बीजेषूल्लासरूपेण जाड्येन जडरूपिषु । द्रवेषु द्रवभावेन काठिन्येनेतरेषु च
In seeds it appears as the potential for sprouting, in inert things as inertness, in liquids as liquidity, and in other things as hardness.
भस्मन्य् अथादित्यरुचौ पांसुष्व् अप्य् अणुरूपिणी । असितेषु तलस्थित्या शितधारतयासिषु
In ashes it is subtle, in sunlight it is brilliance, in dust it is minuteness, in darkness it is the state of being at the base, and in swords it is sharpness.
आत्मशक्तिः पदार्थेषु घटावटपटादिषु । सर्वत्र सत्तासामान्यं रूपम् आश्रित्य तिष्ठति
The power of the Self, in objects such as pots, caves, and cloth, everywhere abides by taking on the common form of existence.
इतीयम् अखिलां दृश्यदशाम् आदाय संस्थिता । यथा घनपटा प्रावृड् अम्बरालम्बिनी तथा
Thus, having assumed the entire realm of the visible, it remains established, just as dense clouds in the rainy season hang from the sky.
स्वरूपम् अस्याश् चैवैतत् कथितं प्रविचारितम् । असर्वं सर्वतो व्यापि सद् इवासन्मयात्मकम्
This, its true nature, has thus been described and examined: it is not all, yet pervades everything, as if it were existence itself, with the form of pure consciousness.
आत्मदृष्टिर् अदृष्टैषा संसृतिभ्रमदायिनी । दृष्टा सती समग्राणां दुःखानां क्षयकारिणी
This vision of the Self, though unseen, is the cause of wandering in saṃsāra; when it is truly seen, it brings about the destruction of all suffering.
अस्यास् त्व् अदर्शनं यत् तद् अविद्येत्य् उच्यते बुधैः । अविद्या हि जगद्धेतुस् ततस् सर्वं प्रवर्तते
The absence of its perception is called ignorance by the wise; for ignorance is the cause of the world, and from it everything arises.
अविद्या रूपरहिता यावद् एवावलोक्यते । तावद् एव गलत्य् आशु तुहिनाणुर् यथातपे
Ignorance, which is without form, lasts only as long as it is observed; just as a particle of snow quickly melts in sunlight.
यथा नरो गलन्निद्रो यावत् कलनया मनाक् । विमृशत्य् आशयं तावन् निद्रा तस्य विलीयते
Just as, when a man who is falling asleep reflects even a little with his mind, his sleep dissolves—
तथा कीदृग् अवस्त्व् एतद् इति यावद् विकल्प्यते । अविद्या क्षीयते तावद् आलोकेनान्धता यथा
So too, as long as one inquires, 'What is this unreal thing?', ignorance is diminished, just as blindness is dispelled by light.
दीपहस्तो यदाभ्येति तमोरूपदिदृक्षया । तदा गलति तत् सर्वं तमस् तापे घृतं यथा
When a person holding a lamp approaches with the intention of seeing darkness, then all that darkness vanishes, just as ghee melts in heat.
न तु संलक्ष्यते दीपैस् तमसो रूपनिश्चयः । उदेति केवलं ध्वान्तध्वंसो विमलमूर्तिमान्
But the form of darkness is not discerned by lamps; only the destruction of darkness appears, possessing a pure form.
एवम् आलोक्यमानैषा क्वापि याति पलायते । असद्रूपा ह्य् अवस्तुत्वं दृश्यते ऽस्या विचारणात्
In this way, when this is examined, it flees somewhere; for its unreality and lack of substance are seen through investigation.
आलोक आगते यादृग् यद् यत् तद् दृश्यते तथा । अवस्तुत्वे त्व् अविद्यायास् त्व् अवस्तुत्वं प्रतीयते
When light arrives, whatever is seen is seen as it is; but regarding ignorance, its lack of substance is understood in its unreality.
यावन् नालोक्यते तावन् न किञ्चिद् अपि दृश्यते । आलोक्यते यथा यद् यत् तत् तथा प्रतिपद्यते
As long as something is not perceived, nothing at all is seen; whatever is perceived, is apprehended just as it appears.
रक्तमांसास्थियन्त्रे ऽस्मिन् कस् स्याम् अहम् इति स्वयम् । यावद् विचार्यते तावत् सर्वम् आशु प्रलीयते
In this machine of flesh, blood, and bone, when one inquires, 'Who am I?', as long as the inquiry continues, all dissolves swiftly.
आद्यन्तयोर् असद्रूपे नूनं परिहृते हृदः । सर्वस्मिन्न् एव यश् शेषस् तम् अविद्याक्षयं विदुः
When the heart has surely abandoned the unreal nature of both beginning and end, whatever alone remains in all, that is known as the destruction of ignorance.
तन् नकिञ्चिच् च किञ्चिच् च यत् सत् तद् ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् । तद् वस्तु तद् उपादेयं तद् अविद्यानिवर्तनम्
That which is nothing and something, whatever truly exists, that is the eternal Brahman; that is the reality, that is to be accepted, that is the remover of ignorance.
स्वरूपं नाम्न एवास्या ज्ञायते निस्स्वभावकम् । न हि जिह्वागतस्येक्षोस् स्वादो ऽन्यस्मात् प्रतीयते
Its true nature is known only by name, being without inherent essence; for the taste of what is on the tongue is not perceived from anything else.
नाविद्या क्वचिद् अप्य् अस्ति ब्रह्मैवेदम् अखण्डितम् । सदसत्कलनास्फारम् अशेषं येन मण्डितम्
Ignorance does not exist anywhere; this undivided Brahman alone is all, adorned entirely by the play of the concepts of existence and non-existence.
एतावद् एवाविद्या यन् नेदं ब्रह्मेति निश्चयः । एतद् एव क्षयो यस् स्याद् इदं ब्रह्मेति निश्चयः
Ignorance is only this much: the conviction that 'this is not Brahman'; its cessation is precisely the conviction that 'this is Brahman.'
घटपटशकटावभासजालं न विभुर् इतीत्य् उदितेह सा त्व् अविद्या । घटपटशकटावभासजालं विभुर् इति चेद् गलितैव सा त्व् अविद्या
When it is said that the array of appearances such as pot, cloth, and cart is not the all-pervading, that is ignorance; but if it is understood that the array of appearances such as pot, cloth, and cart is the all-pervading, then indeed that ignorance has vanished.
पुनः पुनर् इदं राम प्रबोधार्थं मयोच्यते । अभ्यासेन विना साधो नाभ्युदेत्य् आत्मभावनम्
Again and again, O Rama, I say this for the sake of awakening: without practice, O noble one, the realization of the Self does not arise.
अज्ञानम् एतद् बलवद् अविद्येतरनामकम् । जन्मान्तरशतप्रौढं नूनं स्थितिम् उपागतम्
This ignorance, powerful and known by the name 'non-knowledge,' has surely become firmly established through hundreds of previous births.
सबाह्याभ्यन्तरं सर्वैर् इन्द्रियैर् अनुभूयते । भावाभावेषु देहस्य तेनातिघनतां गतम्
It is experienced by all the senses, both externally and internally, in the presence or absence of the body, and thus it has become exceedingly dense.
आत्मज्ञानं तु सर्वेषाम् इन्द्रियाणाम् अगोचरम् । सत्तां केवलम् आयाति मनष्षष्ठेन्द्रियक्षये
But Self-knowledge is beyond the reach of all the senses; it comes into being alone when the mind and the six senses are dissolved.
प्रोल्लङ्घ्येन्द्रियजाश् शक्तीर् यत् स्थितं तत् कथं किल । याति प्रत्यक्षतां जन्तोः प्रत्यक्षातीतवृत्तिमत्
How indeed can that which exists beyond the powers born of the senses ever become apparent to a being whose activities are beyond perception?
नित्यम् अज्ञानम् एवातस् स्वभ्यस्तं सर्वदेहिनाम् । न कदाचन विज्ञानम् इह वामुत्र वानघ
Therefore, ignorance alone, constantly practiced, prevails in all embodied beings; never, O sinless one, does knowledge arise here or elsewhere.
तस्माद् अविद्याभागेन प्रधानेनेतरं दहेत् । तावद् यावन् मिथोघर्षात् स्वयं शाम्येच् छिवं भवेत्
Therefore, by the predominance of knowledge, one should burn away the other part, ignorance, until, through mutual friction, it is extinguished and becomes peace itself.
न ह्य् अभ्यासं विना किञ्चित् फलदं भवति क्वचित् । यद् यद् आसाद्यते यत्र तद् अभ्यासतरोः फलम्
For without practice, nothing anywhere bears fruit; whatever is attained, in any place, is the fruit of the tree of practice.