समस्तकलनातीतं परां कोटिम् उपाश्रितम् । पदम् आसादयन्त्व् एतत् कथं सामान्यबुद्धयः
How could those of ordinary understanding attain that state which is beyond all calculation, which has reached the highest peak?
आत्मचिन्ताविलासिन्यस् त्व् अस्यास् सख्यो महामते । किञ्चित् साम्यम् उपायाता विद्यन्ते शशिशीतलाः
O wise one, among the companions of this play of Self-contemplation, there are some who have attained a little similarity, cool as the moon.
आत्मचिन्तासमानानां विविधानां मुनीश्वर । आत्मचिन्तावयस्यानां मध्याद् एकतमा मया
O lord of sages, among the various companions of Self-contemplation, among those who are friends of Self-inquiry, I have chosen one.
सर्वदुःखक्षयकरी सर्वसौभाग्यवर्धिनी । कारणं जीवितस्येयं प्राणचिन्ता समाश्रिता
This contemplation of the vital force, which is the cause of life, destroys all sorrow and increases all good fortune.
इत्य् उक्तवन्तं विहगं भुसुण्डं पुनर् अप्य् अहम् । जानन्न् अपीदम् अव्यग्रः पृष्टवान् क्रीडया पुनः
Although I knew this already, I again questioned the bird Bhusunda, who had spoken thus, calmly and playfully.
सर्वसंशयविच्छेदिन्न् अत्यन्तचिरजीवित । यथार्थं ब्रूहि मे साधो प्राणचिन्ता किम् उच्यते
O sage, destroyer of all doubts and long-lived one, tell me truly: what is meant by 'concern for the life-breath'?
सर्ववेदान्तवेत्तासि सर्वसंशयनाशकः । माम् एतत् परिहासार्थं मुने पृच्छसि वायसम्
You know all Vedanta and dispel every doubt; are you, O sage, asking me, a crow, this question merely in jest?
अथ वा भवताम् एव भवद्भ्यः परिशिक्षितम् । पुनः प्रत्युच्चरामीदं का मे क्षतिर् उपस्थिता
Or perhaps it is your custom to instruct your own kind; so I will answer this again—what harm is there for me in doing so?
भुसुण्डजीवितकरं भुसुण्डस्यात्मलाभदम् । शृणु प्राणसमाधानं कथ्यमानम् इदं मया
Listen as I explain the settling of the life-breath, which grants Bhusunda his life and brings him self-realization.
पश्येदं भगवंस् तावद् देहगेहं मनोरमम् । त्रिप्रधानमहास्थूणं नवद्वारसमावृतम्
Behold, O venerable one, this delightful house of the body, with its threefold main pillars and nine gates enclosing it.
पुर्यष्टककलत्रेण तन्मात्रस्वजनेन च । अहङ्कारगृहस्थेन सर्वतः परिपालितम्
Guarded on all sides by the eightfold city as wife, the subtle elements as kin, and the householder ego as master.
अन्तस्सुषिरसत्कर्णशष्कुलीचन्द्रशालिकम् । शिरोरुहाच्छादनवद् विपुलाक्षगवाक्षकम्
Within are hollow spaces, ears like winnowing baskets, a moon-shaped palate, covered with hair above, and wide eyes as windows.
आस्यप्रधानसद्द्वारं भुजपार्श्वोपमन्दिरं । दन्तालिकेतकस्रग्भिर् भूषितद्वारकोटरं
The mouth is the main entrance, with the arms as side halls; its doorways are adorned with garlands of teeth and lips.
अनारतरटद्रूपरसनाद्वारपालकम् । अङ्गुलीलोकवलितपादालिन्दकृतस्थिति
The tongue, ever moving and tasting, serves as the doorkeeper; the toes, encircling the threshold, stand as sentinels.
रक्तमांसरसादिग्धस्नायुसन्ततिवेष्टितम् । स्थूलास्थिकाष्ठसद्बन्धं सुकुड्यं सुप्रमार्जितम्
It is wrapped in layers of red flesh and blood, bound by sinews, with a sturdy frame of thick bones, well-plastered and thoroughly cleansed.
ईदृशस्यास्य देहस्य गेहस्य मुनिनायक । सुषिरे कोमले मध्ये पार्शुकाभित्तिमालिते
O chief of sages, within the hollow, soft center of this body-house, bordered by the ribs, lies something further.
पद्मयुग्ममयं यन्त्रम् अस्थिमांसमयं मृदु । ऊर्ध्वाधोनालम् अन्योऽन्यमिलत्कोशं लसद्दलम्
There is a mechanism made of a pair of lotus-like, soft organs of bone and flesh, with upper and lower stems, their sheaths closing upon each other, and petals gently moving.
सततस्पन्दरूपेण सकलाकाशचारिणा । तस्य यन्त्रस्य पत्त्राणि मृदून्य् आत्तानि वायुना
With constant pulsation, moving throughout all space, the soft leaves of this mechanism are set in motion by the wind.
लसत्सु तेषु पत्त्रेषु स मरुत् परिवर्धते । वाताहतलतापत्त्रजाले बहिर् इवाभितः
As those leaves flutter, the wind within grows stronger, like air striking a cluster of trembling leaves outside.
वृद्धिं गतो ऽसौ पवनः कृत्वात्मानम् अनेकधा । ऊर्ध्वाधो दिक्षु चान्यासु देहे ऽस्मिन् प्रसरत्य् अथ
Having increased, that wind divides itself in many ways, and then spreads throughout this body, upward, downward, and in all directions.
प्राणापानसमानाद्यैस् ततस् स हृदयानिलः । सङ्केतैः प्रोच्यते तज्ज्ञैर् विचित्राचारचेष्टितः
Then, that vital air in the heart, known by the wise through its various movements and signs, is called by names such as prāṇa, apāna, samāna, and others.
हृत्पद्मयन्त्रकुहरात् समस्ताः प्राणशक्तयः । ऊर्ध्वाधः प्रसृता देहे चन्द्रबिम्बाद् इवांशवः
From the mechanism of the heart-lotus, all the powers of prāṇa spread throughout the body above and below, like rays from the orb of the moon.
यान्त्य् आयान्ति विवल्गन्ति हरन्ति विहरन्ति च । उत्पतन्ति पतन्त्य् आशु ता एताः प्राणशक्तयः
These powers of prāṇa go, come, leap, carry, move about, swiftly rise and fall—such are their actions.
स एष हृत्पद्मगतः प्राण इत्य् उच्यते बुधैः । अस्य काचिन् मुने शक्तिः प्रस्पन्दयति लोचने
This prāṇa, abiding in the heart-lotus, is called 'prāṇa' by the wise; O sage, one of its powers causes the eyes to blink.
काचित् स्पर्शम् उपादत्ते काचिद् वहति नासया । काचिद् अन्नं जरयति काचिद् वक्ति वचांसि च
One power receives touch, another carries scent to the nose, another digests food, and another speaks words.
बहुनात्र किम् उक्तेन सर्वम् एव शरीरके । करोति भगवान् वायुर् यन्त्रेहाम् इव यान्त्रिकः
Why say more? The divine air does everything in the body, just as a mechanic operates a machine by means of its mechanism.
तत्रोर्ध्वाधो द्विसङ्केतौ प्रसृताव् अनिलौ मुने । प्राणापानाव् इति ख्यातौ प्रकटौ तौ वरानिलौ
There, O sage, two vital airs, prāṇa and apāna, are clearly known as the two principal airs moving upward and downward.
तयोर् अनुसरन् नित्यं मुने गतिम् अहं स्थितः । शीतोष्णवपुषोर् नित्यं नित्यम् अम्बरपान्थयोः
Following their course always, O sage, I remain established in the movement of the two—ever in the forms of cold and heat, ever as travelers in the sky.
कलेवरमहायन्त्रे वाहयोश् श्रमहीनयोः । हृदाकाशार्कशशिनोर् अग्नीषोमस्वरूपयोः
In the great machine of the body, the two coursers—tireless—are like the sun and moon in the sky of the heart, embodying the forms of fire and soma.
शरीरपुरपालस्य मनसो रथचक्रयोः । अहङ्कारेश्वरस्यास्य प्रशस्तेष्टतुरङ्गयोः
For the mind, the guardian of the city of the body, these are the wheels of its chariot; for the lord called ego, they are the excellent, well-trained horses.