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.
स चिन्मात्रस्वभावत्वाद् देहो ऽहम् इति चेतसि । काकतालीयवद् भातम् आकारं तेन पश्यति
Because its very nature is pure consciousness, when the idea 'I am the body' arises in the mind, it appears to take on a form, just as a chance conjunction seems meaningful, like a crow alighting on a palm tree.
स एष ब्राह्मणस् तस्मिन् सर्गादाव् अम्बरोदरे । स्वयं भातस् स्वयम्भूत्वं गतो भात्य् अजरामरः
This very Brahman, at the beginning of creation, within the womb of space, shines forth by itself, becoming self-existent, and appears undecaying and immortal.
नास्य देहो न कर्माणि न कर्तृत्वं न वासना । एष शुद्धचिदाकाशो विज्ञानघनम् आततम्
He has neither body nor actions, neither agency nor latent tendencies; he is pure consciousness-space, pervaded by the mass of awareness.
प्राक्तनं वासनाजालं किञ्चिद् अस्य न विद्यते । केवलं व्योमरूपस्य भारूपस्येव तेजसः
There is not even a trace of previous webs of latent impressions in him; he is simply of the nature of space, just as radiance is of the nature of weight.
केवलं वेदनामात्राद् एवम् एषो ऽवलोक्यते । वेदनामात्रसंशान्ताव् ईदृशो ऽपि न दृश्यते
He is perceived only through pure sensation; when even pure sensation subsides, such as this is not seen.
तस्माद् यथा चिदाकाशस् तथा तत्प्रतिपत्तयः । कुतः किलात्र पृथ्व्यादेः कीदृशस् सम्भवः कथम्
Therefore, just as consciousness-space is, so are its apprehensions; how, then, could earth and the rest arise here, and in what manner?
एतदाक्रमणे मृत्यो तस्मान् मा यत्नवान् भव । ग्रहीतुं युज्यते व्योम न कदाचन केनचित्
In the attempt to seize this, O Death, therefore do not strive; for space can never be grasped by anyone at any time.
ब्रह्मैव कथितो ब्रह्मंस् त्वया मे प्रपितामहः । स्वयम्भूर् अज एकात्मा विज्ञानात्मेति मे मतिः
Brahman alone has been described, O Brahman, to me by my great-grandfather; self-born, unborn, one in essence, consciousness-self—this is my conviction.
एवम् एतन् मया राम ब्रह्मैष कथितस् तव । विवादम् अकरोन् मृत्युर् यमेनैतत्कृते पुरा
Thus, O Rama, I have told you about Brahman; Death once disputed with Yama over this matter in ancient times.
मन्वन्तरे सर्वभक्षो यदा मृत्युर् हरन् प्रजाः । बलम् एत्य् अब्जजाक्रान्ताव् आरम्भम् अकरोत् स्वयम्
In a certain Manvantara, when Death, devourer of all, was seizing beings, he gained strength and began his own undertaking in the realm of the lotus-born.