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.
ते देवनागगन्धर्वविद्याधरशताभिधाः । स्फुरन्त्य् आत्मामृताम्भोदनिर्मलामृतबिन्दवः
These, known as gods, serpents, gandharvas, and vidyadharas by the hundreds, shine forth as pure drops of nectar from the ocean of immortal Self.
स्वैरसङ्कल्पजालेन वलिता बन्धम् आगताः । स्वलालयेव तन्तुत्वं गतया कोशकारकाः
Entangled by the net of their own thoughts, they come into bondage, just as silkworms, by their own threads, become cocooned.
स्वसङ्कल्पेन भूतानि बद्धानीति परस्परम् । स्वतुषेणेव धान्यानि दुẖखान्य् अनुभवन्त्य् अतः
By their own imagination, beings are mutually bound—thus, like grains by their own husk, they experience suffering.
स स्वसङ्कल्पनतुषो दह्यते ज्ञानवह्निना । यदा तदा भवन्त्य् अच्छा नवा मुक्ताकणा इव
When the husk of their own imagination is burned away by the fire of knowledge, then they become pure, like new pearls.
भूयो जगति जायन्ते न कदाचन केचन । ते ततात्मपदारूढा मूढत्वाद् उद्धृताशयाः
No beings are ever born again in the world; those who have ascended to the state of the Self are freed from delusion and from desires.
जगद्वृत्ताव् अवयवैर् मिथẖ कारणतां गतम् । अकारणं जगद् विद्धि नाशोत्पत्त्योस् स्वभावतः
In the activity of the world, its parts mutually become causes; but know that the world itself is causeless, for its arising and dissolution are inherent to its nature.
यथाम्बुकुम्भेषु नभो नार्पितं नाप्य् अनर्पितम् । तथात्मा सर्वदेहेषु न स्थितो नापि चास्थितः
Just as space is neither placed nor unplaced within water jars, so the Self is neither situated nor unsituated in all bodies.
सति कुम्भे सति च खे कुम्भाकाशाभिधा यथा । सत्य् आत्मनि च देहे च देहसंवेदनं तथा
When both the jar and the space exist, the term 'jar-space' is used; likewise, when both the Self and the body exist, the awareness of the body arises.
चेतनाचेतनकला नृप सन्ति न काश्चन । काचिद् आत्माभिधा सत्ता देहे स्फुरति केवलम्
O king, there are no conscious or unconscious aspects; only the existence called 'Self' alone shines forth in the body.
यथा दृङ् निर्मले व्योम्नि चिरन्यस्तोल्लसत्य् अलम् । तथा स्फुरति देहाभा सत्तात्मन्य् आत्मनामिका
Just as vision shines perfectly in clear space, so the existence named 'Self' shines forth in the absence of the body, within the Self.