चटिका वञ्जुली शारी मक्षिका षट्पदी शुकी । धीश् श्रीर् ह्रीः प्रीतिर् आर्तिश् च शवरी शर्वरी शशी
A sparrow, a wagtail, a starling, a bee, a butterfly, a parrot; intelligence, fortune, modesty, love, distress, a tribal woman, night, the moon—
एतास्व् अन्यासु चान्यासु परिभ्रमति योनिषु । विवर्तमाना संसारे जलावर्ते तृणं यथा
In these and other wombs she wanders, revolving in the cycle of existence, like a blade of grass caught in a whirlpool.
बिभेत्य् एषा स्वसङ्कल्पात् स्वशब्दाद् इव गर्दभी । नानया सदृग् अन्यास्ति मुग्धा बालाबला चला
She fears her own imagination, just as a she-ass fears her own bray; there is no other like her—foolish, childish, unsteady.
एषा सा कथिता तुभ्यं जीवशक्तिर् मया मुने । प्राकृताचारविवशा वराकी पशुधर्मिणी
This, O sage, is the life-force I have described to you—helpless, bound to natural ways, pitiable, and animal-like in nature.
कर्मात्मेत्य् अभिधां प्राप्ता शोच्यास्य परमात्मनः । अनन्तदुःखबहलं स्वयं सम्भ्रमम् आश्रिता
The supreme Self, which has come to be called the 'self of action,' is to be pitied, for it has taken upon itself endless suffering and confusion.
असद् एवानयाक्रान्तं विनाशि सहजं मलम् । तण्डुलेनेव कम्बूकम् अनन्यच् चान्यवत् स्थितम्
By this, the unreal, perishable impurity has overtaken it—just as rice-husk covers the grain—while it itself remains unchanged, like something else.
अनन्तविभवभ्रष्टा दौर्भाग्यपरितापिनी । शोचति प्राप्य जीवत्वं भर्तृहीनेव नायिका
Deprived of infinite glory, tormented by misfortune, it grieves upon attaining individuality, like a heroine bereft of her beloved.
जडरतेर् अवलोकय शक्ततां निजपदस्मरणेन विनेह यत् । व्रजति पृष्ठम् अधःपतनाय खाद् दुररघट्टघटीपुटपीठवत्
Behold how, without remembrance of its own true state, the power of inert attachment declines here; it moves backward toward a fall, like a bellows-pedal recoiling after being struck.
चिनोत्य् अलीकम् एवैवं दुःखितास्मीति भावनात् । चिद् वधूः क्षीवसुप्तैव पतितास्मीत्य् अलं यथा
Thus, by the mere thought 'I am miserable,' consciousness, like a bride feigning sleep, imagines what is unreal, saying 'I have fallen,' though nothing has happened.
अमृतैव मृतास्मीति विपर्यस्तमतिर् वधूः । यथा रोदित्य् अनष्टैव नष्टास्मीति तथैव चित्
Just as a bride, though alive, laments 'I am dead' due to her confused mind, so too does consciousness cry 'I am lost,' though nothing is lost.
अकारणविपर्यस्तमतिर् भ्रान्तम् अपि स्थिरम् । यथा जगत् पश्यतीदं तथाहन्ताभ्रमं चितिः
With a baselessly confused mind, it perceives even the unreal as stable; just as it sees this world, so does consciousness experience the delusion of 'I-ness.'
चित्त्वं हि कारणं तस्यास् संसारानुभवे चितेः । न च तत्कारणं किञ्चिच् चित्त्वान्यत्वात्यसम्भवात्
Indeed, consciousness itself is the cause of its experience of worldly existence; and there is no other cause, for nothing else apart from consciousness can possibly exist.
एवं हि कारणाभावाच् चेत्यस्यासम्भवाद् अपि । नासौ चिन् न च तच् चेत्यं न च तच् चेत्यते तया
Thus, due to the absence of cause and the impossibility of an object of cognition, that is neither consciousness, nor is it an object of consciousness, nor is it cognized by that.
न दृश्यदर्शनद्रष्टृरूपं तैलम् इवोपले । न कर्तृकर्मकरणदृग् इन्दाव् इव कृष्णता
It is not of the nature of seer, seeing, or seen, like oil in a stone; nor is it agent, action, or instrument, just as blackness is not in the moon.
न मनोमेयमानानि नभसीव नवाङ्कुरः । न चिच्चेतनचेत्यादि नन्दने खदिरो यथा
It is not mind, nor what is known by the mind, nor the process of knowing, like a sprout does not exist in the sky; nor is it consciousness, sentience, or object, just as a khadira tree does not exist in the Nandana grove.
नाहन्त्वत्वत्त्वतत्त्वादि पर्वतत्वम् इवाम्बरे । न चेहत्वान्यदेशत्वे शङ्खत्वक्ष्व् इव कज्जलम्
It is not the sense of 'I', 'you', 'that', or such distinctions, like the state of being a mountain does not exist in the sky; nor is there here-ness or there-ness, like blackness does not exist in a conch shell.
नानानाना न चाप्य् अन्तर् अणाव् इव सुमेरवः । न च शब्दार्थशब्दश्रीर् महोषरलता यथा
There is no multiplicity or non-multiplicity, just as Mount Meru does not exist in an atom; nor is there the glory of word, meaning, or word itself, like lushness does not exist in a desert creeper.
नेति नेति न चैवार्कमण्डले रजनी यथा । न वस्तुतावस्तुते च तुषारेषु यथोष्णता
It is not 'not this, not this', nor is it like night in the orb of the sun; nor is there reality or unreality, just as heat does not exist in snow.
न शून्यताशून्यते च शिलाकोश इव द्रुमः । शून्यताशून्यता नापि महती ख इवाखता
There is neither emptiness nor non-emptiness, like a tree does not exist in a block of stone; nor is there emptiness of emptiness, just as non-sky does not exist in vast space.
केवलं केवलीभावस् स्वस्थतैवावशिष्यते । न कश्चित् कस्यचिद् दोषो ज्ञतयैतद् अवाप्यते
Only the state of pure being, one's own natural condition, remains; there is no fault in anyone, for this is realized through knowledge.
नञर्थाभावनामात्रेणानर्थः प्रसृतश् चितेः । नञर्थभावनामात्रेणानर्थ उपशाम्यति
By merely entertaining the notion of negation, misfortune arises in the mind; by merely entertaining the notion of negation, misfortune subsides.
नञर्थभावनामात्राद् ऋते ऽत्राङ्गोपयुज्यते । न तृणं न च त्रैलोक्यम् इति स्वायत्ततात्र ते
Apart from the mere notion of negation, nothing else is involved here; neither a blade of grass nor the three worlds are dependent on you in this matter.
स्वायत्त एव ह्य् एषो ऽर्थो दुस्साधो ऽभावनात् स्थितः । यद् यन् न साध्यते पुंसा तत् कथं किल लभ्यते
This matter is indeed subject to oneself alone, and remains unattainable due to lack of resolve; whatever is not accomplished by a person—how could that ever be obtained?
निर्विकल्पाद्वितीया चिद् यासौ सकलगा सती । परमैका परा साच्छा दीपिका तेजसाम् अपि
That consciousness, undivided and nondual, pervading all, is the supreme, the highest, the true, the illuminator even of lights.
सैषावभासनकरी सर्वगा नित्यनिर्मला । नित्योदिता निर्मनस्का निर्विकारा निरञ्जना
She is the revealer, all-pervading, eternally pure, ever-risen, free of mind, changeless, and stainless.
घटे पटे वटे कुड्ये शकटे वानरे सुरे । असुरे सागरे भूते नरे नागे च संस्थिता
She abides in the pot, the cloth, the banyan tree, the wall, the cart, the monkey, the god, the demon, the ocean, the element, the man, and the serpent.
साक्षिवत् तिष्ठति सती स्पन्दते च न कुत्रचित् । दीपः प्रकाशनायैव करोति न पुनः क्रियाम्
She stands as a witness, yet does not stir anywhere; just as a lamp only illumines and does not perform any other action.
मलिनाप्य् अमलैषा सा विकल्पाढ्याविकल्पिनी । जडैवाजडतासारा नसर्वा सर्वम् एव च
Though she appears impure, she is pure; though full of distinctions, she is without distinctions; apparently inert, her essence is non-inert; not all, yet all indeed.
निर्विकल्पा परा सूक्ष्मा चिच् चिनोति स्वसंविदम् । वात एवाङ्गमर्मादि यथा यन्त्रादि चेष्टते
The supreme, subtle consciousness, free of distinctions, illumines its own awareness, just as wind moves the limbs and joints of a body or operates a machine.
रूपालोकमनस्कारवलिता चिद् अबोधतः । बोधतस् सैव भवति नैषा सदसती यतः
When consciousness is enveloped by form, perception, and mental activity, it becomes unconscious; when it is awakened, it is itself, for it is neither existence nor non-existence.