सच् चित् प्रकाशं विद्यादि सूर्यम् अग्निं विदुर् बुधाः । असज् जाड्यं तमो ऽविद्याद्य् आहुस् सोमं मणीषिणः
The wise know pure consciousness, the light of knowledge, as the sun and fire; they say that insentience, dullness, darkness, and ignorance are the moon, O thoughtful one.
वह्निर् वार्यात्मनस् सोमाद् उदेतीति मुने श्रुतम् । सोमस्योत्पत्तिम् अधुना वद मे वदतां वर
O sage, it is heard that fire arises from water, and the moon from fire; now tell me, best of speakers, about the origin of the moon.
अग्नीषोमौ मिथः कार्ये कारणे च स्वसंस्थितेः । पर्यायेण समौ चैतौ प्रजायेते परस्परम्
Fire and moon, in their respective roles as effect and cause, are mutually established; in turn, these two arise from each other.
जन्माङ्ग बीजाङ्कुरवत् तथा दिवसरात्रिवत् । स्थितिश् छायातपसमा केवला चैतयोर् भवेत्
Their birth is like that of a seed and sprout, or like day and night; their existence is like shade and sunlight, or may be independent.
तुल्यकालोपलम्भा हि मिथश् छायातपस्थितिः । केवलैकोपलम्भा स्यात् स्थितिर् दिवसरात्रिवत्
When both are perceived at the same time, their existence is like shade and sunlight together; when only one is perceived, their existence is like day or night alone.
कार्यकारणभावश् च द्विविधः कथितो ऽनयोः । सद्रूपपरिणामोत्थो विनाशपरिणामजः
The relation of cause and effect between these two is said to be of two kinds: one arises from transformation of the same nature, and the other from transformation through destruction.
एकस्माद् यद् द्वितीयस्य सम्भवो ऽङ्कुरबीजवत् । कार्यकारणभावो ऽसौ सद्रूपपरिणामजः
When the second arises from the first, like a sprout from a seed, that cause-effect relationship is born of transformation of the same nature.
एकनाशे द्वितीयस्य यद् भावो दिनरात्रिवत् । कार्यकारणभावो ऽसौ विनाशपरिणामजः
When, with the destruction of one, the existence of the other occurs, like day and night, that cause-effect relationship is born of transformation through destruction.
सद्रूपपरिणामस्य मृद्घटक्रमसंस्थितेः । अक्षोपलम्भाद् इतरत् प्रमाणं नोपयुज्यते
When the transformation is of the same nature, as in the sequence from clay to pot, other means of knowledge are not employed if direct perception is absent.
विनाशपरिणामस्य दिनरात्रिक्रमस्थितेः । अभावो ऽप्य् एकवस्तूत्थो गतो मुख्यप्रमाणताम्
In the case of transformation by destruction, as in the sequence of day and night, even non-existence, arising from a single thing, attains the status of primary means of knowledge.
स्वनाशे नास्ति कर्तृत्वम् इत्याद्या युक्तिवादिनः । अवज्ञाय बहिः कार्यास् स्वानुभूत्यपलापिनः
Those who argue logically, saying there is no agency in self-destruction and similar points, disregard external effects and deny their own experience.
प्रत्यक्षवद् अभावो ऽपि प्रमैव रघुनन्दन । अग्न्यभावो हि शीतस्य प्रमाणं सर्वजन्तुषु
Even non-existence, O delight of the Raghu lineage, is valid knowledge like direct perception; for the absence of fire is the evidence of cold for all creatures.
अग्नेर् धूमतया भागो यः प्रयाति पयोदताम् । सद्रूपपरिणामेन तद् अग्निस् सोमकारणम्
That portion of fire which, by becoming smoke, attains the state of a cloud—by transformation of its own nature, that fire becomes the cause of the moon.
अग्निर् नाशात्मकतया शैत्याद् अप्तां प्रयाति यत् । विनाशपरिणामेन तद् अग्निस् सोमकारणम्
When fire, by its nature of perishing, reaches the state of coolness and water, by transformation through destruction, that fire becomes the cause of the moon.
सप्ताम्बुधिपयः पीत्वा धूमोद्गारेण वाडवः । पयोदतां प्रयातेन तद् एव जनयत्य् अलम्
The submarine fire, having drunk the waters of the seven oceans and emitted smoke, attains the state of a cloud and thereby generates it sufficiently.
अर्कः पीत्वा निशानाथम् अमावस्यां पुनः पुनः । उद्गिरत्य् अमले पक्षे मृणालम् इव सारसः
The sun, having drunk the lord of night again and again at the new moon, emits him during the bright fortnight, just as a lotus stalk emits a swan.
पीत्वामृतोपमं शीतं प्राणस् सोमं मुखाग्रगं । अब्भागम् आपूरयति शरीरे ऽपानतां गतः
Having drunk the soma, cool as nectar, at the tip of the mouth, the breath that has become apāna fills the watery region within the body.
जलाद् अणुतया भागो यः प्रयात्य् अर्करश्मिताम् । सद्रूपपरिणामेन तज् जलं वह्निकारणम्
A subtle portion of water, when it attains the form of sunlight, becomes fire by transformation into its own nature.
नाशात्मकतया तोयम् औष्ण्याद् याति यद् अग्निताम् । विनाशपरिणामेन तत् तोयं वह्निकारणम्
Water, by its nature of perishing and through heat, becomes fire; by the transformation of dissolution, that water is the cause of fire.
अग्नेर् विनाशे सद्रूपः परिणामो निशाकरः । इन्दोर् नाशे निघर्षोत्थपरिणामो हुताशनः
When fire perishes, its transformation, retaining its own nature, becomes the moon; when the moon perishes, its transformation arising from friction becomes fire.
हुताशो नाशम् आगत्य सोमो भवति वै तथा । दिवसो नाशम् आगत्य रात्रिर् भवति वै यथा
Just as fire, upon perishing, becomes soma, so too, when day comes to an end, it indeed becomes night.
तमःप्रकाशयोश् छायातपयोर् दिनरात्रयोः । मध्ये विलक्षणं रूपं प्राज्ञैर् अपि न लभ्यते
The distinct form between darkness and light, between shade and sunlight, between day and night, cannot be grasped even by the wise.
सन्धिर् अप्य् आबिलो यस् स्याद् एतयोर् एव तद् वपुः । भावाभावौ यथैकस्य श्लिष्टाव् एतौ तथैव हि
Even the junction between these two is indistinct; their form is just that. Just as existence and non-existence are joined in one, so are these two.
द्वाभ्यां चैतन्यजाड्याभ्यां भूतानि प्रस्फुरन्ति हि । यथा तमःप्रकाशाभ्याम् अहोरात्रा महीतले
Indeed, all elements arise from both consciousness and inertness, just as day and night arise on earth from darkness and light.
चिद्रूपजडरूपाभ्याम् आरब्धेयं जगत्स्थितिः । जलामृताभ्यां मिश्राभ्यां द्वाभ्यां तनुर् इवैन्दवी
The existence of this world arises from the combination of consciousness and inertness, just as the lunar body is formed from the mixture of water and nectar.
प्रकाशम् अनलं सूर्यं चिद्रूपं विद्धि राघव । जडात्मकं तमोरूपं विद्धि सोमशरीरकम्
Know, O Raghava, that fire, light, and the sun are forms of consciousness; and that darkness, which is inert in nature, is to be understood as the body of the moon.
चित्सूर्ये निर्मले दृष्टे तमो नश्येद् भवामयः । व्योमसूर्ये बहिर् दृष्टे यथा कृष्णनिशातमः
When the pure sun of consciousness is seen, the darkness of worldly existence is destroyed, just as the darkness of night vanishes when the sun appears in the sky.
सोमदेहे जडे दृष्टे चित्तेजो ऽसत्यवद् भवेत् । निशीथे विलसच्चन्द्रे यथा सौरः प्रभाभरः
When the inert body of the moon is seen, the radiance of consciousness appears as if unreal, just as the brilliance of the sun seems absent when the moon shines at midnight.
सोमं प्रकटयत्य् अग्निश् चिद् देहं सुचिरप्रभा । अग्निं भासयतीन्दुश् च देहं स्वं रूपम् अर्पयन्
Fire reveals the moon, and consciousness, with its enduring radiance, reveals the body; likewise, the moon illuminates fire by imparting its own form to its body.
चिन् निष्क्रिया त्व् अनाभासा केवला नोपलभ्यते । आलोक इव दीपेन देहेनैवावगम्यते
Consciousness is actionless, without appearance, and alone is not perceived; it is known only through the body, just as light is known by a lamp.