत्ते न स्तौति न च निन्दति । नास्तम् एति न चोदेति न तुष्यति न शोचति
He neither gives nor takes, neither praises nor blames; he neither sets nor rises, neither rejoices nor grieves.
सर्वारम्भफलत्यागी सर्वोपाधिविवर्जितः । सर्वाशासम्परित्यागी जीवन्मुक्त इति स्मृतः
He who has renounced the fruits of all undertakings, who is free from all attributes, who has abandoned all desires, is known as liberated while living.
सर्वैषणाः परित्यज्य चेतसा भव मौनवान् । धारा निरवशेषेण यथा त्यक्त्वा पयोधरः
Abandoning all cravings with your mind, remain silent, as a cloud, having poured out all its water, ceases.
तथा न सुखयत्य् अङ्गसंलग्ना वरवर्णिनी । यथा सुखयति स्वान्तम् इन्दुशीता निराशता
A beautiful woman clinging to the body does not bring such happiness as the coolness of the moon and the absence of longing bring to the heart.
न तथेन्दुस् सुखयति कण्ठलग्नो ऽपि राघव । नैराश्यं सुखयत्य् अन्तर् यथा सकलशीतलम्
O Raghava, even the moon, though close at hand, does not give such delight as the inner coolness of complete freedom from longing.
पुष्पघूर्णन्नवलतो न तथा राजते मधुः । यथोदारमतिर् मौनी नैराश्यसममानसः
Honey does not shine so brightly in a freshly blossomed flower as does the noble-minded sage, whose mind is equal in silence and freedom from longing.
न हिमाद्रेर् न मुक्ताभ्यो न रम्भाभ्यो न चन्दनात् । न तच् चन्द्रमसश् शैत्यं नैराश्याद् यद् अवाप्यते
Not from the Himalayas, nor from pearls, nor from plantains, nor from sandalwood, nor even from the moon, is the coolness attained that comes from freedom from longing.
अपि राज्याद् अपि स्वर्गाद् अपीन्दोर् अपि माधवात् । अपि कान्तासमासङ्गान् नैराश्यं परमं सुखम्
Even more than sovereignty, or heaven, or the moon, or spring, or the embrace of a beloved, the supreme happiness is freedom from longing.
तृणवन् नोपकुर्वन्ति यया त्रिभुवनश्रियः । सा परा निर्वृतिस् साधो नैराश्याद् उपलभ्यते
O noble one, that supreme peace, by which even the splendors of the three worlds are regarded as mere grass, is attained through freedom from expectation.
आशाकरञ्जपरशुं पराया निर्वृतेः पदम् । पुष्पगुच्छं शमतरोर् आलम्बस्व निराशताम्
Take up dispassion as the axe that cuts the tree of desire, and let freedom from expectation be the cluster of flowers on the tree of tranquility, as you approach the supreme state of peace.
गोष्पदं पृथिवी मेरुस् स्थाणुर् आशास् समुद्गिकाः । तृणं त्रिभुवनं राम नैराश्यालङ्कृताकृतेः
For one adorned with dispassion, O Rama, the earth is like a cow’s hoofprint, Mount Meru is a mere post, desires are like boxes, and the three worlds are but straw.