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?
यस्मै वा सर्गवेतालसमुत्थानं विरोचते । आत्मनाशाय सङ्कल्पाद् उत्थापयतु सो ऽङ्ग तम्
To whomever the arising of creation and its phantoms is pleasing, let him, for the sake of self-annihilation, raise that up by his own intention, O dear one.
दृश्यं निर्माय द्रष्टृत्वम् एत्यात्मानं निबध्य च । य इच्छति सुखं स स्वं विदधातु यथेप्सितम्
Having created the visible and assumed the role of the seer, binding himself as well, whoever desires happiness should arrange his own life as he wishes.
यथाभूतार्थकथने वयं नाम समुद्यताः । श्रुत्वा सत्यम् असत्यं तु गृह्णातु स्वेच्छया जनः
We are engaged in speaking things as they truly are; let people, upon hearing, accept as true or false whatever they wish.
सर्गार्थी सर्गयुक्तीहो मोक्षार्थी मोक्षयुक्तिमान् । भवत्व् अत्र महाबाहो न नẖ कश्चिद् अपि ग्रहः
Let one who seeks creation pursue arguments about creation, and one who seeks liberation pursue reasoning about liberation; O mighty-armed one, here no one is compelled by us.
सर्गाद् व्यावृत्तसंविद् यस् सबाह्याभ्यन्तरात्मनः । सर्गासत्तावबोधात्मा सो ऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते
He whose awareness has turned away from creation, both outwardly and inwardly, and whose knowledge is of the unreality of creation—he is fit for immortality.
सर्गासत्ताप्रत्ययेन सर्गसंविन् निवर्तते । साहन्ता समनस्कारा शिष्यते यद् अनाम तत्
By the conviction of the unreality of creation, the awareness of creation ceases; what remains is the nameless, along with the sense of 'I' and the mind.
सुविचारितम् अन्विष्टं यावत् सर्गो न विद्यते । साहन्तादिमनस्कारẖ किम् अन्यद् भ्रमकारणम्
When, through thorough inquiry and investigation, creation is found not to exist, what else but the sense of 'I' and mind remains as the cause of delusion?
पातालम् आविशसि यासि नभो विलङ्घ्य दिङ्मण्डलं भ्रमसि चेत् तद् अनात्मतात्मा । भ्रान्तीतरो ऽहम् इति नास्ति न सर्गवर्गस् स्पन्देतरो ऽनिल इवाम्ब्वितरेव धारा
If you enter the netherworld, soar through the sky, or wander across the circle of directions, all that is the non-self acting as the self; apart from delusion, there is no 'I', no world, nor any movement, just as wind does not stir within water.
कलनामात्रकार्यत्वाद् इमे मेर्वादयो ऽद्रयः । मृदवो लघवस् साक्षात् कौशेयनिकराद् अपि
Because these mountains, from Meru onward, are merely products of conceptualization, they are in fact softer and lighter than even clusters of silk.
निस्स्पन्दपवनाकारशरीरा भूतजातयः । ब्रह्माद्या अपि विद्यन्ते पिशाचपटलादिवत्
The elements, and even Brahma and the rest, exist with bodies like unmoving air—just like hosts of spirits.