सुखानि प्रपलायन्ते शरा इव गुणच्युताः । पतन्ति चेतो दुःखानि धृष्टा गृध्रा इवामिषम्
Pleasures swiftly vanish like arrows released from the bowstring; sorrows, bold as vultures, descend upon the mind seeking their prey.
बुद्बुदः प्रावृषीवाप्सु शरीरं क्षणभङ्गुरम् । रम्भागर्भ इवासारो व्यवहारो विरागदः
The body is as fleeting as a bubble in the monsoon waters; worldly dealings, devoid of passion, are like the sapless core of a plantain.
सत्वरं युवता याता कान्तेवाप्रियकामिनः । बलाद् अरतिर् आयाता वैरस्यम् इव पादपम्
Youth departs quickly, like a beloved woman leaving a lover she no longer desires; disinterest arrives forcibly, like tastelessness overtaking a tree.
तद् इह स्यात् कुसंसारे किं नाम बत शोभनम् । यद् आसाद्य पुनश् चेतो दशासु न विदूयते
So, in this false world, what indeed is truly admirable, when, having attained it, the mind is not again tormented by various states?
इति निर्णीय युग्मं तत् संसारव्याधिभेषजम् । चिरं विचारयाम् आस शास्त्रम् अध्यात्म सम्मतम्
Thus, having determined that pair—the disease of worldly existence and its remedy—they long reflected on the scripture approved by the wise in the Self.
आत्मज्ञानैकमन्त्रेण संसृत्याख्या विषूचिका । संशाम्यतीति निश्चित्य ताव् आस्तां तत्परायणौ
Concluding that the only cure for the cholera of transmigration is the mantra of Self-knowledge, both devoted themselves to that path.
तच्चित्तौ तद्गतप्राणौ तत्कथौ तद्विदाश्रयौ । तद्विदेकार्चनपरौ तदीहौ तौ बभूवतुः
Their minds and lives absorbed in That, their conversations and refuge in That, devoted solely to the worship of That, they engaged only in That pursuit.
तत्रैवातिघनाभ्यासौ बोधयन्तौ परस्परम् । तत्प्रीतौ तत्समारम्भौ चिरकालं बभूवतुः
There, through intense practice, instructing each other, delighting in That, undertaking actions for That, they remained for a long time.
अथ साविरतं बाला रमणीयपदक्रमान् । श्रुत्वाध्यात्मविदां वक्त्राच् छास्त्रार्थांस् तारणक्षमान्
Then, that young girl, having heard from the mouths of the knowers of the Self the delightful sequences of teachings—the meanings of the scriptures capable of delivering one—without interruption,
इत्थं विचारयाम् आस स्वम् आत्मानम् अहर्निशम् । अव्यापृता व्यापृता च धिया धवलयाशये
Thus, she began to reflect day and night upon her own self, both when her mind was engaged and when it was at rest, with a pure intention.
प्रेक्षे तावत् स्वम् आत्मानं किम् इदं स्याम् इति स्वयम् । कस्यायं जागतो मोहः कथम् अभ्युत्थितः क्व वा
She observed her own self, wondering, 'What is this that I might be? Whose is this delusion in the waking state? How has it arisen, and where?'
देहस् तावज् जडो मूको नाहम् इत्य् एव निश्चयः । आबालम् एतत् संसिद्धं मृतौ चैवानुभूयते
The body, indeed, is inert and mute—this is certain: 'I am not this.' This is evident from childhood and is also experienced at death.
कर्मेन्द्रियगणश् चास्य न भिन्नो ऽवयवात्मकः । अवयवावयविनोर् अभेदाज् जड एव च
The group of organs of action, too, is not separate from the aggregate of limbs; because there is no distinction between the parts and the whole, it is also inert.
बुद्धीन्द्रियगणो ऽप्य् एवं जड एवेति दृश्यते । प्रेर्यते मनसा यस्माद् यष्ट्येव भुवि लोष्टकः
Likewise, the group of sense organs is seen to be inert; for they are impelled by the mind, just as a clod of earth is moved on the ground by a stick.
मनश् चैव जडं मन्ये सङ्कल्पात्मकशक्तिमत् । क्षेपणैर् इव पाषाणः प्रेर्यते बुद्धिनिश्चयैः
I consider the mind, too, to be inert, though endowed with the power of intention; it is driven by the determinations of the intellect, as a stone is cast by a thrower.
बुद्धिर् निश्चयरूपैवं जडासत्येति निश्चयः । खातेनेव सरित् स्वैरम् अहङ्कारेण वाह्यते
The intellect, being of the nature of determination, is likewise certainly inert and unreal; it is carried along freely by egoity, as a river is channeled by a ditch.
अहङ्कारो ऽपि निस्सारो जड एवं शवात्मकः । जीवेन जन्यते यक्षो बालेनेव भ्रमात्मकः
Even the ego is insubstantial, inert, and corpse-like; it arises in the living being as a phantom, born of ignorance and delusion.
जीवश् च कलनाकारो वातात्मा हृदये स्थितः । शुक्रसारो ऽन्तर् अन्येन केनापि परिजीवति
The individual soul, shaped by conceptualization, is wind-like and abides in the heart; nourished by the essence of semen, it subsists within by some other means.
आम् अहो ज्ञातम् एतेन चेत्योल्लेखकलङ्किना । जीवो जीवति जीवेन चिद्रूपेणात्मरूपिणा
Ah, indeed, it is understood: by this awareness, tainted with the notion of objectivity, the soul lives by means of the soul itself, whose nature is consciousness and the form of the Self.
चेत्यभ्रमवता जीवश् चिद्रूपेणैव जीवति । आमोदः पवनेनेव खातेनेव सरिद्रयः
The soul, deluded by object-consciousness, lives only by consciousness itself—just as fragrance exists by the wind, or a river flows by the channel that is dug.
असत्यजडचेत्यांशश्रयणाच् चिद्वपुर् जडम् । महाजडगतो ह्य् अग्निर् अपि रूपं स्वम् उज्झति
Because consciousness assumes the support of unreal, inert objectivity, it becomes inert; just as fire, entering a great mass of inert matter, abandons its own form.
सद् वासद् वा यद् आभासि चित् समाचामति स्वतः । स्वं रूपम् अलम् उत्सृज्य तद् एव भवति क्षणात्
Whatever appears, whether real or unreal, consciousness immediately absorbs it into itself, casting off its own nature and becoming that in an instant.
एवं चिद्रूपम् अप्य् एतच् चेत्योन्मुखतया स्वयम् । जडं शून्यम् असङ्कल्पं चेतत्य् अन्यप्रबोधितम्
Thus, even this consciousness, by its own inclination toward objectivity, becomes inert, void, and devoid of volition, and is awakened by something else.
इति सञ्चिन्त्य चूडाला केनैषा चित् प्रचेतते । इति सञ्चिन्तयाम् आस चिराच् चेत्थं व्यबुध्यत
Reflecting thus, Chudala wondered, 'By whom is this consciousness made conscious?' Thinking in this way for a long time, she finally understood.
अहो नु चिरकालेन ज्ञातं ज्ञेयम् अनामयम् । यद् वै चिच्चमितं कृत्वा न किञ्चिद् दूयते पुनः
Ah, at last, after a long time, the knowable free from affliction is understood; for once consciousness is measured, nothing is troubled again.
एते हि चिद्विलासान्ता मनोबुद्धीन्द्रियादयः । असन्तस् सन्त एवाहो द्वितीयेन्दुवद् आस्थिताः
Indeed, these—mind, intellect, senses, and so on—end in the play of consciousness; though unreal, they appear as real, just as a second moon seems established.
महाचिद् एकैवास्तीह महासत्तेति योच्यते । निष्कलङ्का समा शुद्धा निरहङ्काररूपिणी
Here, only the great consciousness exists, which is called the great existence; flawless, equal, pure, and of the nature without ego.
शुद्धसंवेदनाकारा शिवं चिन्मात्रम् अच्युता । सकृद्विभाता विमला नित्योदयवती स्थिता
Of pure awareness, auspicious, consisting solely of consciousness, imperishable; once revealed, it remains spotless, ever rising.
सद्ब्रह्मपरमात्मादिनामभिर् याभिधीयते । चेत्यचेतनचित्तादि नास्या भिन्नं न सा ततः
That which is referred to by names such as true Brahman, supreme self, and so on—mind, consciousness, sentience, and the like are not separate from it, nor is it apart from them.
तयैषा चेत्यते चिच्छ्रीस् सैषाद्या चिद् इति स्मृता । अचेत्यं यद् इदं चित्त्वं तत् तस्या रूपम् अक्षतम्
By it, this consciousness is perceived; this is called the goddess of consciousness, and so forth; what is unperceived, namely the mind-stuff, is its unbroken form.