अस्मिञ् श्रुते मते ज्ञाते तपोध्यानजपादिकम् । मोक्षप्राप्तौ तु तस्येह न किञ्चिद् उपयुज्यते
Once this is heard, understood, and realized, then austerity, meditation, recitation, and the like are of no use for attaining liberation here.
एतच्छास्त्रघनाभ्यासात् पौनःपुन्येन वीक्षितात् । जन्तोः पाण्डित्यपूर्वं हि चित्तसंस्कारपूर्वकम्
Through repeated study and contemplation of this profound scripture, knowledge arises in a person, preceded by the purification of the mind.
अहं जगद् इति प्रौढो द्रष्टृदृश्यपिशाचकः । पिशाचो ऽर्कोदयेनेव स्वयं शाम्यत्य् अविघ्नतः
The strong notion 'I am the world'—the ghost of perceiver and perceived—subsides on its own, without obstruction, just as a ghost vanishes at sunrise.
भ्रमो जगद् अहं चेति स्थित एवोपशाम्यति । स्वप्नमोहः परिज्ञात इव नो रमयत्य् अलम्
The delusion, 'I am the world,' remains but is pacified, just as a dream, once recognized as such, no longer delights at all.
यथा सङ्कल्पनगरे पुंसो हर्षविषादिता । न बाधते तथैवान्तः परिज्ञाते जगद्भ्रमे
Just as joy and sorrow in the city of imagination do not trouble a person, so too, when the illusion of the world is understood within, it does not disturb.
चित्रसर्पः परिज्ञातो न सर्पभयदो यथा । दृश्यसर्पः परिज्ञातस् तथा न सुखदुःखदः
As a painted snake, once recognized as such, does not cause fear of snakes, so too, when the visible world is understood, it does not bring pleasure or pain.
परिज्ञानेन सर्पत्वं चित्रसर्पस्य नश्यति । यथा तथैव संसारस् स्थित एवोपशाम्यति
By understanding, the snake-nature of the painted snake disappears; in the same way, though the world remains, it is pacified through knowledge.
सुमनःपल्लवामर्षे किञ्चिद् व्यतिकरो भवेत् । परमार्थपदप्राप्तौ न तु व्यतिकरो ऽस्ति नः
There may be some disturbance when touching the tender leaves of a flower, but upon attaining the state of ultimate reality, there is no disturbance for us.
गच्छत्य् अवयवस्पन्दस् सुमनःपत्रमर्दने । इह धीमात्रबोधस् तु नाङ्गावयवबोधनम्
When a flower petal is pressed, its parts move; but here, awareness is only of pure intelligence, not of bodily limbs or parts.
सुखासनोपविष्टेन यथासम्भवम् अश्नता । भोगजालं सदाचारविरुद्धेषु न तिष्ठता
Seated comfortably, eating as appropriate, one does not remain among enjoyments that are opposed to good conduct.
यथाक्षणं यथादेशं प्रविचारयता सुखम् । यथासम्भवसत्सङ्गम् इदं शास्त्रम् अथेतरत्
By examining happiness according to time and place, and by associating as is fitting, one discerns this scripture and others.
आसाद्यते महाज्ञानबोधस् संसारशान्तिदः । स भूयो येन नायाति योनियन्त्रप्रपीडनम्
The knowledge that brings great wisdom and peace to the world is attained; by that, one does not again fall into the suffering of the cycle of birth.
एतावत्य् एव ये भूता भोगान् प्राप्य रसे स्थिताः । स्वमातृविष्ठाक्रिमयः कीर्तनीया न ते ऽधमाः
Those beings who, having attained enjoyments, remain absorbed in pleasure, and are composed of their own mother's essence, are not to be regarded as base.
शृणु तावद् इदानीं त्वं कथ्यमानम् इमं मया । राघव ज्ञानविस्तारं बुद्धिसारतरान्तरम्
Now listen as I explain to you, Raghava, the expansion of knowledge and the subtler distinctions of intellect.
ययेदं श्रूयते शास्त्रं तां तु विस्तरतश् शृणु । विचार्यते यथार्थो ऽयं यया च परिभाषया
Hear in detail the scripture that is being recited; consider how its meaning is examined and by which explanation it is clarified.
येनेहाननुभूते ऽर्थे दृष्टेनार्थावबोधनम् । बोधोपकारफलदं तं दृष्टान्तं विदुर् बुधाः
That by which understanding of an unseen matter is gained through a seen example, and which yields the fruit of aiding comprehension, is known as an illustration by the wise.
दृष्टान्तेन विना राम नापूर्वो ऽर्थो ऽवबुध्यते । यथा दीपं विना रात्रौ भाण्डोपस्करणं गृहे
Without an illustration, Rama, a previously unknown matter cannot be understood, just as household objects cannot be seen at night without a lamp.
यैर् यैः काकुत्स्थ दृष्टान्तैस् त्वं मयेहावबोध्यसे । सर्वे सकारणास् ते हि प्राप्यं तु सद् अकारणम्
All the illustrations by which, O Kakutstha, you are made to understand by me, are purposeful; what is to be attained is always with cause, never without.
उपमानोपमेयानां कार्यकारणतोदिता । वर्जयित्वा परं ब्रह्म सर्वेषाम् एव विद्यते
The relationship of analogy and what is analogized is established by cause and effect, except for the supreme Brahman, which is present in all.
ब्रह्मोपदेशदृष्टान्तो यस्य वेह हि कथ्यते । एकदेशसधर्मत्वं तत्रातः परिगृह्यते
When an illustration regarding Brahman is given here, only a partial similarity is accepted in that context.
यो यो नामेह दृष्टान्तो ब्रह्मतत्त्वावबोधने । दीयते स स बोद्धव्यस् स्वप्नदृष्टजगद्गतः
Whatever example is given here for understanding the truth of Brahman, that should be understood as pertaining to the world seen in a dream.
एवं सति निराकारे ब्रह्मण्य् आकारवान् कथम् । दृष्टान्त इति नोद्यन्ति मूर्खवैकल्पिकोक्तयः
Since Brahman is formless, how can it possess form? Therefore, the statements of the ignorant, which raise objections to the use of examples, are not to be considered.
अन्या सिद्धविरुद्धादिदृग् दृष्टान्तप्रदूषणे । स्वप्नोपमत्वाज् जगतस् समुदेति न काचन
Other objections, such as those based on contradiction with established truths, do not arise regarding the analogy of the world to a dream, because the world is indeed like a dream.
अवस्तु पूर्वापरयोर् वर्तमानविचारितम् । यथा जाग्रत् तथा स्वप्नस् सिद्ध आबालम् अक्षतम्
The investigation of the present, as well as the past and future, reveals that, just as in waking, so in dream, the reality remains unbroken from beginning to end.
स्वप्नसङ्कल्पनध्यानवरशापौषधादिभिः । ये ऽर्थास् त इह दृष्टान्तास् तद्रूपत्वाज् जगत्स्थितेः
The objects that appear here through dream, imagination, meditation, boon, curse, medicine, and so on, are the very examples; for the existence of the world is of that same nature.
मोक्षोपायकृता ग्रन्थकारेणान्ये ऽपि ये कृताः । ग्रन्थास् तेष्व् इयम् एवैका व्यवस्था बोध्यबोधने
Other treatises composed by authors as means to liberation also contain such examples; but in all these texts, this alone is the established method for imparting and receiving understanding.
स्वप्नाभत्वं च जगतश् श्रुते शास्त्रे ऽवभोत्स्यते । शीघ्रं न पार्यते वक्तुं वाक् किल क्रमवर्तिनी
The scriptural teaching that the world is like a dream will soon be explained; speech, indeed, proceeds in sequence and cannot express everything at once.
स्वप्नसङ्कल्पसुध्याननगराद्युपमं जगत् । यतस् त एव दृष्टान्तास् तस्माद् भान्तीह नेतरे
Because the world is comparable to dream, imagination, city of the mind, and so on, these alone are the examples here, and not others.
अकारणं कारणिना यद् बोधायोपमीयते । न तत्र सर्वसाधर्म्यं सम्भवत्य् उपमाभ्रमैः
When something is compared to another for the sake of understanding, though they have no real causal connection, complete identity between them is not possible due to the inherent limitations of analogy.
उपमेयस्योपमानाद् एकांशेन सधर्मता । अङ्गीकार्यावबोधाय धीमता निर्विवादिना
For the sake of comprehension, the wise and discerning accept only a partial similarity between the thing compared and its analogue, not a total equivalence.