यथा पुस्तमयं सैन्यं महारम्भम् अपि स्फुटम् । विद्यमानम् अनन्तं च सहस्राङ्गायुधादिकम्
Just as an army made of figures in a book, though appearing vast, endless, and equipped with thousands of limbs and weapons, is only an illusion—
स्वरूपं प्रति तज् जाड्यान् नित्यासम्भवदीहनम् । अरूपालोकमननम् अदिक्कालकलादिकम्
So, due to the dullness regarding its true nature, there is a perpetual absence of effort, a perception without form, and notions of space, time, and causation.
केवलं केवलं शान्तं समनिर्वाणम् आत्मनि । दृष्टैर् अनुमितैर् ज्ञातैर् इतरेण दशाभ्रमैः
What truly exists is only the utterly peaceful, perfectly tranquil state within oneself, inferred and known through perceptions and other mistaken states.
मनाग् अप्य् अपरामृष्टं विद्यमानम् असन्मयम् । अहमादित्वम् आद्यं च तथैवाखण्डितं जगत्
It is not even slightly touched by anything else; it appears to exist but is made of non-being, and, in the same way, the sense of 'I' and the undivided world are primordial.
ब्रह्मपुस्तमयं सर्वं विद्यमानम् असन्मयम् । रूपालोकमनस्कारशब्दार्थपरिवर्जितम्
All is the book-army of Brahman, appearing to exist but made of non-being, devoid of form, perception, mental intention, sound, and meaning.
अन्येनानुमितैर् अर्थैर् मुक्तम् आत्मनि संस्थितम् । न च सत्यं न चासत्यम् आत्मन्य् अद्वयतावशात्
Established in the self, free from other inferred objects, it is neither real nor unreal, due to the non-dual nature of the self.
अन्यो ऽस्ति पुस्तसैन्यानाम् अस्मदादिर् मुनीश्वर । अस्मदादेस् तु को ऽन्यस् स्याद् अनन्ताद् ब्रह्मणḫ पदात्
O best of sages, there is another among the book-armies, beginning with us; but who else could there be apart from us, from the infinite Brahman?
नास्त्य् एव यस् स नो ऽन्यो ऽस्ति ब्रह्मपुस्तमयात्मकः । असन्न् अभ्युदितो मोहḫ प्रेक्षितो यो न लभ्यते
There is truly no such other; what appears as another, made of the book of Brahman, is non-existent, arising from delusion, seen but not found.
स एतान् असतो ऽनन्यान् दूराद् भावविकारकान् । पश्यत्य् उन्मत्तको जन्तुर् जीवन्न् आत्ममृतिं यथा
That creature, like a madman, perceives these unreal, non-existent modifications of being from afar, just as one alive experiences the death of the self.
स एषो ऽप्रेक्षणात्मैव शुक्तौ रजतधीर् इव । न विद्यते प्रेक्षितस् सञ् शुक्तौ रजतधीर् इव
This very perceiver is, in truth, only the act of perception itself, just as the notion of silver in a shell is nothing but a thought; when examined, the idea of silver in the shell does not exist.
अस्माभिḫ प्रेक्षितस् तेन नूनं निर्मूलतां गतः । अनालोकḫ पुरो रूढं वस्तु नेति विलोकनात्
Because we have examined it, it has certainly been uprooted; for, by observing that 'this object does not exist here,' the false appearance is dispelled.
यैस् तु न प्रेक्ष्यते तेषां शतशाखं विजृम्भते । असत्य एव सत्येन बालवेतालसैन्यवत्
But for those who do not examine, it spreads forth with a hundred branches; the unreal appears as real, like an army of goblins conjured by a child.
आसृष्टिकरम् आरुद्रम् इयं भ्रान्तिर् उपस्थिता । तथाप्य् अनन्तदुẖखाय किं शुभं ज्ञातयानया
This delusion, fierce and creative of the world, arises; yet, though it brings endless suffering, what good comes from knowing it?
असन् निवर्तते राम क्षणाद् एव निरीक्षितम् । सत्यं तु वस्तु कृच्छ्रेण क्षीयते नैव वानघ
O Rama, the unreal ceases instantly when examined; but the real, O sinless one, is destroyed only with great difficulty, or not at all.
अविद्या ज्ञातमात्रैव शाम्यत्य् आशु न बाधते । न विप्रलम्भयत्य् अन्तर् मृगतृष्णाम्बुधीर् इव
Ignorance, once known, quickly subsides and does not trouble further; it does not deceive within, like the mirage-ocean.
यद् एवास्याḫ परिज्ञानं स एवास्याḫ परिक्षयः । श्रेयसे परमायैव मित्रे शत्रुधियो यथा
Indeed, the very understanding of it is its destruction, just as recognizing a friend or an enemy is for the highest good.
परिज्ञातैव गलति लगत्य् अज्ञानरूषिता । स्वभावतश् च नास्त्य् एव मिथ्या यक्षमतिर् यथा
Ignorance, once recognized, dissolves and falls away; by its very nature, false understanding cannot endure, just as a fevered mind cannot persist.
नास्त्य् अविद्यालम् इत्य् एव प्रत्ययो ज्ञानम् उच्यते । रूढिं गताज्ञे ज्ञे त्व् एषा ब्रह्म मोक्षस् स एव च
The conviction that 'there is no realm of ignorance' is called knowledge; when this understanding is firmly established, that is Brahman, and that alone is liberation.
असत् प्रेक्षितम् एवासत् सत् तु नैव निवर्तते । यदासत्यजगद्भ्रान्तिस् तदैषाशु निवर्तते
The unreal, when observed as unreal, ceases to exist; the real never ceases. When the illusion of the unreal world is abandoned, it swiftly disappears.
कल्पनामात्रसम्पत्तिर् अकल्पनविलायिनी । मनस्सत्तेव मृद्वङ्गी नरायत्तभवाभवा
All is but the outcome of mere imagination, which vanishes when imagination ceases; like the mind's existence, soft in form, the arising and ceasing of beings depend on humans.
पुरुषायत्तजननमरणायाम् अखिन्दतः । यथावद् अस्यां बुद्धायां मोक्ष एवावशिष्यते
When birth and death, which depend on the person, are thoroughly understood, then, as is proper, in this awakened understanding, only liberation remains.
अद्रिद्यूर्वीनदीशादिकल्पनामात्रकात्मकाम् । पीत्वाकल्पनमात्रेण निर्वाति निपुणं पुमान्
All things—mountains, earth, rivers, and so on—are made only of imagination; by drinking only from the cup of non-imagination, a wise person attains peace.
यदि शैलादि सत्यं स्यात् तत् केन विनिवार्यते । नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
If mountains and such were real, by what could they be removed? The unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to be.
यथा प्रसरति स्पन्दाच् चक्रवृन्दम् असज् जले । तथोल्लसति सङ्कल्पाच् चित्खे संसारमण्डलम्
Just as a cluster of ripples spreads on water from a vibration, so too does the circle of worldly existence arise in the sky of consciousness from a thought.
निजस्पन्दवशाद् एकं शतावर्तं पयो यथा । निजस्पन्दवशाद् एकं जगदात्म परं तथा
Just as, by its own motion, a single whirlpool forms in water, so too, by its own vibration, the supreme Self becomes the world.
प्रविचारितम् अन्विष्टं यावच् चक्रादि नाम्भसि । अस्ति नापि च सर्गादि चिद्व्योम्नि न च कल्पना
When examined and investigated, there is no wheel or anything else in water; likewise, in the space of consciousness, there is neither creation nor imagination.
स्वयत्नमात्रसङ्कल्पप्राप्यौ सर्गापवर्गकौ । य एव रोचते यस्मै तयोस् तं सो ऽनुगच्छति
Creation and liberation are attained only by one's own resolve; whichever of the two appeals to someone, that one he follows.
अवित्त्वाद् अपवर्गत्वं वित्त्वाज् जन्मचमत्कृतिः । वेद्यम् अस्ति च नो सत्यं यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु
Liberation comes from not knowing, and the wonder of birth comes from knowing; what is to be known exists, but is not true—do as you wish.
असद् वेद्यं विनिर्माय भुङ्क्ते क इव दुẖखदम् । प्रक्षालनाद् धि पङ्कस्य दूराद् अस्पर्शनं वरम्
Who, after creating what is unreal and to be known, enjoys that which brings suffering? For washing away mud, it is better to avoid touching it from afar.
क ईदृशो ऽस्ति मुक्तात्मा यो विनिर्माय यक्षकम् । तेनैव घट्टयत्य् आर्तं स्वयम् आत्मानम् अक्षतम्
Who is such a liberated soul, who, after creating a phantom, torments himself with it, while remaining unharmed himself?