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.
तेन यस् सङ्गमस् स स्यात् स्थाणुनापि हि जङ्गले । तदर्थं यत् कृतं किञ्चित् तद् व्योम लगुडैर् हतम्
Thus, any union with such a one is like joining with a tree in the wilderness; whatever is done for that purpose is like striking the sky with sticks.
तस्मिन् यद् अधमे दत्तं तत् त्यक्तं क्लिन्नकर्दमे । तेन सार्धं कथा यास् तत् कौलेयाह्वानम् अध्वरे
Whatever is given to such a lowly one is abandoned in muddy slush; any conversation with them is like a ritual called 'kauleya' performed in vain.
अज्ञत्वम् आपदां निष्ठा का हि नापद् अजानतः । इयं संसारसरणिर् वहत्य् अज्ञप्रसादतः
Ignorance is the root of all misfortune; what calamity can there be for one who is not ignorant? This path of worldly existence is carried on by the favor of ignorance.
अज्ञस्योग्राणि दुःखानि सुखान्य् अपि दृढानि च । पुनः पुनः प्रवर्तन्ते युगं प्रत्य् अचला इव
For the ignorant, intense sufferings and even strong pleasures arise again and again, like the fixed cycles of ages.
शरीरधनदारादाव् आस्थां समनुबध्नतः । इदं दुर्दुःखम् अज्ञस्य न कदाचन शाम्यति
For the ignorant person who remains attached to body, wealth, wife, and so on, this deep suffering never ceases.
अनात्मनि शवे देहे आत्मभावम् उपेयुषः । असद्बोधमयी माया कथं नाम विनश्यति
How can the illusion, which is made of false understanding, ever be destroyed for one who regards the lifeless body as the self?
दुर्भावखर्वितधियो वस्तुन्य् अन्धस्य दुर्मतेः । अवस्तुनि सनेत्रस्य लुठतश् च पदे पदे
For the blind and misguided person whose mind is corrupted by wrong views, suffering arises at every step, whether in reality or in illusion.
विषम् उत्पद्यते चन्द्राद् आमोदः कुसुमाद् इव । कण्टकश् चैव पयसो दूर्वाङ्कुर इव स्थलात्
Just as fragrance arises from the moon and from flowers, and thorns from water and sprouts from barren ground, so too does adversity arise.
देहशल्मलिभोगिन्यो मनोमातङ्गशृङ्खलाः । अज्ञस्याशाः प्रसूयन्ते सुवृष्टेष्व् इव शालयः
For the ignorant, desires—like the binding creepers of the silk-cotton tree and the chains of the mind-elephant—spring up just as rice flourishes in well-watered fields.
नरकश्रीर् अनात्मज्ञं दुष्कृतव्यालपालिता । परिपालयति प्रीता मयूरी वारिदं यथा
The splendor of hell, guarded by the serpents of evil deeds, fondly protects the one ignorant of the Self, just as a peahen cherishes a rain cloud.
नेत्रलोलालिनीलोला स्फुरिताधरपल्लवा । मूर्खार्थम् एव विकसत्य् अङ्गनाविषवल्लरी
The poisonous creeper of woman, with restless eyes and quivering lips, blooms only for the sake of the fool.
अज्ञवारिधिहृद्भूमाव् एव वेपथुपल्लवः । वर्धते ऽपगतच्छायो रागविद्रुमदुर्द्रुमः
On the heart-soil of the ocean of ignorance, the feverish sapling of passion grows, its shade vanished, like a dreadful coral tree.
तनुच्छदलसद्धूमश् शस्त्रज्वालो भटोल्मुकः । ज्वलति द्वेषदावो ऽज्ञहृन्मरौ कोपतापदः
The faint smoke of the body’s covering, the flame of weapons, the blazing fire of hatred, and the scorching heat of anger burn in the desert of ignorance within the heart.
अज्ञमात्सर्यसरसि परापवदनच्छदा । ईर्ष्याकमलिनी चिन्ताषट्पदी विकसत्य् अलम्
In the lake of ignorance and envy, covered by the slander of others, the lotus of jealousy blooms, and the bee of anxious thought flourishes abundantly.
प्रतिजन्म प्रकृष्टोग्रदुःखकल्लोलसम्भ्रमः । जडम् एव समभ्येति पुनर्मरणवाडवः
With every birth, the tumult of intense and fierce suffering surges; the fire of death again approaches only the dull-minded.
जन्मबाल्यं ध्रुवं याति यौवनं युवता जराम् । जरा मरणम् अभ्येति मूढस्यैव पुनः पुनः
Birth inevitably leads to childhood, then youth, then old age; old age approaches death, and for the deluded, this cycle repeats again and again.
जगज्जीर्णारघट्टे ऽस्मिन् रज्ज्वा संसृतिरूपया । मज्जनोन्मज्जनैर् अज्ञा यन्त्रे शकलतां गताः
In this world, worn by the friction of age, in the rope of transmigration, ignorance causes beings to sink and rise, becoming fragments in the machinery of existence.
यद् एव गोष्पदादूरं ज्ञधियः पेलवं जगत् । तद् एवापारपर्यन्तम् अगाधम् अमहात्मनः
What is but a shallow puddle to those of clear understanding is, for those of small-mindedness, a boundless, unfathomable expanse.
धियो ऽदृश इवाज्ञस्य चिद्व्योमोदरकोटरात् । न प्रयान्त्य् अपरं पारं विहङ्ग्यः पञ्जराद् इव
For the ignorant, their intellects, like invisible birds trapped in the hollow of the sky of consciousness, do not reach the other shore, just as birds cannot escape from a cage.
भावमात्रपरावृत्त्या वासनामात्रनाभयः । स्पष्टीकर्तुं न शक्यन्ते जन्मचक्रस्य नेमयः
By merely turning away from mental constructs, with only the thread of latent tendencies, the spokes of the wheel of birth cannot be clearly discerned.