भाविन्या क्षणविध्वंसधियानुत्फुल्लरूपया । असत्यप्रत्ययतया युक्तं गर्भनिषण्णया
With a mind that is destined to be destroyed in a moment, not fully blossomed, and joined with unreal notions, it is associated with the state of being in the womb.
जाग्रद् एवानुभूतं यद् असत्यं सत्यम् एव वा । म्लानम् आबिलबुद्धित्वात् स्वप्नम् आहुस् तम् उत्तमाः
Whatever is experienced in waking, whether false or true, if it is faded due to a clouded intellect, the wise call that dream.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नानुभवयोर् अवश्यम्भाविनोḫ पुनः । कम् अप्य् अस्तमयẖ कालं यस् तम् आहुः सुषुप्तकम्
After the inevitable experiences of waking and dreaming, there comes a certain period of disappearance, which they call deep sleep.
बुद्धत्वाच् छान्तभेदं यद् अजाग्रत्स्वप्नम् अक्षयम् । असुषुप्तं स्थितं स्वच्छं तत् तुर्यम् इति कथ्यते
Because of awareness, where differences are quieted, which is neither waking nor dreaming and is imperishable, clear and stable, that is called the fourth (turya) state.
यत् परामृष्टतत्त्वानाम् अपदार्थविभावनम् । अवस्थात्रयनिर्मुक्तं तत् तुरीयम् इति स्थितम्
That which, for those who have realized the highest truth, is the perception of the absence of all objects, and which is free from the three states, is established as the fourth (turīya).
एतद्दशात्रयं पूर्वं सर्वेणैवानुभूयते । जीवन्मुक्ताद् ऋते त्व् एषा तुर्यावस्था न लभ्यते
These three states are first experienced by everyone; but except for the liberated while living, this fourth state is not attained.
सम्यग्ज्ञानवतैवान्तर् अवस्थात्रितयक्षये । चिदाकाशात्मनाच्छेन तुर्यावस्थानुभूयते
Only in one who possesses true knowledge, when the three states have ceased within, is the fourth state experienced, by the pure consciousness-space itself.
विदेहमुक्तैर् यावस्था तुर्यातीतानुभूयते । तुर्यस्थितिचिराभ्यासैर् न वाग्गोचरम् एति सा
The state that is experienced by those liberated without a body is beyond the fourth; even by long practice of the fourth state, it does not come within the range of speech.
न जीवन्मुक्तविषया तुर्यातीतदशा यतः । ततो ऽस्याẖ कथनं नास्ति ब्रह्मत्वाद् इतरत् क्वचित्
The state beyond the fourth does not pertain to the liberated while living; therefore, there is no description of it, for it is pure Brahman and nothing else anywhere.
न स्वप्नसुप्तताजाग्रत्कारणं कार्यकोविद । जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्तानां परम् एव हि तिष्ठति
There is no cause for waking, dreaming, or deep sleep, O wise one; for the supreme alone stands beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.
जाग्रत् स्वप्नत्वम् आयाति बुद्धिश्यामलतावशात् । स्वप्नश् च जाग्रद् भवति बुद्धिनिर्मलतोदयात्
Waking turns into dreaming due to the dullness of the intellect; and dreaming becomes waking when the intellect is purified and clear.
घनमोहतया जाग्रद् अपि याति सुषुप्तताम् । स्वप्नश् चापि तथैवैष स्वभावो राम संसृतेः
Through dense delusion, even waking becomes deep sleep; and likewise, dream also does so—such is the nature of worldly existence, O Rāma.
निद्रालोर् अप्य् अनिद्रालो राघवैतद् दशात्रयम् । भवत्य् आ तुर्यसम्प्राप्तेẖ क्रमान् नो तुल्यकालतः
O Raghava, these three states—of sleepiness, wakefulness, and the intermediate—arise one after another until the attainment of the fourth state; they do not occur simultaneously.
तुर्यावस्थस्य चाभ्यासाद् अवस्थात्रितयं शनैः । शाम्यति प्रौढरूपायां शरदीव घनभ्रमः
Through practice of the fourth state, the three preceding states gradually subside, just as the illusion of clouds fades away in the fullness of autumn.
तुर्यावस्थास्थितो भूयो नावस्थात्रयम् एति हि । जीवन्न् अपि चिरं भृष्टं बीजम् अङ्कुरताम् इव
One established in the fourth state does not return to the three states; even while living long, he does not sprout them again, like a roasted seed.
भासुराकारम् अस्कन्धस्तम्भशाखादलादिकम् । छायावृक्षं जगद् वेत्ति चतुर्थीं भूमिकाम् इतः
He perceives the world, with its radiant forms, trunks, branches, leaves, and so on, as a shadow-tree—thus he knows the fourth plane of reality.
अर्थशून्यसमारम्भं दृश्यमानम् असन्मयम् । बालेनेव कृतं पङ्काज् ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
He sees the three worlds, appearing as if real but devoid of substance and purpose, as a wise person sees a mud creation made by a child.
नानेवैताम् अनानात्तां तरङ्गरचनाम् इव । निर्वासनां स्पन्दमयीं ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्स्थितिम्
He does not see multiplicity in the world’s existence, which is like a pattern of waves—devoid of latent impressions, consisting only of vibration.
अदृष्टम् इतराचारं श्रुतं दूरे क्षणक्षयम् । अज्ञो देशम् इवापूर्वं तज्ज्ञस् सर्वं प्रपश्यति
What is unseen, what is not practiced by others, what is heard of as remote or fleeting—while the ignorant see it as an unknown land, the knower perceives it all.
अजिह्वस्वप्नकथनं भावनानुभवोपमम् । भ्रमाभ्रमात्रं विभ्रान्तं ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
He sees the three worlds as if they were the speech of a tongueless person in a dream, like an imagined experience, a mere confusion between illusion and reality.
नीहारसदृशं दूराद् दृश्यमानबृहद्वपुः । नकिञ्चिन् निपुणालोके ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as a vast form, visible from afar like mist, but upon close and discerning observation, perceives nothing at all.
शरदभ्रसमं स्फारम् आमृष्टं सन् नकिञ्चन । नकार्यकारि शून्यात्म ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as dense as autumn clouds, yet when touched, as nothing at all—doing nothing, empty in essence, and without any function.
परामर्शासहानेकरागनिर्मितमण्डलम् । बर्हिबर्हसमाकारं ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as a circle fashioned by countless attachments that cannot be grasped, taking the form of a peacock’s plume.
अविद्यमानं भ्रमदं प्रेक्षितं प्रशमं गतम् । त्रस्तबालकयक्षाभं ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as non-existent, causing delusion, observed but now calmed, resembling a frightened child’s vision of a yakṣa.
विस्तीर्णम् अप्य् अनाक्रान्तदेशं पश्यति सर्गकम् । आख्यायिकारम्भम् इव चतुर्थीं भूमिकाम् इतः
He sees the creation as vast, yet not actually occupied by any being, like the fourth act in a story, merely begun and not truly established.
अस्पृष्टदेशकालांशम् असत्यम् इव सत्यवत् । महारवं मौनमयं महारम्भम् अपक्रियम्
He sees it as untouched by space, time, or parts, as if unreal yet appearing real, as a great roar made of silence, as a grand undertaking that is without result.
स्थूलं कर्मेन्द्रियालभ्यं जगत् पश्यत्य् असद्वपुः । सङ्कल्पसैन्यसङ्काशं चतुर्थीं भूमिकाम् इतः
He sees the world as gross, accessible to the organs of action, yet with an unreal form, like an army of thoughts, and as the fourth state of consciousness.
चित्तभित्तिगतं भावि चित्रतन्त्रम् इव स्थितम् । पश्यत्य् असर्गकं सर्वं चतुर्थीं भूमिकाम् इतः
He sees everything as if it were a marvelous design painted on the wall of the mind, with no real creation, as the fourth state of consciousness.
इन्द्रजालजलादर्शप्रतिबिम्बम् इवास्थितम् । सर्गं सदानुभवति चतुर्थीं भूमिकाम् इतः
He continually experiences the fourth stage, with the world appearing as if a reflection in water conjured by illusion.
द्रव्यभावक्रियेहानाम् अज्ञत्वान् मूकतां गतः । दुर्देशम् इव विक्रीतो ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
Due to ignorance of substance, existence, and action, he becomes mute; like one sold into a foreign land, the knower observes the three worlds.