चिता सञ्चेत्यते देहो न तु सञ्चाल्यते क्वचित् । प्रभुर् द्रष्टैव भवति कर्ता भवति कर्मकृत्
Consciousness perceives the body, but never truly moves it; the master becomes the seer, and the doer becomes the performer of actions.
प्राणेनेदं देहगेहं परिस्फुरति यन्त्रवत् । प्राणहीनं परिस्पन्दं त्यक्त्वा तिष्ठति मूकवत्
By the life-force, this body-house vibrates like a machine; deprived of the life-force, it abandons movement and remains mute.
चालनी पावनी शक्तिश् शक्तिस् संवेदनी चितेः । सामूर्ता खाद् अपि स्वच्छा स्वसत्तैवात्र कारणम्
The moving, purifying power is the energy of consciousness; it is also the faculty of awareness. Though formless and clear even in space, its own existence alone is the cause here.
विनश्यतः प्राणदेहौ वियोगात्मक एव च । चिदात्मा खाद् अपि स्वच्छो न विनश्यति किं भ्रमैः
When the vital force and body perish, separation occurs; yet the essence of consciousness remains clear even in space, and does not perish—why be confused by this?
मनःप्राणमये देहे चित्तत्त्वं परिराजते । मकुरे चामलाभासे प्रतिबिम्बं प्रवर्तते
Within the body made of mind and vital force, the essence of consciousness shines forth; like a reflection appearing in a spotless mirror.
सद् अप्य् अग्रगतं वस्तु प्रतिबिम्बक्रियां प्रति । यथा नास्ति मलोपेते मकुरे मुनिनायक
Even if an object is present before it, the act of reflection does not occur in a mirror that is free from impurity, O leader of sages.
तथा नास्ति गतप्राणे विद्यमाने ऽपि देहके । सर्वगापि चिद् अन्यूना बोधस्पन्दादिकं प्रति
In the same way, when the vital force has departed, even if the body remains, there is no manifestation of consciousness—though it is all-pervading and not diminished—regarding the stirrings of awareness and the like.
बोधात् कलङ्कविकला चिद् एव परमा शिवम् । विदुर् देवं तदभ्यासं सर्वसत्तार्थदं तथा
Consciousness alone, free from blemish and limitation, is supreme and auspicious; the wise know it as the divine, whose practice grants the purpose of all existence.
स हरिस् स शिवस् सो ऽजस् स ब्रह्मा स सुरेश्वरः । अनिलानलचन्द्रार्कवपुस् स परमेश्वरः
He is Hari, he is Shiva, he is Aja, he is Brahma, he is the lord of gods; his form is wind, fire, moon, and sun—he is the supreme lord.
स एव सर्वगात्मात्मा चित् संविच् चेतनस् स्मृतः । देवेशो देहभृद् धाता देवदेवो दिवस्पतिः
He alone is the self of all, the essence of consciousness, awareness, and remembrance; the lord of gods, the sustainer of bodies, the creator, the god of gods, the lord of heaven.
महाचितस् समुल्लासात् समुद्यन्तीव केचन । ये नाम ते जगत्य् एते ब्रह्मविष्णुहरादयः । कणास् तप्तायस इव वारिधेर् इव बिन्दवः
From the great mind, by its own effulgence, certain beings seem to arise—those called Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and others in this world—like sparks from red-hot iron, or like drops from the ocean.
तेष्व् ईषद्भ्रमभूतेषु जातेष्व् इव परात् पदात् । स्थितेषु भ्रमबीजेषु कल्पनाजालकर्तृषु
When these, which are but slight movements of delusion, have arisen as if from the Supreme, and remain as seeds of illusion, weaving the net of imagination—
सहस्रशतशाखेयम् अविद्योदेति पीवरी । वेदवेदार्थदेवादिजीवजालजटावती
Then, from these, there arises this vast and dense ignorance with hundreds and thousands of branches, entangled with the masses of Vedas, their meanings, gods, and living beings.
ततस् त्व् अस्या अनन्तायाः प्रसृतायाः पुनः पुनः । सम्पन्नदेशकालायाः क्षमस् स्याद् वर्णनासु कः
From this, which spreads endlessly again and again, manifesting in all places and times—who can be adequate to describe it?
ब्रह्मविष्णुहरादीनां मतो यः परमः पिता । मूलबीजं महादेवः पल्लवानाम् इव द्रुमः
He who is regarded as the supreme father of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the rest, is the root-seed, the great Lord, like the tree to its branches.
स ब्रह्मतत्त्वाद्यभिधस् सर्वसंवेदनैककृत् । सर्वसत्ताप्रदो भास्वान् वन्द्यो ऽभ्यर्च्यश् च तद्विदाम्
He, known as the essence of Brahman and the rest, the one cause of all awareness, the giver of all existence, the radiant one, is to be revered and worshipped by the wise.
प्रत्यक्षवस्तुविषयस् सर्वत्रैव सदोदितः । संवेदनात्मकतया गतया सर्वगोचरम्
He, whose nature is direct experience, is ever manifest everywhere, pervading all as the essence of awareness, reaching all domains.
न तस्याह्वानमन्त्रादि किञ्चिद् एवोपयुज्यते । नित्याहूतस् स सर्वस्थो लभ्यते सर्वतस् स्वचित्
For him, no invocation, mantra, or the like is needed; ever-invoked, present in all, he is attained everywhere by one's own consciousness.
यां यां वस्तुदशां यासि तत एव मुने शिवम् । स्वरूपं समवाप्नोषि रूपालोकमनोदृशा
O sage, whichever state of being you enter, from that very state you attain auspiciousness; you realize your own true nature, perceiving forms through the vision of mind and light.
आद्यं पूज्यं नमस्कार्यं स्तुत्यम् अर्घ्यं सुरेश्वरम् । एनं तं विद्धि वेद्यानां सीमान्तं महताम् अपि
Know this one—who is the first, the venerable, worthy of worship, praise, and offering, the lord of the gods—as the ultimate limit even of the knowables and of the great ones.
एवम् आत्मानम् आलोक्य जराशोकभयापहम् । सम्भृष्टबीजवज् जन्तुर् न भूयः परिरोहति
Thus, seeing the Self, which removes old age, sorrow, and fear, the living being, like a seed that has been roasted, does not sprout again.
सकलजन्तुषु जन्तुपदप्रदं विदितम् आद्यम् उपास्य यतव्रत । त्वम् अजम् आत्ममयं परमं पदं भवसि किं परिमज्जसि दृष्टिषु
Known as the primal, worshipped and observed by the disciplined, the giver of the state of being to all creatures—You are the unborn, Self-formed, supreme state; why do you wander among sights?
ततं चिद्रूपम् एवैकं सर्वसत्तान्तरस्थितम् । स्वानुभूतिमयं शुद्धं देवं रुद्रेश्वरा विदुः
That which is pure consciousness alone, pervading all, dwelling within every being, consisting of one's own experience—this is known by the lords Rudra and Īśvara as the divine.
बीजं समस्तबीजानां सारं संसारसंसृतेः । कर्मणां परमं कर्म चिद्धातुं विद्धि निर्मलम्
Know the pure consciousness as the seed of all seeds, the essence of the cycle of existence, the supreme of all actions, and the stainless foundation of awareness.
कारणं कारणौघानाम् अकारणम् अनाबिलम् । भावनं भावनांशानाम् अभाव्यम् अभवात्मकं
It is the cause of all causes, itself causeless and without impurity; the imagination of all imaginations, itself unimaginable and of the nature of non-being.
चेतनं चेतनौघानां चेतनात्मनि चेतितम् । अचेत्यचेतनं चेत्यं परमं भूरिभासनम्
It is the consciousness of all streams of consciousness, the awareness within the self-aware; it is both the knowable and the unknowable, the supreme, shining in manifold ways.
आलोकालोकम् अमलम् अनालोक्यम् अलोकजम् । अबीजं जीवबीजौघं चिद्घनं विमलं विदुः
They know it as the pure, unmanifest, unseeable, source of darkness and light, the seedless origin of the multitude of living seeds, a mass of consciousness, flawless.
असत्यं सन्मयं शान्तं सत्यासत्यविवर्जितम् । महासत्तादिसन्तानं चिन्मात्रं विद्धि नेतरत्
Know that as unreal yet full of reality, peaceful, free from both truth and untruth, the stream of great existence and the rest, pure consciousness—nothing else.
स्वयं भवति रागात्मा रञ्जको रञ्जनं रजः । स्वयम् आकाशम् अप्य् आशु कुड्यं भवति मण्डितम्
Of itself it becomes the essence of passion, the colorer, the coloring, and the color; it swiftly becomes even space, or a decorated wall, by its own power.
अस्मिंश् चित्तेजसि स्फारे जगन्मरुमरीचयः । स्फुरिताः प्रस्फुरिष्यन्ति प्रस्फुरन्ति च कोटिशः
In this vast radiance of consciousness, the mirage-like worlds arise, will arise, and do arise by the millions.