अज्ञातात्मा निबद्धो ऽसि विज्ञातात्मा न बध्यसे । राम त्वं स्वात्मनात्मानं बोधयस्व बलाद् अतः
When the self is unknown, you are bound; when the self is known, you are not bound. Therefore, Rama, awaken yourself to your own self by your own strength.
यत्र न स्वदते वस्तु स्वदते च यथागतम् । अवासनत्वं तद् विद्धि साम्यम् आकाशकोमलम्
Where nothing is tasted, and what is tasted passes as it comes, know that as non-attachment, as the gentle equality of space.
वासनारहितैर् अन्तर् इन्द्रियैर् आहरन् क्रियाः । न विक्रियाम् अवाप्नोषि खवत् क्षोभशतैर् अपि
When, with inner senses free from latent impressions, you perform actions, you do not undergo disturbance, even amid a hundred agitations, like the sky.
ज्ञाता ज्ञानं तथा ज्ञेयं त्रयम् एकतयात्मनि । शान्तात्मानुभवन् भव्य न भूयोभवभाग् असि
Knowing subject, knowledge, and object as one in the Self, abiding in the peace of that realization, O noble one, you are no longer subject to rebirth.
चित्तोन्मेषनिमेषाभ्यां संसारप्रलयोदयौ । वासनाप्राणसंरोधाद् अनुन्मेषं मनः कुरु
The arising and dissolution of the world occur with the opening and closing of the mind; by restraining the flow of impressions and life-force, keep the mind without arising.
प्राणोन्मेषनिमेषाभ्यां संसृतेः प्रलयोदयौ । तम् अभ्यासप्रयोगाभ्याम् उन्मेषरहितं कुरु
With the expansion and contraction of the life-breath, the world arises and dissolves; through practice and discipline, make it free from expansion.
मौर्ख्योन्मेषनिमेषाभ्यां कर्मणां प्रलयोदयौ । तद् विलीनं कुरु बलाद् गुरुशास्त्रार्थसङ्गमैः
Through the arising and cessation of ignorance, actions arise and subside; forcibly dissolve that (ignorance) by union with the meaning of the teacher’s instruction and scripture.
यथा वातरजस्सङ्गस्पन्दात् स्तम्भाभ्रवेदनम् । तथा चिता चेत्यतया स्पन्दाद् इदम् उपस्थितम्
Just as, by the movement of wind, dust, and touch, there is the perception of pillar, cloud, and so on, so too, by the vibration of awareness as object, this (world) appears.
दृश्यदर्शनसम्बन्धस्पन्दजेयं जगद्गतिः । स्फुरत्य् आलोककुड्यादिसङ्गजा वर्णधीर् इव
The movement of the world, which is to be conquered, arises from the vibration of the connection between seer and seen, just as the perception of color arises from contact with a wall or the like.
दृश्यदर्शनसम्बन्धस्पन्दाभावे न जायते । वेदना भवदाभासा चित्रपुंसाम् इवाशये
When there is no vibration of the connection between seer and seen, perception does not arise—just as, in the minds of those who dream, the appearance of the world does not occur.
चित्तस्पन्दोत्थिता माया तदभावे विलीयते । पयस्स्पन्दोत्थिता वीचिस् तदभावेन शाम्यति
Māyā arises from the vibration of the mind; when that ceases, it dissolves. Waves arise from the movement of water; when that ceases, they subside.
त्यागतो वासनांशस्य बोधाद् वा प्राणरोधनात् । चित्ते निस्स्पन्दतां याते कुतस् स्पन्दस्य सम्भवः
When the tendencies are abandoned, or through knowledge, or by restraint of the breath, the mind becomes still; then, how can any movement arise?
असंवित्स्पन्दमात्रेण याति चित्तम् अचित्तताम् । प्राणानां वा निरोधेन तद् एव च परं पदम्
By the cessation of movement in consciousness, the mind becomes no-mind; or by the restraint of the vital breaths, that itself is the supreme state.
दृश्यदर्शनसम्बन्धे यत् सुखं पारमात्मिकम् । तदन्तैकान्तसंवित्त्या ब्रह्मदृष्ट्या मनःक्षयः
The supreme bliss found in the union of the seer and the seen, through the absolute awareness within, is the dissolution of the mind by the vision of Brahman.
यत्र नाभ्युदितं चित्तं तत् तत् सुखम् अकृत्रिमम् । न स्वर्गादौ सम्भवति मरौ हिमगृहं यथा
Where the mind does not arise, there is that uncontrived happiness; it does not occur in heaven or elsewhere, just as there is no snow-house in the desert.
चित्तोपशमजं स्फारम् अवाच्यं वचसां सुखम् । क्षयातिशयनिर्मुक्तं नोदेति न च शाम्यति
The vast, indescribable happiness born of the quieting of the mind, free from increase or decrease, neither arises nor subsides.
बोधाद् भवति चित्तान्तो निर्बोधाच् चित्ततोदिता । बालवेतालवत् तेन मोहश्रीर् घनतां गता
Through knowledge, the mind comes to its end; from ignorance, the mind arises. Like a child or a ghost, delusion attains density thereby.
विद्यमानम् अपि ह्य् एतच् चित्तं बोधाद् विलीयते । सद् अप्य् असद् इवाभाति ताम्रं हेमीकृतं यथा
Even though this mind exists, it dissolves through knowledge; though real, it appears unreal, like copper made into gold.
ज्ञस्य चित्तं न चित्ताख्यं ज्ञचित्तं सत्त्वम् उच्यते । नामार्थान्यत्वभाक् चित्तं बोधात् ताम्रसुवर्णवत्
The mind of the knower is not called 'mind'; the mind of the knower is called 'being'. The mind, being distinct from name and form, is like copper and gold in relation to awareness.
न सम्भवति चित्तत्वं तेन तत् प्रविलीयते । भ्रमश् शाम्यति बोधेन नाभावो विद्यते सतः
Thus, the state of mind does not arise, and so it dissolves. Delusion is pacified by awareness; non-existence does not pertain to what is real.
अवस्त्व् एतद् विकल्पात्म चित्तादि शशशृङ्गवत् । सर्वत्वाद् आत्मनस् तस्मात् तद् विबोधाद् विलीयते
This mind and the like, being of the nature of conceptualization, are unreal, like the horns of a hare. Because the Self is all, they dissolve upon realization.
चित्तं सत्त्वं समायातं कञ्चित् कालं जगत्स्थितौ । विहृत्य तुर्यावस्थायां तुर्यातीतं भवत्य् अतः
The mind becomes being for a certain time during the existence of the world; after functioning, in the state beyond the fourth, it becomes transcendent of even the fourth.
ब्रह्मैव भूरिभुवनभ्रमविभ्रमौघैर् इत्थं स्थितं समम् अनेकतयैकम् एव । सर्वात्म सम्भवति नेतरद् अङ्ग किञ्चिच् चैत्तादि काञ्चनहृदीव हि सन्निवेशः
Brahman alone, established thus amidst the multitude of wanderings and confusions of countless worlds, remains the same, one in many forms. All arises from the Self; nothing else is a component. The arrangement of mind and the like is like gold in a golden heart.
अत्रेमाम् अवबोधाय विस्मयोत्फुल्लकारिणीम् । अपूर्वाम् एव सङ्क्षेपाद् राम रम्यां कथां शृणु
Now, for your understanding, listen, O Rama, to this delightful story, brief yet wondrous and unprecedented, which causes amazement.
योजनानां सहस्राणि विपुलं विमलं स्फुटम् । युगैर् अप्य् अजरद्रूपम् अस्ति बिल्वफलं महत्
There exists a great bilva fruit, vast, pure, and clear, thousands of yojanas in extent, whose ageless form endures through ages.
अविनाशरसाधारं सुधामधुरसारवत् । पुराणम् अपि बालेन्दुदलमार्दवसुन्दरम्
It is the repository of the essence of immortality, possessing the sweetness of nectar, ancient yet beautiful with the softness of young moonbeams.
व्यूढसह्यमहामेरुमन्दराद्रितृणावलेः । महाकल्पान्तवात्याया अपि वेगैर् अचालितम्
Even the mighty winds at the end of a great age cannot move it, though it stands amidst the clustered peaks of Sahya, Mahāmeru, and Mandara, as if they were mere blades of grass.
योजनायुतकोटीनां कोटिलक्षशतैर् अपि । वैपुल्येनापरिच्छेद्यं फलम् आद्यं जगत्स्थितेः
Its vastness cannot be measured, even by hundreds of millions of leagues multiplied by countless hundreds of millions; such is the original fruit of the world's existence.
अस्य बिल्वफलस्योच्चैर् ब्रह्माण्डानि समीपतः । हरन्ति लीलां शैले ऽधो राजिकाकणपद्धतेः
The lofty fruit of this bilva tree draws the universes near, as if playfully pulling them down like tiny mustard seeds beneath a mountain.
स्यन्दमानरसापूरां स्वाद्वीं रसचमत्कृतिम् । यस्यातिशेते नो कश्चिद् अपि राघव षड्रसः
Its juice flows abundantly, sweet and astonishing in taste; O Rāghava, none of the six flavors surpass it.