तद् इमं संशयं शेषम् एकं मे छेत्तुम् अर्हसि । भगवन् सर्वधर्मज्ञ प्रोद्विजन्ते हि नोत्तमाः
Therefore, you who know all dharmas, worthy one, please resolve this one remaining doubt of mine; for the noble do not become disturbed.
परमात्ममयं सर्वं यदि नाम सदैव हि । इदं कार्यम् इदं नेति तत् किमर्थं कृतẖ क्रमः
If indeed all is always pervaded by the Supreme Self, then why is there this order of 'this should be done, this should not be done'?
यथोत्पन्ना न वोत्पन्ना जीवाḫ परमकारणात् । द्वैतवन्तो ऽथ वाद्वैतास् तत् तावज् ज्ञातवान् भवान्
Just as beings, though appearing to arise, do not truly arise from the Supreme Cause; whether they are dual or nondual, you have known that.
तत्र तावत् स्वसङ्कल्पाद् येषां द्वैतम् अलं स्थितम् । तैस् तावत् संसृतौ किञ्चित् संसर्तव्यम् असंशयम्
There, for those whose duality firmly persists due to their own conception, they must certainly continue in saṃsāra for some time.
तत्र केचिद् बाल्य एव स्वचमत्कारयोगतः । विदन्ति परमात्मानं तिष्ठन्ति विगतज्वरम्
Among them, some, even in childhood, by the power of their own wonder, realize the Supreme Self and remain free from affliction.
अनीश्वरास् सेश्वराश् च ये जीवा देहतां गताः । गृहीतद्वैतविस्ताराẖ कालेनायान्ति ते पदम्
Those living beings, with or without a sense of lordship, who have taken on embodiment and embraced the expanse of duality, in time reach that state.
भवत्य् एवातिविश्रान्तिर् नास्ति कस्यास्ति कस्य च । सुचिरात् केवलं कश्चिद् अचिराद् वेत्ति कश्चन
Indeed, supreme rest comes; it is not for some, not for others. After a long time, someone realizes it; another, in a short time.
केचिद् विदितवेद्यत्वं यान्ति राघव यौवने । जरावन्तḫ परं वस्तु विदन्तीहापरे जनाः
Some, O Rāghava, attain knowledge of the knowable in youth; others here realize the supreme reality only in old age.
एवं तज्ज्ञास् तथाज्ञाश् च तिष्ठन्त्य् एव यथास्थितम् । अस्यां व्यवहृतौ जीवन्मुक्ता बद्धाश् च मानवाः
Thus, both the knowers of truth and the ignorant remain as they are; in this worldly conduct, there are both liberated and bound human beings.
इदं कार्यम् इदं नेति तेषां यदि जगत्स्थितिः । नोन्नीयते तत् क्षयकृन् मात्स्यो न्यायḫ प्रवर्तते
If, among them, the world does not persist with the discernment, 'this should be done, this should not be done,' then the destructive law of the fish—where the stronger devours the weaker—prevails.
यावत् किञ्चित् प्रस्फुरति सर्गस् तावत् कदर्थनाम् । मा यातु मात्स्यन्यायेन किलेति विहिता स्थितिः
As long as creation stirs even a little, so long does confusion arise; let the order be maintained so that the law of the fish does not take hold.
निष्पुण्यपापं निश्चित्तं निर्ममो ऽमननक्रियम् । कालातिवाहनायैव जीवन्मुक्तो ऽवतिष्ठते
The liberated while living abides only for the passing of time, free from merit and demerit, devoid of mind, without possessiveness, and without thought or action.
मायाग्रस्तमतिस् त्व् आत्मवासनावशतḫ फलम् । प्राप्नोतीहामुत्र चैव तदर्थं यतते च सः
But one whose mind is seized by illusion, under the sway of personal tendencies, attains results here and hereafter, and strives for those results.
एतावत् तावद् आबालपण्डितामरमानवम् । अविसंवादि यद् यादृक् चित्तं तन्मयतात्मनः
To this extent, from child to scholar, god to human, whatever the mind is like, such is the state of one's being, unfailingly.
स्वसङ्कल्पैकबीजाय नरकस्वर्गशाखिने । फलायाज्ञस्य कर्तृत्वम् अकर्तृत्वं च राघव
Heaven and hell, with their branches, arise from the single seed of one's own intention; O Raghava, for the ignorant, there is both doership and non-doership as their fruit.
यत् तु तज्ज्ञस्य कर्तृत्वम् अकर्तृत्वं च वा क्वचित् । तत् प्रमेयदशाम् एति न कदाचन कस्यचित्
But wherever there is doership or non-doership for the knower of truth, it only reaches the state of appearance, never truly for anyone at any time.
कर्ता भवत्व् अकर्ता वा मुक्त एवाङ्ग तत्त्ववित् । भूयो मज्जति नाज्ञाने पयḫफेन इवाम्भसि
Whether one acts or refrains from action, O dear one, the knower of truth is liberated; he does not sink again into ignorance, like a foam on water.
कर्ता भवत्व् अकर्ता वा बद्ध एवायथार्थवित् । अरण्यकूपाच् छ्वेवास्मान् मोहान् नोत्तरति क्वचित्
Whether one acts or refrains from action, the one who misunderstands reality remains bound; like a dog trapped in a forest well, he never escapes from delusion.
निर्देहो निर्मना मौनी शान्तस् स्वस्थो निरेषणः । कुर्वन्न् एव च कर्माणि तिष्ठोत्तिष्ठस्व तत्पदे
Without body, without mind, silent, peaceful, healthy, free from seeking—yet performing actions, remain established in that state.
जीवो ब्रह्मार्णवे वीचिर् जीवाम्भोधाव् अहङ्कृतिः । अहङ्काराम्बुधौ बुद्धिर् बुद्ध्यब्धौ चित्तम् आबिलम्
The individual soul is a wave in the ocean of Brahman; ego is a wave in the ocean of individual existence; intellect is a wave in the ocean of ego; the mind is turbid in the ocean of intellect.
चित्ताब्धौ वासना वीचिर् वासनाब्धौ तु संसृतिः । संसाराब्धौ शरीरं च शरीराब्धौ च जीवितम्
In the ocean of mind, desire is a wave; in the ocean of desire, transmigration is a wave; in the ocean of worldly existence, the body is a wave; in the ocean of body, life is a wave.
जीविताब्धौ च युवता चञ्चले यौवनार्णवे । वीचिर् इन्द्रियसङ्घातस् स्पन्दस् त्व् इन्द्रियवारिधौ
In the ocean of life, youth is restless; in the ocean of youth, the aggregate of senses is a wave; movement is a wave in the ocean of senses.
स्पन्दाम्भोधाव् अनुभवस् स्वानुभूत्याम्बुधौ ततः । तरङ्गश् चित्समुल्लास इतीदं सर्गवेदनम्
In the ocean of movement, experience arises; then, in the ocean of one's own experience, the wave is the delight of consciousness—this is the perception of creation.
शब्दसंस्पर्शरूपादि येनेदम् अवबुध्यते । तच् चिन्मात्रं जगत् सर्वं तत्सारत्वाद् रघूद्वह
By which sound, touch, form, and so on are apprehended—O descendant of Raghu, that is pure consciousness; all this world is nothing but that, for it is its essence.
अक्षुब्धो ऽव्यपदेश्यो ऽसाव् असर्गकरणोन्मुखः । उन्नीयते चिदम्भोधिस् सद्भिर् ब्रह्मेति केवलम्
Unperturbed and indescribable, inclined toward non-creation, this ocean of consciousness is elevated by the wise as nothing but Brahman.
अक्षुब्धम् अपि तत् क्षुब्धम् इव चेत् कृतवेदनम् । तच् चिदंशम् उपारुह्य ब्रह्म सर्ग इति स्थितम्
Even though it is unperturbed, if it is made perceptible, it appears disturbed; ascending to that fragment of consciousness, it is established as Brahman and creation.
अक्षुब्धो ऽसाव् अवाच्यो हि समश् चितिमहार्णवः । वक्तुं न केनचिन् नाम्ना कलया वापि शक्यते
This unperturbed, unspeakable, vast ocean of consciousness cannot be described by anyone, neither by name nor by any method.
न च तस्य महाबाहो क्षोभस् सम्भवति क्वचित् । पृथक् तन्मात्ररूपत्वात् सर्वस्य जगतो गतेः
And, O mighty-armed one, disturbance never arises in it, because the movement of the entire world is only in the form of its subtle elements.
स्वरूपे तस्य देवस्य केवलं या विलासिता । सैषोक्ता क्षोभशब्देन चिच्छब्देन च वानघ
The playfulness that occurs in the true nature of that divine One is referred to by the term 'disturbance' and also by the term 'consciousness,' O sinless one.
परमार्थमहाम्भोधौ चिच् चेत्यलवरूपिणी । ऊर्मिवत् स्फुरति स्पन्दात् तेनेदं जायते जगत्
In the great ocean of ultimate reality, consciousness, taking the form of the distinction between subject and object, flashes forth like a wave from vibration; thus, this world arises.