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.
अनायत्तम् असङ्कल्पम् आत्मरूपं यद् अव्ययम् । प्रबोधाद् वासनामुक्तं तं मोक्षं विद्धि भारत
That which is independent, free from intention, unchanging in the form of the self, and released from latent impressions through awakening—know this as liberation, O descendant of Bharata.
जीवन्न् एव महाबाहो तत्त्वं प्रेक्ष्य यथास्थितम् । वासनावागुरामुक्तो मुक्त इत्य् अभिधीयते
Even while living, O mighty-armed one, one who perceives reality as it is and is freed from the net of latent tendencies is called liberated.
यो न निर्वासनो नूनं सर्वधर्मपरो ऽपि सः । सर्वज्ञो ऽप्य् अभितो बद्धः पञ्जरस्थो यथा खगः
He who is not free from latent tendencies, even if devoted to all duties or all-knowing, is still bound, like a bird confined in a cage.
दुर्दर्शनस्य गगने शिखिपिञ्छिकेव सूक्ष्मापि विस्फुरति यस्य न वासनान्तः । मुक्तस् स एव भवतीह हि वासनैव बन्धो ऽनघस्य ननु तत्क्षय एव मोक्षः
Just as the subtle plume of a peacock shines in the sky yet is hard to see, so one whose latent tendencies do not flicker within is truly liberated here; for latent tendencies alone are bondage, and their destruction is indeed liberation.
इति निर्वासनत्वेन जीवन्मुक्ततयात्मनि । अन्तश्शीतलताम् एत्य बन्धुदुःखम् अलं त्यज
Thus, by being free from latent tendencies and established in liberation while living, attain inner coolness and utterly abandon the suffering of bondage.
जरामरणनिश्शङ्क आकाशविशदाशयः । त्यक्तेष्टानिष्टसङ्कल्पो वीतरागो भवानघ
Free from fear of old age and death, with a mind clear as the sky, abandoning desires and aversions, become detached, O sinless one.
प्रवाहापतितं कार्यम् इदं किञ्चिद् यथागतम् । कुरु कार्यम् अकार्पण्यं न किञ्चिद् इह नश्यति
This action, fallen into the stream of events, comes as it does; perform your duty without miserliness, for nothing here is lost.
प्रवाहापतितं कर्म स्वम् एव क्रियते हि यत् । जीवन्मुक्तस्वभावो ऽसाव् अजीवन्मुक्ततान्यथा
Whatever action is done, having fallen into the flow, is performed by itself; this is the nature of the liberated while living, otherwise it is the nature of the unliberated.
इदं कर्म त्यजामीदम् आश्रयामीत्य् अनिर्मलम् । मूढस्य मनसो रूपं ज्ञमनस् तु समस्थिति
‘I abandon this action, I take up that one’—such impurity is the form of the mind of the deluded; but the mind of the wise remains in equanimity.
प्रवाहापतितं कार्यं कुर्वन्तश् शान्तचेतसः । जीवन्मुक्तास् सुषुप्तस्थास् स्फुरन्त्य् अर्धप्रबुद्धवत्
Those with peaceful minds, performing actions that have fallen into the stream, are liberated while living, abiding in deep sleep, yet shining forth like those half-awakened.