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.
अत्यन्तापूर्वसंस्थानं देशान्तरम् इवाल्पधीः । अशून्यं शून्यम् एवाति ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
With a mind of little capacity, he sees the three worlds as utterly unprecedented, like a foreign place—empty yet not empty.
अनूढम् उह्यमानात्म स्थिरं चलम् असच् च सत् । सरिद्बिम्बस्थपुरवज् ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as unwed, being carried along by the self, stable and unstable, unreal and real—like a city reflected in a river.
प्रतिबिम्बितम् अम्भोधाव् इव निर्मज्जद् एव वा । चलिते शफरस्पन्दाज् ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as reflected in the ocean, or as if sinking, moving with the flicker of a fish's tail.
जात्यन्धरूपानुभवम् इव नासन् न सन्मयम् । अन्धप्राग्दृष्टरूपाभं ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as an experience of congenital blindness—not existent, not made of existence, resembling a form seen by a blind person in the past.
मसृणैकमहाभित्तौ सङ्कल्पोल्लिखितात्मकम् । चित्रसैन्यम् इवाभाति जगज् ज्ञं प्रत्य् अरोधकम्
On a smooth, vast wall, with the self inscribed by imagination, the world appears to the knower like a painted army, obstructing him.
आकाशभित्तिलिखितम् अलब्धम् अपि वायुना । चित्तचित्रकृतश् चित्रं ज्ञḫ पश्यति जगत्त्रयम्
The knower sees the three worlds as a picture drawn on the wall of space, unattainable by the wind, a painting made by the mind.
दृश्ये पतत्य् अदृश्ये ऽपि परयत्नावबोधितः । बहिर् द्रष्टैव नान्तर् ज्ञो हृदयेनापराजितः
The seer perceives the visible, and even the invisible is realized through supreme effort; the observer remains outwardly, not knowing inwardly, unconquered in the heart.
विच्छिन्नशरदभ्रांशविलयं प्रविलीयते । सत्तावशेष एवास्ते पञ्चमीं भूमिकाम् इतः
When the dissolution of scattered autumn clouds merges away, only pure existence remains—this is the fifth stage.
समस्तशब्दशब्दार्थभावनाभावनात्मकम् । बीजाङ्कुरसमुत्सेधसत्तासुषमम् आस्यताम्
Let there be a subtle state of existence, like the sprouting of a seed, where all notions of sound, their meanings, and their contemplations or absence dissolve.
अनहन्तादिमननं समं सर्वगतं स्थिरम् । अवेद्यवेदनं पुष्पविकाससमम् आस्यताम्
Let there be an even, all-pervading, steady contemplation free from ego and such thoughts, an unknowing awareness, like the blossoming of a flower.