उत्पद्यते यो जगति स एव किल वर्धते । स एव मोक्षम् आप्नोति स्वर्गं वा नरकं च वा
Whatever arises in the world, that alone indeed grows; that alone attains liberation, or heaven, or even hell.
अतस् ते स्ववबोधार्थं तत् तावत् कथयाम्य् अहम् । उत्पत्तिं संसृताव् एति पूर्वम् एव हि यो यथा
Therefore, for your own understanding, I will now tell you: in the cycle of existence, origination comes first, just as it always has.
इदं प्रकरणार्थं त्वं सङ्क्षेपाच् छृणु राघव । ततः प्रकथयिष्यामि विस्तरं ते यथेप्सितम्
Now, for the purpose of this topic, listen briefly, O Raghava; afterwards, I will explain to you in detail as you desire.
यद् इदं दृश्यते सर्वं जगत् स्थावरजङ्गमम् । तत् सुषुप्त इव स्वप्नः कल्पान्ते प्रविनश्यति
All this world that is seen, both moving and unmoving, perishes at the end of the cosmic cycle, like a dream dissolves in deep sleep.
ततस् स्तिमितगम्भीरं न तेजो न तमस् ततम् । अनाख्यम् अनभिव्यक्तं यत् किञ्चिद् अवशिष्यते
Then, what remains is tranquil and profound, pervaded by neither light nor darkness—something unnameable, unmanifest, whatever it may be.
ऋतम् आत्मा परं ब्रह्म सत्यम् इत्यादिका बुधैः । कल्पिता व्यवहारार्थं यस्य सञ्ज्ञा महात्मनः
Truth, Self, Supreme Brahman, Reality—such terms have been conceived by the wise for practical purposes, as names for That Great One.
स तथाभूत एवात्मा स्वयम् अन्य इवोल्लसन् । जीवताम् उपयातीव भाविनामकदर्थनाम्
That very Self, existing thus, appears as if it were another, shining forth, and seems to enter into the living beings subject to future experiences.
ततस् स जीवशब्दार्थकलनाकुलतां गतः । मनो भवति मौनात्मा मननान् मन्थरीभवत्
Then, coming into the confusion of being called 'jiva,' it becomes mind; the silent Self, through thought, becomes sluggish.
मनस् सम्पद्यते तेन महतः परमात्मनः । सुस्थिराद् अस्थिराकारस् तरङ्ग इव वारिधेः
Thus, from the Supreme Self, the mind arises; from the stable comes the unstable, like a wave from the ocean.
तत् स्वयं स्वैरम् एवाशु सङ्कल्पयति नित्यशः । तेनेयम् इन्द्रजालश्रीर् विततेव वितन्यते
That mind, by its own freedom, quickly imagines endlessly; by it, this splendid illusion, like a magician’s display, is spread out.
यथा कटकशब्दार्थः पृथक्त्वार्हो ऽस्ति कानके । न नाम कटके तद्वज् जगच्छब्दार्थता परे
Just as the meaning of the word 'bracelet' is distinct within gold, yet there is no such thing as 'bracelet' in gold itself, so too, the meaning of the word 'world' does not exist in the Supreme.
ब्रह्मण्य् एवास्त्य् अनन्यात्म यथास्थितम् इदं जगत् । न जगच्छब्दकार्थो ऽस्ति हेम्नीव कटकादिता
This world exists only in Brahman, as it is, with no other essence; there is no reality to the world, just as 'braceletness' does not exist in gold.
असतैवासती तापनद्येव लहरी चला । मनसैवेन्द्रजालश्रीर् जागती प्रवितन्यते
The world, which appears as a moving wave in the river of suffering, is truly unreal; like the splendor of a magician's illusion, it is projected only by the mind.
अविद्या संसृतिर् बन्धो माया मोहो महत् तमः । कल्पितानीति नामानि यस्यास् सकलवेदिभिः
Ignorance, transmigration, bondage, illusion, delusion, and great darkness—these are the names given by the wise to what is merely imagined.
बन्धस्य तावद् रूपं त्वं कथ्यमानम् इदं शृणु । ततस् स्वरूपं मोक्षस्य ज्ञास्यसीन्दुसमानन
Now listen as I describe the nature of bondage; afterward, you will know the true nature of liberation, O one whose face is like the moon.
द्रष्टुर् दृश्यत्वसत्ताङ्ग बन्ध इत्य् अभिधीयते । द्रष्टा दृश्यवशाद् बद्धो दृश्याभावाद् विमुच्यते
Bondage is said to be the presence of the seer, the seen, and their existence; the seer is bound by dependence on the seen, and is freed when the seen is absent.
जगत् त्वम् अहम् इत्यादिसर्गात्मा दृश्यम् उच्यते । यावद् एतत् सम्भवति तावन् मोक्षो न विद्यते
The seen is called the world, the sense of 'I', 'you', and so on, which arises from creation; as long as this persists, liberation does not exist.
नेदं नेदम् इति व्यर्थैः प्रलापैर् नोपशाम्यति । सङ्कल्पजनकैर् दृश्यव्याधिः प्रत्युत वर्धते
This disease of the seen does not subside through futile talk like 'not this, not this'; rather, it increases through thoughts that give rise to it.
न च तर्कभरक्षोदैर् न तीर्थनियमादिभिः । सतो दृश्यस्य जगतो यस्माद् एते विचारकाः
Nor by the weight of reasoning, nor by observances such as pilgrimage, can the reality of the visible world be discerned, for these are only means of inquiry.
जगद् दृश्यं तु यद्य् अस्ति न शाम्यत्य् एव तत् क्वचित् । नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
If the world is indeed visible, it never ceases anywhere; for what is unreal has no existence, and what is real never ceases to be.
अचेत्यचित्स्वरूपात्मा यत्र यत्रैष तिष्ठति । तत्र तत्रास्य दृश्यश्रीस् समुदेत्य् अप्य् अणूदरे
Wherever this essence, which is both sentient and insentient, abides, there the glory of the visible arises—even within the smallest atom.
तस्माद् अस्ति जगद् दृश्यं तत् प्रमृष्टम् इदं मया । त्यक्तं तपोध्यानजपैर् इति काञ्चिकतृप्तिवत्
Therefore, the visible world exists; yet I have cleansed it away—renounced through austerity, meditation, and recitation, just as one is satisfied after polishing a mirror.
यदि नाम जगद् दृश्यम् अस्ति तत् प्रतिबिम्बति । परमाणूदरे ऽप्य् अस्मिंश् चिदादर्शे न संशयः
Even if the visible world exists, it is reflected—without doubt—even within the smallest atom, in the mirror of consciousness.
यत्र तत्र स्थितं राम यथादर्शे प्रबिम्बति । अद्रिद्यूर्वीनदीशादि चिदादर्शे तथैव हि
Wherever it is situated, O Rama, it is reflected as in a mirror; mountains, earth, rivers, and so forth, likewise appear in the mirror of consciousness.
ततस् तत्र पुनर् दुःखं जरा मरणजन्मनी । भावाभावग्रहोत्सर्गास् स्थूलसूक्ष्मचलाचलाः
Then, there again arise sorrow, old age, death, birth, grasping and releasing of existence and non-existence, gross and subtle, moving and unmoving.
इदं प्रमार्जितं दृश्यं मया नात्राहम् आस्थितः । एतद् एवाक्षयं बीजं समाधौ संसृतिस्मृतेः
This visible world has been cleansed by me; I do not abide in it. Yet this alone is the inexhaustible seed for remembrance of transmigration in samadhi.
सति त्व् अस्मिञ् जगद्दृश्ये निर्विकल्पसमाधिना । न चाक्षयसुषुप्तत्वं तुर्यं वाप्य् उपपद्यते
When this vision of the world exists, there is no occurrence of the imperishable state of deep sleep or the fourth state, nor of absorption without thought.
व्युत्थाने हि समाधीनां सुषुप्तान्त इवाखिलम् । जगद्दुःखम् इदं भाति यथास्थितम् अखण्डितम्
Indeed, when the mind emerges from absorption, all this world appears as uninterrupted suffering, just as it is at the end of deep sleep.
प्राप्तं भवति हे राम तत् किं नाम समाधिभिः । भूयो ऽनर्थनिपाते हि क्षणसाम्ये ऽपि किं सुखम्
O Rama, when that is attained, what further use is there for absorptions? For when calamity falls again, what happiness is there, even if equality lasts but a moment?
यदि वापि समाधाने निर्विकल्पे स्थितिं व्रजेत् । तद् अक्षयसुषुप्ताभं तन् मन्ये नामलं पदम्
Or, if one should attain a state of thought-free absorption, I consider that to be the stainless state, resembling the imperishable deep sleep.