न कुर्याद् भोगसन्त्यागं न कुर्याद् भोगभावनम् । स्थातव्यं सुसमेनैव यथाप्राप्तानुवर्तिना
One should neither abandon enjoyments nor cultivate attachment to them; rather, one should remain balanced, following what comes as it arises.
अनात्मन्य् आत्मतां देहे मा भावय भवात्मनि । आत्मन्य् एवात्मतां सत्ये भावयाभावरूपिणि
Do not imagine selfhood in what is not the Self, in the body; instead, realize true selfhood in the Self alone, which is reality, the very form of absence.
देहनाशे महाबाहो न किञ्चिद् अपि नश्यति । आत्मनाशे हि नाशस् स्यान् न चात्मा नश्यति क्वचित्
O mighty-armed, when the body perishes, nothing at all is lost; only with the loss of the Self would there be destruction, but the Self is never destroyed anywhere.
अविनाशम् अनाद्यन्तम् आत्मानम् अजरं विदुः । नश्यत्य् आत्मेति दुर्बोधो मा तवास्त्व् अतिदुःखदः
The Self is known to be imperishable, without beginning or end, and ageless; the notion that the Self perishes is hard to grasp—let it not be yours, for it brings great sorrow.
न कदाचन नश्यन्ति विदितात्मान उत्तमाः । नश्यन्त्य् अविदितात्मानो ह्य् अनात्मन्य् आत्ममानिनः
Those who have realized the Self never perish; but those who have not, who imagine selfhood in what is not the Self, indeed perish.
एवं चेत् तज् जगन्नाथ मूढानाम् अपि मानद । देहनाशे समुत्पन्ने मन्ये नष्टं न किञ्चन
If this is so, O Lord of the world, bestower of honor even to the deluded, then even when the body perishes, I think nothing at all is lost.
एवम् एव महाबाहो न किञ्चिन् नश्यति क्वचित् । आत्मैवास्त्य् अविनाशात्मा किं तस्य क्व विनश्यति
In this way, O mighty-armed one, nothing is ever destroyed anywhere; only the Self exists, the indestructible Self—how and where could it ever perish?
इदं नष्टम् इदं युक्तम् इति मोहाद् भ्रमाद् ऋते । अन्यत् तथा न पश्यामि वन्ध्यास्त्रीतनयं यथा
This is lost, this is fitting—such notions arise only from delusion and error; otherwise, I do not see anything like that, just as a barren woman does not have a son.
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः । उभयोर् अपि दृष्टो ऽन्तस् त्व् अनयोस् तत्त्वदर्शिभिः
There is no existence in what is unreal, nor is there non-existence in what is real; the end of both has been observed by those who see the truth.
अविनाशि तु तद् विद्धि येन सर्वम् इदं ततम् । विनाशम् अव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित् कर्तुम् अर्हति
Know that the indestructible is that by which all this is pervaded; no one is able to bring about the destruction of this imperishable.
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताश् शरीरिणः । अनाशिनो ऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद् युध्यस्व भारत
These bodies are said to have an end, but the embodied Self is eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
आत्मैवैको ऽस्ति न द्वित्वम् असतस् सम्भवः कुतः । अविनाशस् त्व् अनन्तो ऽसौ सतो नाशो न विद्यते
Only the Self exists, not a second; how could the unreal arise? That which is real is infinite and indestructible—there is no destruction of what is real.
द्वैतैकत्वपरित्यागे यच् छेषम् अवशिष्यते । शान्तं सदसतोर् मध्यं तद् अस्तीह परं पदम्
When duality and unity are relinquished, what remains is peaceful, the middle ground between real and unreal; that is the highest state here.
तन् मृतो ऽस्मीति भगवन् किंरूढेह नृणां स्थितिः । कथं स्थितौ वा लोकानां तौ स्वर्गनरकौ प्रभो
O Lord, when someone says 'I am dead,' what is the true condition of people here? And in the state of the worlds, how do heaven and hell exist, O Master?
भूमिर् आपो ऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिर् एव च । एतत्तन्मात्रजातात्मा जीवो देहेषु तिष्ठति
Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, and intellect—these, born from their subtle elements, are the essence by which the living soul abides in bodies.
स कृष्यते वासनया रज्ज्वेव पशुपोतकः । स तिष्ठति शरीरान्तः पञ्जरे विहगो यथा
It is drawn by impressions, like a calf led by a rope; it remains within the body, as a bird in a cage.
स कालवशतो देहाज् जर्जरत्वम् उपागतात् । वासनावशतो याति वृक्षपर्णाद् रसो यथा
By the force of time, when the body becomes worn out, it departs by the power of impressions, just as sap leaves a tree’s leaf.
श्रोत्रं चक्षुस् स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणम् एव च । गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर् गन्धान् इवाशयात्
Taking the faculties of hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, it departs, as the wind carries scents from their source.
वासनावत्त्वम् एवास्य देहो नेतरयुक्तिजः । क्षीयते वासनात्यागे क्षीणे भवति तत् पदम्
Its embodiment is due only to impressions, not to any other cause; when impressions are relinquished, the body is exhausted, and it attains that state.
वासनावान् पुरा पुष्टो भूत्वा भ्राम्यति योनिषु । जीवो भ्रमभराकारो मायापुरुषको यथा
Nourished by impressions, it once wandered through wombs; the soul, shaped by the burden of wandering, is like a phantom man fashioned by illusion.
अक्षस्वभावान् अखिलाञ् शरीराद् वासनावशः । जीवो गृहीत्वा संयाति पुष्पाद् गन्धान् इवानिलः
Compelled by impressions, the soul gathers all the faculties from the body and departs, as the wind takes fragrance from a flower.
देहो निस्स्पन्दताम् एति जीवे कौन्तेय निर्गते । निस्स्पन्दावयवाभोगश् शान्तवात इव द्रुमः
When the soul departs, O Kaunteya, the body becomes motionless; its limbs are inert, like a tree stilled by a tranquil wind.
अचेष्टश् छेदभेदादिदोषैर् आयात्य् अदृश्यताम् । मृत इत्य् उच्यते लोके देहो विगतजीवितः
When the body, unmoving and rendered insensible by injuries such as cutting or breaking, becomes invisible, it is said in the world to be dead—devoid of life.
स जीवः प्राणमूर्तिः खे यत्र यत्रावतिष्ठते । तत्र स्ववासनाभ्यासात् पश्यत्य् आकारम् आततम्
That living being, the embodiment of vital force, wherever it abides in space, there, through the force of its own latent tendencies, perceives a form spread out.
अयं देहो हि जीवेन त्व् असन्न् एवावलोकितः । अस्य नाशे ऽन्यम् अप्य् एवं पश्यत्य् एवाशु स्वप्नवत्
Indeed, this body is regarded by the living being as non-existent; when this perishes, it quickly perceives another in the same way, just as in a dream.
यथैव पश्यत्य् आकारांस् तेषां नाशांस् तथैव सः । आदिसर्गे भावनया किलैवं संविभावितः
Just as it perceives forms, so also their dissolution; in the beginning of creation, by the power of imagination, it is indeed thus made to experience.
झगित्य् उद्भवकाले तु यद् यथा दृश्यते पुरः । आनिर्वाणं तद् एवास्या अविनाभाविसंविदः
At the moment of sudden emergence, whatever appears before it, that alone is indeterminate for one whose awareness is inseparable from existence.
प्राक्तनं वासनाजालं पुरुषार्थेन जीयते । यत्नेनाद्यतनेनाशु यतनं ह्यस्तनं यथा
The web of previous tendencies is sustained by purposeful effort; by present exertion, the effort of the past is quickly overcome, just as yesterday's.
य एव पुरुषार्थेन दृष्टो बलवता क्षणात् । पूर्वोत्तरनिमेषांशस् स एव जयति स्फुटम्
Whatever is perceived through powerful effort in a moment—whether from the previous or subsequent instant—that alone clearly prevails.
अपि स्फुटति विध्यण्डे वाति वा प्रलयानिले । पौरुषं हि यथाशास्त्रम् अतस् त्याज्यं न धीमता
Even if the cosmic egg is shattered or the wind of dissolution blows, effort, as taught in the scriptures, should not be abandoned by the wise.