यथैव व्योममरुति लीनं पुर्यष्टकं भवेत् । तथैव तत्रैव तदा लयम् एति मनो मुने
Just as the eightfold city merges into the wind and sky, so too, O sage, the mind dissolves there at that time.
सुचिराभ्यस्तभावस्थवासनानुचितं मनः । यत्र तत्र भ्रमं स्वर्गनरकादिं प्रपश्यति
The mind, shaped by long-practiced tendencies and habits, perceives wandering illusions of heaven, hell, and the like wherever it goes.
शरीरं शवताम् एति मनोमारुतवर्जितम् । गते गृहजने दूरं गृहं संशून्यताम् इव
The body becomes like a corpse when deprived of the wind of the mind; just as a house becomes empty when its inhabitants have gone far away.
सर्वगा चिच् चेतनतो जीवीभूय मनस्स्थिता । पुर्यष्टकवपुर् भूत्वैवातिवाहिकदेहिनी
The mind, pervading all as consciousness, becomes alive and abides; assuming the form of the eightfold city, it takes on the body of the traveler.
तन्मात्रपञ्चकं चित्त्वं क्रोडीकृत्य व्यवस्थिता । स्वप्नभ्रमवद् आकारं भावात् स्थूलं प्रपश्यति
Having gathered the five subtle elements into consciousness and established itself, it perceives the gross form as if it were a dream illusion.
दृढभावनया पश्चात् तत्रैव रसशालिनी । आतिवाहिकदेहत्वं विस्मरत्य् अखिलं क्षणात्
Then, through firm contemplation, the mind, full of flavor, instantly forgets its entire identity as the traveler’s body.
असत्य् एव शरीरे ऽस्मिन् कृता कृत्रिमभावना । नयत्य् असत्यं सत्यत्वं सत्यं चासत्यताम् अपि
When the body itself is unreal, an artificial notion is created; this leads the unreal to appear real, and the real to seem unreal.
सर्वगा हि चिद् अंशेन जीवीभूय भवेन् मनः । मनः पुर्यष्टकरथम् आक्रामति ततो जगत्
Indeed, the mind, pervading all with a portion of consciousness and becoming alive, enters the eightfold city-chariot and then the world.
पुर्यष्टकं वातमयं देहम् उत्थापयत्य् अलम् । हृत्स्थं हि वेताल इव जीव इत्य् उच्यते तदा
The body, composed of the eightfold city and made of air, is raised up; when the life-force abides in the heart, it is called 'jīva', like a ghost possessing a corpse.
क्षीणे पुर्यष्टके चित्तं यदा व्योमनि लीयते । तदा स्फुरति नो देहो मृत इत्य् उच्यते ऽपि च
When the eightfold city is depleted and the mind dissolves into space, then the body no longer stirs and is said to be dead.
स्वभाववशतो जीवो विस्मृत्याशक्तिम् ऋच्छति । वैरस्यात् कालवशतः पर्णं जर्जरताम् इव
By the force of its own nature, the jīva loses power through forgetfulness or disinterest, or by the influence of time, just as a leaf becomes withered.
जीवशक्त्यापरामृष्टे निरुद्धे पद्मयन्त्रके । प्राणे संरोधम् आयाते म्रियते मानवो मुने
When the mechanism of the lotus—unmoved by the power of the jīva—is restrained and the breath is obstructed, then, O sage, the person dies.
यथा जातानि जातानि तान्य् अथान्यानि कालतः । वृक्षात् पर्णानि शीर्यन्ते शरीराणि तथा नृणाम्
Just as, over time, leaves that have grown on a tree wither and fall, so too do the bodies of people perish.
जायन्ते च म्रियन्ते च शरीराणि शरीरिणाम् । पादपानां च पर्णानि का तत्र परिदेवना
Bodies of embodied beings are born and die, just as leaves of trees do; what cause is there for lamentation in this?
चिदम्बुधौ स्फुरन्त्य् एता देहबुद्बुदपङ्क्तयः । इतश् चान्या इतश् चान्या एतास्व् आस्था न धीमतः
In the ocean of consciousness, these rows of body-bubbles arise—some here, some elsewhere; the wise do not place reliance on them.
सर्वगापि चिद् एतस्मिंश् चेतसि प्रतिबिम्बते । पदार्थम् अन्तर् आदत्ते नान्यो हि मकुराद् ऋते
Though consciousness is all-pervading, it is reflected only in the mind; it takes hold of objects within, for nothing else can reflect it but a mirror.
चिदमलनभसि प्रसन्नरूपाः परिवितते तदतन्मये स्फुरन्ति । कलकलमुखरास् स्फुटाभिरामा विविधशरीरविमोहतापनद्यः
In the pure radiance of consciousness, which is serene in form and all-pervading, there arise, shining forth, the various streams of delusion that captivate with their clamorous, clear, and charming forms, causing bewilderment regarding different bodies.
चन्द्रार्धशेखरधर चित्तत्त्वस्य महात्मनः । अनन्तस्यैकरूपस्य द्वित्वं कथम् इवागतम्
How has duality arisen in the supreme reality of consciousness, which is adorned with the crescent moon, which is infinite, of the nature of the Self, and ever one?
कथं च तन् महादेव रूढं सत् कालपर्ययात् । भवेद् दुःखोपघाताय प्रज्ञया विनिवारितम्
And how, O great Lord, has that which is firmly established become, through the course of time, a cause of suffering, when it is dispelled by wisdom?
सर्वशक्तिर् हि चिद् ब्रह्म सद् एकं विद्यते यदा । तदा निर्मूल एवायं द्वित्वैकत्वलयोदयः
For when all-powerful consciousness, the one true Brahman, alone exists, then the arising of duality and unity, with their cycles, is indeed baseless.
सति द्वित्वे किलैकं स्यात् सत्य् एकत्वे द्विरूपता । कले द्वे एव चिद्रूपं चिद्रूपत्वात् तद् अप्य् असत्
If duality exists, then there would be oneness; if oneness is real, then there would be duality; at times, consciousness appears as two, but because it is of the nature of consciousness, even that is unreal.
एकाभावाद् अभावो ऽत्र चैकत्वद्वित्वयोर् द्वयोः । एकं विना द्वितीयं न न द्वितीयं विनैकता
Here, the absence of one is the absence of both unity and duality; without the one, the second does not exist, nor does unity exist without the second.
कार्यकारणयोर् एकसारत्वाद् एकरूपता । फलान्तस्यापि बीजादेर् विकारादि हि कल्पना
Because cause and effect share the same essence, they are of one nature; even the transformation of seed into fruit is merely a conceptual distinction.
चित्त्वं चेत्यविकल्पेन स्वयं स्फुरति तन्मयम् । विकारादि तद् एवातस् तत्सारत्वान् न भिद्यते
Consciousness, without distinction between subject and object, shines forth as itself; even transformation is that alone, and because its essence is that, it is not different.
विकारादिविकल्पो ऽयं तत उत्थाय वस्तुषु । याति सार्थकताम् नानाकार्यकारणकादिभिः
This notion of modification and distinction arises, and then, in relation to objects, attains significance through various causes and effects.
तरङ्गस् सलिले ऽतोयम् अतो ऽयं यस्य ते स नः । शशशृङ्गसमस् सो ऽपि यस्य सत्यं स खाङ्कुरः
A wave is in water, so this (world) is in That; but whose is this? It is like the horn of a hare—whoever claims it is real, let him show us its sprout in the sky.
वस्तुबोधे ऽत्र सम्पन्ने तवालं वाग्विकल्पितैः । व्यवच्छेदादि दुश्छेदं वचो वाक्त्वात् किल द्विज
When true understanding of reality is attained here, your words and imagined distinctions are of no use; division and separation by speech are indeed futile, O twice-born.
ब्रह्मणस् सर्वशक्तित्वं तत्त्वतो न विभिद्यते । स्वम् अङ्ग कणकल्लोलजालाद्य् अम्बुधिवारिणः
The all-powerfulness of Brahman is not truly divided; just as the foam, droplets, and waves are not separate from the water of the ocean.
पुष्पपल्लवपत्त्रादि लताया नेतरद् यथा । द्वित्वैकत्वे जगत्त्वादि त्वत्ताहन्त्वं तथा चितेः
Just as flowers, buds, and leaves are not different from the creeper, so too, duality and unity, the world, selfhood, and egoity are not different from consciousness.
देशकालविकारादिभेदश् चिद्रचितस् तु यत् । तच् चिद् एवेति ते प्रोक्तं न प्रश्नो ऽत्र तवोचितः
Whatever distinctions such as space, time, and modification are constructed by consciousness, that is indeed consciousness; thus it is said to you—your question here is not appropriate.