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.
नरकस्वर्गसर्गादि वासनावशतो ऽभितः । प्रपश्यति चिराभ्यस्तं जीवो जरढमोहधीः
Because of the force of latent impressions, the embodied soul, whose mind is dulled by long-standing delusion, perceives hell, heaven, creation, and so on, all around.
नरकस्वर्गसर्गादिसम्भ्रमेषु जगत्पते । किम् अस्य कारणं ब्रूहि जीवस्य जनितस्थितेः
O Lord of the world, amidst the bewilderments of hell, heaven, creation, and the like, tell me: what is the cause of the soul's birth and continued existence?
वासनात्मानम् एनं त्वं जीवं विद्धि शरीरकम् । स्ववासनात्मिकैवास्य सत्ता संसृतिकारणम्
Know this embodied soul as nothing but the self made of latent impressions; its very existence, consisting of its own impressions, is the cause of transmigration.
ध्रियते संसृतिस् तावद् यावत् स्फुरति वासना । स्वप्नोपमाना तेनेह श्रेयसे वासनाक्षयः
Transmigration endures as long as impressions arise; like a dream, therefore, the exhaustion of impressions here leads to the highest good.
चिराभ्यासवशात् प्रौढा संसारभ्रमकारिणी । किमुत्था देवदेवेश वासना क्षीयते कथम्
Because of the power of long-standing habit, the impressions become strong and cause the wandering of worldly existence; O Lord of gods, how do these impressions arise, and how are they destroyed?
मौर्ख्यमोहसमुच्छ्रायाद् अनात्मन्य् आत्मभावनात् । अज्ञानाद् आत्मनस् साधो सत्ताम् आयाति वासना
Through the height of folly and delusion, by imagining the self in what is not the self, and through ignorance of the true self, O noble one, impressions come into being.
भावितात्मासि कौन्तेय सत्यं विज्ञातवान् असि । अयं सो ऽहं जना एते ममेति त्यज वासनाः
You have realized the self, O son of Kunti, and truly understood; abandon the impressions of 'I am this,' 'these people are mine,' and the like.
वासनाविलये जीवो विलीनो भवति स्वयम् । यो हि यत्सत्तयोच्छूनस् तन्नाशात् स विलीयते
When impressions are dissolved, the soul itself is dissolved; for whatever exists because of something else, with the destruction of that, it too is dissolved.
देहे विलयम् आयाते देशकालान्यताकृतेः । को ऽसौ भाजनताम् एति जन्मनो मरणस्य च
When the body dissolves and its form becomes other than space and time, who then becomes the vessel for birth and death?
स्वयं कल्पितसङ्कल्पम् आत्मरूपं यद् आबिलम् । तद् एव वासनाकारं जीवं विद्धि महामते
That which is self-imagined, shaped by intention, and clouded in the form of the self—know, O wise one, that this alone is the living being fashioned by latent tendencies.