कुर्वतो ऽपि न बन्धाय कर्म तत्त्वविदो भवेत् । भुञ्जानो ऽपि विषं तज्ज्ञो न विनश्यति कर्हिचित्
Even while acting, actions do not bind one who knows the truth; just as one who knows poison does not perish by it while consuming it.
प्राक्शरीरकृतं कर्म मूलकाषेण दह्यते । वर्तमानावबोधेन शुष्कं तृणम् इवाग्निना
Actions performed before the body arose are burned by the fire of the destruction of their root; by present awareness, they are dried up like dry grass by fire.
बद्धवासनम् अर्थो यस् सेव्यते सुखयत्य् असौ । ददाति च फलानीति स्वयम् एवानुभूयते
That object which is pursued with a fixed desire brings pleasure, and it is said to yield results; this is experienced directly.
यत् सुखाय तद् एवाशु वस्तु दुẖखाय नाशतः । अविनाभाविनिष्ठत्वं प्रसिद्धं सुखदुẖखयोः
Whatever brings pleasure, that very thing quickly brings pain upon its destruction; it is well known that pleasure and pain are inseparably connected.
तनुवासनम् अर्थो यस् सेव्यते वा विवासनम् । नासौ सुखाय नैवातो नाशात् कालेन दुẖखदः
An object that is sought with a faint desire, or even with indifference, does not bring pleasure, nor, when it perishes in time, does it bring pain.
निर्वासनतया स्पन्दं कुर्वतो ऽसुप्तबालवत् । कर्मणो योगिनस् तेन ते न कर्मफलान्विताः
When a yogi acts without any desire, moving like a child who is not yet asleep, his actions are not accompanied by the fruits of action.
क्षीणवासनया बुद्ध्या कर्म यत् क्रियते ऽनघ । तद् भृष्टबीजवद् भूयो नाङ्कुरं प्रविमुञ्चति
O sinless one, when an action is performed with a mind whose desires are exhausted, it is like a roasted seed and does not sprout again.
देहेन्द्रियादिना कर्म करणौघेन कल्प्यते । एकẖ कर्तात्र भोक्ता वा क इवाङ्गोपपद्यते
Action is conceived through the body, senses, and other instruments; but who, in this, can truly be said to be the single doer or enjoyer, as with the limbs of the body?
अन्यḫ पश्यति भुङ्क्ते ऽन्यḫ परो ऽप्य् अनुभवत्य् अणुः । अन्यस्य सुखदुẖखादि कस्यैकस्यात्र कर्तृता
One perceives, another enjoys, and yet another, the subtle one, experiences; whose, then, is the agency for pleasure, pain, and the like, when there are many involved?
आत्मा कर्ताप्य् अकर्तायम् औदासीन्येन संस्थितः । प्रतिबिम्बेष्व् इवादर्शो मनष्षष्ठेन्द्रियातिगः
The self is both the doer and non-doer, established in detachment, transcending mind and the six senses, like a mirror in which reflections appear.
देहादयो जडास् सर्वे तस्माद् अङ्ग न किञ्चन । न कश्चिद् एव कुरुते सुकृतेष्व् अपि कर्मसु
All bodies and such are insentient, therefore, O dear one, truly no one does anything, not even in virtuous actions.
कर्म कुर्वत्य् अपि प्राज्ञे तयासंसक्तया धिया । न कश्चित् कुरुते किञ्चिद् देहस् स्फुरति केवलम्
Even when action is performed by the wise, with a mind unattached, truly no one does anything; only the body moves, nothing more.
तूष्णीम् अपि स्थितो मूढश् चिन्तासंसक्तया धिया । करोति कर्म शैलाभं यद् युगैर् अपि न क्षयि
Even one who sits silently, if his mind is bound by delusion and thought, performs actions as enduring as a mountain, which do not perish even in ages.
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् । इन्द्रियार्थान् विमूढात्मा तस्यानन्तेह कर्तृता
He who restrains the organs of action and sits remembering sense objects with a deluded mind, for him, endless is the sense of doership in this world.
यस् त्व् इन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभते ऽनघ । कर्मेन्द्रियैẖ कर्मयोगम् अकर्तैव स मोक्षभाक्
But he, O sinless one, who restrains the senses with the mind and begins the yoga of action with the organs of action, he, though acting, is truly non-doer and attains liberation.
निर्वासनं कृतं कर्म न कर्तारं स्पृशत्य् अजम् । पद्मपत्त्रं जलम् इव नभस्तलम् इवाम्बुदः
An action performed without latent impressions does not touch the unborn doer, just as water does not cling to a lotus leaf, or the sky is untouched by clouds.
फलानि नानुधावन्ति यदा कर्माण्य् अवासनम् । तदा जीवं न स्पृशति कर्म जन्मैककारणम्
When actions are done without desire, their results do not pursue; then, karma, the sole cause of birth, does not touch the living being.
कर्मणो जन्मबीजस्य रसस् सर्वत्र वासना । सा यद्भवा च तस्यैव गर्भे पश्यति देहकम्
The essence of karma, the seed of birth, is always the latent tendency; and as is that tendency, so does it see the body in the womb.
जायते तत एवाशु क्रमाद् भ्रमति संसृतौ । तस्माद् वासनयैवान्तर् वियोगस् ते ऽस्तु भूतये
From that alone, one is quickly born and then wanders in the cycle of existence; therefore, may there be, for your benefit, an inner separation from tendencies.
भावनास् सर्वभावेभ्यस् समुत्सृज्य समुच्छ्रितः । शशाङ्कशीतलḫ पूर्णो भासि भासेव भास्करः
Having abandoned all notions regarding all things, you rise up, full and cool as the moon, shining like the sun in your own radiance.
क्रियमाणा कृता कर्मतूलश्रीर् देहशल्मलेः । ज्ञानानिलसमुद्धूता विलयं क्वापि गच्छति
Actions performed, whether done or completed, are like the cotton of the silk-cotton tree; stirred up by the wind of knowledge, they are scattered and vanish somewhere.
आत्मज्ञतां प्रयातस्य तीर्णस्य भवसागरात् । इच्छतो ऽपि समायाति पुनर् नाज्ञत्वम् आत्मनः
For one who has attained self-knowledge and crossed the ocean of worldly existence, ignorance of the self does not return, even if desired.
यथा दूरगतोत्पत्तिस्थानं रयवती सरित् । न यात्य् एवं मतिर् बुद्धा पुनर् मोहं न गच्छति
Just as a river, having left its distant source, does not return there, so too, the mind that has awakened does not return to delusion.
सर्वैव हि कला जन्तोर् अनभ्यासेन नश्यति । फलदापि मनोज्ञापि लतेवासेकवर्जिता
Indeed, every skill in a being perishes through lack of practice, even if it is fruitful and delightful, like a vine deprived of support.
एषा ज्ञानकला त्व् अन्तस् सकृज्जाता दिने दिने । वृद्धिम् एति बलाद् एव सताम् अप्य् उप्तशालिवत्
But this skill of knowledge, once born within, increases day by day of its own accord, even among the virtuous, like a sown grain of rice.
यथा दध्युद्धृतं नैति पुनर् दध्नैकतां घृतम् । तथा ज्ञानोद्धृता ज्ञप्तिर् नायात्य् अज्ञानतां पुनः
Just as clarified butter, once separated from curds, does not become curds again, so too, knowledge once extracted does not return to ignorance.
यथा परभटव्यूहं विभिद्योदेति सद्भटः । तथाज्ञानं विदार्यान्ध्यम् उदेति ज्ञानभास्करः
Just as a valiant warrior emerges after breaking through the enemy ranks, so too does the sun of knowledge arise, piercing the darkness of ignorance.
चिद्घनं निर्मलं ब्रह्म शान्तं सर्वम् इदं ततम् । अद्वैतं द्वैतवद् भाति नित्यम् एकम् अनामयम्
Consciousness, pure and undisturbed, is Brahman—peaceful, pervading all this; nondual, yet appearing as dual, ever one, free from affliction.
एकस् स्फुरत्य् अखिलवस्तुषु चित्स्वरूप आत्मा परस् स्वजलधिष्व् इव तोयम् अच्छम् । संशान्तसङ्कलनभूरिकलापम् एकं सत्तांशमात्रम् अखिलं जगद् अङ्ग विद्धि
The supreme Self, whose nature is consciousness, shines alone in all things, like clear water in its own ocean; know this entire world, O friend, as a single mass of existence, with all its manifold aggregates stilled.
परस्मात् कारणाद् एको जीवḫ प्रथमम् उत्थितः । तस्माज् जीवकणा जाताẖ कणास् तप्तायसो यथा
From the supreme cause, a single living being first arose; from that, countless living beings emerged, like sparks from heated iron.