परार्थं स्फुरतो यस्य न स्तुतिर् निन्दनाद् ऋते । स देही देहदुःखौघम् आदत्ते केन हेतुना
For one whose awareness shines for the sake of others, except for praise or blame, what cause is there for him, the embodied one, to take up the mass of bodily suffering?
नात्मा शरीरसम्बद्धश् शरीरम् अपि नात्मनि । मिथो विलक्षणे एते प्रकाशतमसी यथा
The Self is not bound to the body, nor is the body in the Self; these two are mutually distinct, like light and darkness.
सर्वैर् भावविकारैस् तु नित्यमुक्तो ऽस्त्य् अलेपकः । नात्मास्तम् एति भगवान् न चोदेति सदोदितः
The Self is ever free from all modifications of phenomena, untouched; the blessed one neither sets nor rises, for he is ever manifest.
जडस्याज्ञस्य तुच्छस्य कृतघ्नस्य विनाशिनः । शरीरकोपलस्यास्य यद् भवत्य् अस्तु तत् तथा
Whatever happens to this body—insentient, ignorant, insignificant, ungrateful, and perishable—let it be so.
न चास्य किञ्चिद् भवति पृथग् आत्मन्य् अवेक्षिते । जडस्यासत्स्वरूपस्य किम् इवाङ्गोपपद्यते
And when the body, whose nature is insentient and unreal, is considered apart from the Self, nothing at all pertains to it; what indeed can arise for such a nonentity?
निपुणायावबोधाय यत् प्रोक्तं तत् पुनः पुनः । भङ्गिभिः प्रविचित्राभी राघवेदं प्रबोध्यते
For the sake of subtle understanding, what has been said is again and again explained to you, Raghava, in various ways and with diverse illustrations.
यदि देहगुणान् आत्मा गृह्णाति परमार्थतः । नादत्ते तत् कथं तस्माज् जडतां शवरूपिणः
If the Self truly takes on the qualities of the body, then why does it not acquire the inertness of the lifeless form?
यदि वात्मगुणान् देहो गृह्णाति परमार्थतः । नादत्ते तत् कथं चैत्तं चिन्मयत्वं सदोदितम्
Or if the body truly takes on the qualities of the Self, then why does it not attain the ever-manifest consciousness of the mind?
ययोर् एकपरिज्ञाने जडतैवापरे स्थिता । तयोः कीदृग्विधा ब्रूत समानसुखदुःखता
When, in the knowledge of one, the inertness of the other remains, how can you say that both experience the same pleasure and pain?
यौ समौ समकर्माणौ न कदाचन तौ कथम् । द्वाव् अप्य् असन्ताव् अन्योऽन्यं कथं सम्बन्धम् एष्यतः
If both are equally inactive and perform the same actions, how can two nonentities ever relate to each other in any way?
कथं स्थूलो ऽणुरूपस् स्याद् अणुस् स्थूलः कथं भवेत् । एकोदये द्वितीयस्य न सत्ता दिनरात्रिवत्
How could the gross become subtle, or the subtle become gross? When one arises, the other does not exist, just as day and night do not coexist.
ज्ञानं नाज्ञानताम् एति च्छाया नायाति तापताम् । सद् ब्रह्म नासद् भवति विचित्रास्व् अपि दृष्टिषु
Knowledge does not become ignorance, nor does a shadow become heat; the real Brahman does not become unreal, even amidst various perceptions.
मनाग् अपि न संश्लेषस् सर्वगस्यापि देहिनः । देहेन देहगस्यापि कमलस्येव वारिणा
There is not even the slightest union between the embodied self and the body, just as there is none between a lotus and the water.
मनाग् अपि न संश्लेषो ब्रह्मणो देहसत्तया । तद्गतस्याप्य् अतद्वृत्तेर् अम्बरस्येव वायुना
There is not even the slightest union of Brahman with the existence of the body, even for one whose mind is absorbed in it, just as there is none between space and wind.
भवत्य् आत्मनि नो किञ्चिन् नासतो देहकस्य च । तद् राघव मुधैवैष सुखदुःखभ्रमः कुतः
Nothing truly happens to the Self, nor to the unreal body; therefore, O Raghava, this delusion of pleasure and pain is entirely baseless.
जरामरणम् आपच् च सुखदुःखे भवाभवौ । मनाग् अपि न सन्तीह निर्वाणो निर्वृतो भव
Old age, death, pleasure and pain, existence and nonexistence—none of these exist here, even in the slightest; be liberated, be at peace.
स्थितो देहतयात्युच्चैः पातोत्पातमयो भ्रमः । दृश्यते केवलं ब्रह्मण्य् अप्सु वीचितया यथा
The delusion of rise and fall, existing in the form of the body, is seen only in Brahman, just as waves appear only in water.
आत्मसत्तोपजीवित्वाद् आत्मा सम्भवतीह हि । देहयन्त्रं पयस्सत्तामात्राद् ऊर्मिर् इवोत्थितम्
Because the Self is the basis of existence, the Self alone appears here; the body-machine, like a wave, arises merely from the presence of water.
आधारस्पन्दनेनाङ्ग यथा क्षोभभवाभवाः । सूर्यादेः प्रतिबिम्बस्य तथा देहेन देहिनः
Just as, O dear one, the agitation, arising and ceasing of a reflection of the sun and so on, occur due to the vibration of the supporting medium, so too do the experiences of the embodied being arise through the body.
सम्यग्दृष्टे यथाभूते वस्तुन्य् आत्मनि जायते । स्थितिर् देहमयो ऽज्ञानविभ्रमो लयम् एति च
When the true nature of the self is rightly perceived as it is, then the state of identification with the body, which is a confusion born of ignorance, comes to an end.
देहदेहवतोर् ज्ञानाद् यथाभूतैतयोस् स्थितिः । सत्तासत्तात्मिकोदेति दीपाद् इव पदार्थयोः
Through knowledge, the true state of both the body and the embodied is established; the sense of existence and non-existence arises in them, just as it does for objects in the presence or absence of a lamp.
असम्यग्ज्ञानिनो ये हि स्वावर्तपरिवर्तनैः । अन्तश्शून्यास् स्फुरन्तीह ते मोहार्जुनवायवः
Those who lack right knowledge, caught in the whirl of their own cycles, are inwardly empty and restless here, like winds in the forest of delusion.
अपर्यालोचितात्मार्थम् अपरामृष्टसंविदः । स्पन्दन्ते वेष्टितोन्मुक्ततृणवन् मूढबुद्धयः
Those who have not reflected on the meaning of the self, whose awareness is untouched, move about like blades of grass tossed and released, their minds bewildered.
अनास्वादितचित्तत्त्वं जडास् सूत्रैस् स्ववायुभिः । यन्त्रवच् चोदिताक्रान्ता नटन्ति प्रस्फुरन्ति च
Those who have not tasted the truth of consciousness are inert, driven and impelled by their own currents, like puppets moved by strings, they dance and leap.
तृणकाष्ठादिकं सर्वम् आहरन्ति त्यजन्ति च । सशब्दस्पर्शरूपाद्यास् तरङ्गतरलाङ्गकाः
They gather and abandon all things like grass, wood, and so on; these restless embodied ones, with sound, touch, form, and the rest, are like waves rising and falling.
जडास् सन्तस् स्फुरद्रूपा भृशं स्फाररसारवाः । सविहारागमापाया महौघा इव दुर्धियः
Though inert, they appear vibrant in form, full of intense, varied tastes and essences; with comings and goings, these people of confused mind are like great surging floods.
सर्वेषाम् एव चैतेषां स्थितैवैषा चिद् अव्यया । किं त्व् अबोधवशाद् अस्याः परां कृपणतां गताः
In all these beings, this imperishable consciousness abides; yet, due to ignorance, it has fallen into a state of utter wretchedness.
श्वाससन्ततयो ह्य् अज्ञाल् लोहकारदृतेर् इव । स्पन्दमात्रार्थम् एवाशु दृश्यन्ते नार्थकारिणः
The continuous breaths of the ignorant are seen only as mere movements, like the workings of a blacksmith’s bellows, and serve no real purpose.
तर्जनोद्गर्जनं मूढाद् धनुर्दण्डगुणाद् इव । श्रूयते मारणायैव चिद्बोधपरिवर्जितम्
The threats and loud cries of the deluded, devoid of awareness, are heard only for destruction, like the sound from a bow, staff, or string.
फललाभो ऽपि यो मूढात् तद् अरण्यतरोर् इव । तस्मिन् विश्रमणं यत् तच् छिलाफलहके यथा
Even the fruit gained by the ignorant is like that from a wild tree; resting in it is like relying on a stone fruit.