अस्थिपञ्जरम् आत्मीयं तथा रक्तान्त्रतन्तुकम् । एतावन्मात्रसारैक गृहीत्वा गच्छ देहक
Take this body, which is merely a cage of bones and a network of blood and sinew, possessing only this much substance, and depart.
पयःक्षोभप्रकारेभ्यस् स्नानेभ्यो ऽपि नमो नमः । नमो ऽस्तु व्यवहारेभ्यस् संसृतिभ्यो नमो ऽस्तु वः
Salutations again and again to the various ways of bathing, like the agitation of water; salutations to worldly dealings, and salutations to the cycles of transmigration.
एते भवन्तस् सहजाः प्राक्तनास् सुहृदो मया । क्रमेण ज्योत्कृताः प्राणास् स्वस्ति वो ऽस्तु व्रजाम्य् अहम्
You all are my natural and former friends, who have gradually become the vital airs; may well-being be yours, for I am departing.
भवद्भिस् सह चित्रासु मया बह्वीषु योनिषु । विश्रान्तं गिरिकुञ्जेषु भ्रान्तं लोकान्तरेषु च
With you, I have rested in many wombs, wandered in mountain groves, and roamed through other worlds.
क्रीडितं पुरपीठान्तर् उषितं पर्वतेषु च । स्थितं कार्यविलासेषु प्रस्थितं विविधाध्वसु
I have played within city walls, dwelled upon mountains, engaged in various pursuits, and traveled many diverse paths with you.
न तद् अस्ति जगत्कोशे भवद्भिस् सह यन् मया । न कृतं न हृतं नात्तं न दत्तं नावलम्बितम्
There is nothing in the treasury of the world that, together with you, I have not done, not taken, not eaten, not given, nor relied upon.
इदानीं स्वां दिशं यान्तु भवन्तो याम्य् अहं प्रियाः । संयोगा विप्रयोगान्तास् सर्वे संसारवर्त्मनि
Now, dear ones, go to your own directions; I am departing. All unions on the path of worldly existence end in separation.
अयं चाक्षुष आलोको विशत्व् आदित्यमण्डलम् । विशन्तु वनपुष्पाणि सौगन्ध्यानन्दसंविदः
Let this visible light enter the orb of the sun; let the forest flowers, with their fragrant delight, return to their own essence.
प्राणानिलास् तथा स्पर्शा विशन्त्व् अद्य प्रभञ्जनम् । विशन्त्व् आकाशकुहरं शब्दश्रवणपङ्क्तयः
Let the vital airs and the sensations now merge into the wind; let the streams of sound and hearing enter the cavity of space.
गलत्व् अग्नौ घृतम् इव चन्द्रे क्षीणवपुर् मनः
Let the mind, its form diminished, melt away in the fire like ghee, or in the moon like waning nectar.
सुखदुःखादयस् सर्वे प्रयान्तु स्वाम् अवस्थितिम् । तृष्णा शुष्यतु सारम्भा हेमन्त इव पद्मिनी
Let all experiences of pleasure and pain return to their own state; let thirst dry up, together with its agitation, as the lotus withers in winter.
दग्धेन्धन इवार्चिष्मान् निस्स्नेह इव दीपकः । निर्मन्दर इवाम्भोधिर् गतार्क इव वासरः
Like a flame when its fuel is consumed, like a lamp when its oil is gone, like the ocean when its Mandara is absent, like the day when the sun has set—
शरदीव घनस् स्वैरं प्राप्तसर्गान्तकल्पवत् । ओङ्कारान्ते ऽस्तमननं प्रशाम्याम्य् आत्मनात्मनि
Like a cloud in autumn, freely dissolving at the end of its creation, at the close of Om, I become tranquil, merging the self into the Self.
व्यपगताखिलकार्यपरम्परस् सकलदृश्यदशातिगतस्थितिः । प्रणवशान्त्यनुसंसृतिशान्तधीर् विगतमोहमलो ऽयम् अहं स्थितः
With all chains of action gone, abiding beyond all that can be seen, with a mind at peace through the quiet of Om, free from delusion and impurity, I remain established.
एवं कलितवान् अन्तः प्रशान्तमननैषणः । शनैर् उच्चारयंश् चारु प्रणवप्राप्तिभूमिकः
Thus, having composed himself within, with a mind free from desires and at peace, he gently uttered the sacred syllable, attaining the state of Om.
सबाह्याभ्यन्तरान् सर्वान् सूक्ष्मान् स्थूलतरान् अपि । त्रैलोक्यकल्पितांस् त्यक्त्वा सङ्कल्पान् कल्पकल्पितान्
Abandoning all external and internal notions, both subtle and gross, and all imagined concepts of the three worlds, created by mere thought,
तिष्ठन्न् अक्षुभिताकारश् चिन्तामणिर् इवात्मनि । सम्पूर्ण इव शीतांशुर् विश्रान्त इव मन्दरः
He remained unshaken in form, like a wish-fulfilling gem within himself, full like the cool-rayed moon, and at rest like Mount Mandara.
कुम्भकारगृहे चक्रं संरोधितम् इव भ्रमात् । अम्भोधिर् इव सम्पूर्णस् स्तिमितस्फारनिर्मलः
Like a wheel halted in the potter’s workshop, motionless by design, or like the ocean, full, still, swelling, and clear,
शान्ततेजस्तमःपुञ्जं विगतार्केन्दुतारकम् । अधूमाभ्ररजस् स्वच्छम् अनन्तं शरदीव खम्
A mass of tranquil radiance and darkness, devoid of sun, moon, or stars, pure as the autumn sky, free from smoke, clouds, or dust, infinite,
सह प्रणवपर्यन्तदीर्घनिस्स्वनतन्तुना । जहाव् इन्द्रियतन्मात्रजालं गन्धम् इवानिलः
With the long, continuous resonance of Om, he cast off the web of sense objects and their subtle essences, as the wind leaves behind fragrance.
ततो जहौ तमोमात्रं प्रतिभातम् इवान्तरे । उत्तिष्ठत् प्रस्फुरद्रूपं प्राज्ञः कोपलवं यथा
Then he abandoned the mere remnant of darkness within, as a wise man discards a trace of anger that arises and flickers inside.
प्रतिभातं ततस् तेजो निमेषार्धं विचार्य सः । जहौ बभूव च तदा न तमो न प्रकाशकम्
He then examined that radiance for half a moment, and let it go; at that time, there was neither darkness nor illumination.
ताम् अवस्थाम् अथासाद्य मनसा तन् मनस्तृणम् । स्फुरितं न मनाग् एव निमेषार्धाद् अशातयत्
Having attained that state, with his mind making the mind itself as insignificant as grass, he dissolved the flickering of thought in less than half a blink.
ततो ऽङ्गसंविदं स्वस्थां प्रतिभासम् उपागताम् । सद्योजातशिशुज्ञानसमाम् अकलनामलाम्
Then, he reached a state of bodily awareness that was clear and natural, pure as the knowledge of a newborn child, free from conceptualization and stain.
निमेशार्धार्धभागेन कालेनाकलनः प्रभुः । जहौ चितश् चेत्यदशां स्पन्दशक्तिम् इवानिलः
In a fraction of half a blink, the master, transcending conceptualization, abandoned the state of being a cognizer, just as the wind gives up its power of movement.
पश्यन्तीपदम् आसाद्य सत्तामात्रात्मकं ततः । सुषुप्तपदम् आसाद्य तस्थौ मेरुर् इवाचलः
Then, attaining the paśyantī state, which is of the nature of pure being, he entered the state of deep sleep and remained unmoving like Mount Meru.
ततस् सुषुप्तसंस्थानस्थित्या स्थित्वा विभुर् मनाक् । सुषुप्ते स्थैर्यम् आसाद्य तुर्यरूपम् उपाययौ
Thereafter, abiding for a moment in the condition of deep sleep, the sovereign, having attained stability in that state, entered the form of the fourth (turya) state.
निरानन्दो ऽपि सानन्दस् सच् चासच् चापि तत्र सः । आसीन् नकिञ्चित् किञ्चिच् च प्रकाशस् तिमिरं तथा
There, though devoid of joy, he was also with joy; he was both existent and nonexistent; he was nothing and something, light and darkness as well.
अचिन्मयं चिन्मयं च नेति नेति यद् उच्यते । तत् ततस् सम्बभूवासौ मद्गिराम् अप्य् अगोचरः
That which is said to be neither consciousness nor non-consciousness, 'not this, not this'—from there, he arose, beyond even the reach of my words.
तद् असौ सुषमं स्थानं पदं परमपावनम् । सर्वभावान्तरगतम् अभूत् सर्वविवर्जितम्
That, indeed, is the perfectly balanced state, the supremely pure abode, present within all states of being, yet free from all distinctions.