अथागत्य यमं मृत्युर् अपृच्छत् संशयच्छिदम् । किम् इत्य् अहं न शक्नोमि भोक्तुम् आकाशजं प्रभो
Then Death approached Yama, the dispeller of doubts, and asked: 'Lord, why am I unable to consume this being born of space?'
मृत्यो न किञ्चिच् छक्तस् त्वम् एको मारयितुं बलात् । मारणीयस्य कर्माणि तत्कर्तॄणीह नेतरत्
O Death, you alone do not have the power to kill anyone by force; it is the actions destined for death that are the cause here, not anything else.
तस्माद् एतस्य विप्रस्य मारणीयस्य यत्नतः । कर्माण्य् अन्विच्छ तेषां त्वं साहाय्येनैनम् अत्स्यसि
Therefore, diligently seek out the actions of this Brahmin that make him subject to death; with their help, you will be able to devour him.
ततस् स मृत्युर् बभ्राम तत्कर्मान्वेषणादृतः । मण्डलानि दिगन्तांश् च सरांसि सरितो दिशः
Then Death wandered about, intent on searching for those actions—through regions, horizons, lakes, rivers, and directions.
वनजङ्गलजालानि शैलाम्भोधितटान्य् अपि । द्वीपान्तराण्य् अरण्यानि नगराणि पुराणि च
He searched through forests and jungles, mountain and ocean shores, distant islands, wildernesses, cities, and ancient towns.
ग्रामान् अखिलराष्ट्राणि देशान्तगहनानि च । एवं भूमण्डलं भ्रान्त्वा स कुतश्चिन् न कानिचित्
He went through villages, entire kingdoms, and the depths of remote lands; thus, after roaming the whole earth, he found nothing anywhere.
तान्य् आकाशजकर्माणि लब्धवान् मृत्युर् उद्यतः । वन्ध्यापुत्रम् इव प्राज्ञस् सङ्कल्पाद्रिम् इवापरः
Death, eager, found none of the actions belonging to the one born of space—like a wise man seeking the son of a barren woman, or another seeking a mountain made of imagination.
समपृच्छद् अथागत्य यमं सर्वार्थकोविदम् । परायणं हि प्रभवस् सन्देहेष्व् अनुजीविनाम्
Then, returning, he questioned Yama, the all-knowing in every matter; for he is the ultimate refuge for those living in doubt.
आकाशजस्य कर्माणि क्व स्थितानि वद प्रभो । धर्मराजो ऽथ सञ्चिन्त्य सुचिरं प्रोक्तवान् इदम्
O Lord, tell me, where are the actions of one born of space established? Then, after pondering for a long time, Dharma-raja spoke these words:
आकाशजस्य कर्माणि मृत्यो सन्ति न कानिचित् । एष ह्य् आकाशजो विप्रो जातः खाद् एव केवलात्
O Death, there are no actions at all for one born of space; for this brahmin, born from space alone, has arisen solely from the sky.
आकाशाद् एव यो जातस् स व्योमैवामलं भवेत् । सहकारीणि नो सन्ति कारणाण्य् अस्य कानिचित्
He who is born from space becomes pure space itself; there are no cooperating causes whatsoever for him.
सम्बन्धः प्राक्तनेनास्य न मनाग् अपि कर्मणा । अस्ति वन्ध्यासुतस्येव तथाजाताकृतेर् इव
There is not the slightest connection with previous actions for him, just as with the son of a barren woman or with one who has never been formed.
तस्माद् अजात एवैष स्वयम्भूर् अज एव च । नैतस्य पूर्वकर्मास्ति नभसीव महाद्रुमः
Therefore, he is truly unborn, self-existent, and uncreated; he has no prior actions, like a great tree in the sky.
नैतद् अस्यावशं चित्तम् अभावात् पूर्वकर्मणः । अद्य तावद् अनेनान्यन् न किञ्चित् कर्म सञ्चितम्
His mind is not bound by any previous actions, for none exist; and as of today, he has not accumulated any other actions at all.
एष आकाशकोशात्मा विशदाकाशरूपिणि । समाधौ संस्थितो नित्यं कर्माण्य् अस्य न कानिचित्
He is the very essence of the space-casket, having the form of clear space; always established in samadhi, he has no actions whatsoever.
प्राक्तनानि न सन्त्य् अस्य कर्माण्य् अद्य करोति नो । किञ्चिद् अप्य् एवम् एषो ऽत्र विज्ञानाकाशमात्रकम्
He has no past actions, nor does he perform any now; thus, in this matter, he is merely pure consciousness-space.
प्राणस्पन्दो ऽस्य यत् कर्म लक्ष्यते चास्मदादिभिः । दृश्यते ऽस्माभिर् एवैतन् न त्व् अस्यास्त्य् अत्र कर्मधीः
The movement of life that is observed as action in him by us and others is seen only by us; he himself has no notion of action in this matter.
देहो ऽस्य दृश्यते ऽस्माभिर् नैष वेत्ति परात् पदात् । भिन्नम् आकाशम् आत्मीयं चित्स्तम्भे सालभञ्जिकाम्
His body is seen by us, but he does not know it at all, just as the sky is not aware of the figure of a statue carved within a pillar.
अनुत्कीर्णा यथा स्तम्भे संस्थिता सालभञ्जिका । तथैष परमात्मान्तस् स्वात्मभूतस् स्थितो द्विजः
Just as a statue remains uncarved within a pillar, so this supreme Self, having become its own self, abides within, O twice-born one.
यथा द्रवत्वं पयसि शून्यत्वं च यथाम्बरे । मारुते च यथा स्पन्दस् तथैष परमे पदे
As liquidity is in water, as emptiness is in space, and as movement is in wind, so is this one in the supreme state.
कर्माण्य् अद्यतनान्य् अस्य सञ्चितानि न सन्ति हि । न पूर्वाण्य् एव तेनेह न संसारवशं गतः
He has no present actions accumulated, nor any past ones here; he has not come under the sway of worldly existence.
सहकारिकारणानाम् अभावे यः प्रजायते । नासौ स्वकारणाद् भिन्नो भवतीत्य् अनुभूयते
When something arises in the absence of cooperating causes, it is experienced that it is not different from its own cause.
निर्मलाकाशकोशात्मा द्विज एष स्वयम्भवः । कर्ता न पूर्वं नाप्य् अद्य कथम् आक्रम्यते वद
This twice-born one is self-existent, whose essence is the pure space-like sheath; he is not a doer in the past nor now—tell me, how can he be affected?
यदैष कलनां बुद्ध्या मृत्युनाम्नीं करिष्यति । तदैव रहितो बुद्ध्या स्वयम् एव मरिष्यति
When he, by intellect, will imagine what is called death, then, devoid of intellect, he himself will die at that very moment.
पृथ्व्यादिमान् अहम् अयम् इति यस्य स्वनिश्चयः । स पार्थिवो भवत्य् आशु ग्रहीतुं स च शक्यते
Whoever is firmly convinced, 'I am composed of earth and the like,' quickly becomes identified with the element of earth, and such a one can indeed be grasped.
एष त्व् अपार्थिवाकारश् शुद्धविज्ञानरूपवान् । दृढरज्ज्वेव गगनं ग्रहीतुं नैव युज्यते
But this one, whose form is not of earth, who is of the nature of pure consciousness, cannot be grasped—just as the sky cannot be seized with a sturdy rope.
भगवञ् जायते शून्यः कथं नाम वदेति मे । पृथ्व्यादयः कथं सन्ति न सन्ति वद वा कथम्
O venerable one, how does the void come into being, and how is it said to exist? Tell me: do earth and the other elements exist or not, or in what manner do they exist or not exist?
न कदाचन जातो ऽसौ न च नास्ति कदाचन । द्विजः केवलविज्ञानभामात्रं तत् तथा स्थितम्
That has never been born at any time, nor does it ever not exist; it is only pure consciousness, shining alone, and so it remains.
महाप्रलयसम्पत्तौ न किञ्चिद् अवशिष्यते । ब्रह्मास्ते शान्तम् अजरम् अनन्तात्मैव केवलम्
At the time of the great dissolution, nothing at all remains; only the tranquil, undecaying, infinite Self of Brahman exists.
चेत्यनिर्मुक्तचिन्मात्रम् अणूनाम् अणु विद्धि तत् । तथा तद् अणु येनास्य निकटे ऽद्रिनिभं नभः
Know that as pure consciousness, free from objects of cognition, it is the subtlest of the subtle; and just as the sky appears like a mountain when seen from near, so too is that subtlety.