विदान्तररसान्य् एव प्रवृत्तान्य् अपि धारय । स्वयत्नेनेन्द्रियाण्य् आशु हेमन्तर्तुस् तरून् इव
Sustain the activities of the senses only with the inner essence of knowledge, restraining them quickly by your own effort, like trees in winter restrain their sap.
सरसेन्द्रियवृत्तैस् तैẖ कुर्वतो ऽकुर्वतस् तथा । संसारानर्थसार्थो ऽयं न कदाचन शाम्यति
As long as one acts with lively sense-activities, whether acting or not acting, this caravan of worldly suffering never ceases.
निस्सङ्कल्पं मरुज्ज्वालायन्त्राम्बुस्पन्दवद् यदि । स्पन्दसे तद् अनन्ताय श्रेयसे परिकल्पसे
If you move without intention, like the vibration of water moved by the wind or the motion of a machine, then you are established in the highest, endless good.
एतद् एव परं धैर्यं जन्मज्वरनिवारणम् । यद् अवासनम् अभ्यस्तनिजकर्मसु कर्तृता
This alone is supreme courage, the remedy for the fever of birth: to practice action without the sense of doership.
अवासनम् असङ्कल्पं यथाप्राप्तानुवृत्तिमान् । शनैश् चक्रं भ्रमाभोग इव स्पन्दस्व कर्मसु
Remain without fixation, free from intention, following what comes as it comes; in your actions, move gently, like a wheel turning by the momentum of past motion.
मा कर्मफलबुद्धिर् भूर् मा ते सङ्गो ऽस्त्व् अकर्मणि । उभयं वा त्यजैतत् त्वम् उभयं वा समाश्रय
Let there be no thought in you of the fruits of action, nor any attachment to inaction; either abandon both, or embrace both equally.
बहुनात्र किम् उक्तेन सङ्क्षेपाद् इदम् उच्यते । सङ्कल्पनं परो बन्धस् तदभावो विमुक्तता
Why say much here? In brief, this is declared: imagination is the supreme bondage; its absence is liberation.
नेह कार्यं न चाकार्यम् अस्ति किञ्चन कुत्रचित् । सर्वं शिवम् अनाद्यन्तम् अनन्तं प्राग्वद् आस्यताम्
Here, there is truly no action nor inaction anywhere; let everything, beginningless and endless, auspicious and infinite, remain as before.
पश्यन् कर्मण्य् अकर्मत्वम् अकर्मणि च कर्मताम् । यथाभूतार्थविद्रूपश् शान्तम् आस्स्व यथासुखम्
Seeing non-action in action and action in non-action, being one who knows things as they truly are, abide in peace as you find comfort.
अवेदनं विदुर् योगं शान्तम् आसितम् अक्षयम् । योगस्थẖ कुरु कर्माणि नीरसो माथ वा कुरु
They call yoga the state of non-feeling, peaceful, and imperishable; established in yoga, perform actions without taste for them, or do not act at all.
अवेदनं विदुर् योगं चित्तक्षयम् अकृत्रिमम् । अत्यन्तं तन्मयो भूत्वा तथा तिष्ठ यथासि भोः
They know yoga as non-feeling, the natural dissolution of mind; becoming wholly absorbed in that, remain as you are, O good one.
समे शान्ते शिवे सूक्ष्मे द्वैतैक्यपरिवर्जिते । तते ऽनन्ते पदे शुद्धे किं केन किल विद्यते
In that even, peaceful, auspicious, subtle state, free from duality and unity, in that infinite, pure state—what, by whom, truly exists?
मोदेतु त्वयि सङ्कल्पो मरुभूमाव् इवाङ्कुरः । इच्छा मोदेतु भवतो लतिकेवोपलोदरे
May intention arise in you as a sprout in a desert; may desire arise in you as a vine within a stone.
अवेदनस्य शान्तस्य जीवतो वाप्य् अजीवतः । नेह कश्चित् कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनापि कश्चन
For one who is insensible and peaceful, whether living or not living, here no purpose is gained by action, nor by inaction.
न कर्माकर्म शान्ते ऽन्तश् शाश्वताभेदरूपिणि । न कर्मण्य् अपि कर्माणि न कर्तर्य् अपि कर्तृता
In the peaceful, eternal, undivided Self, there is neither action nor inaction; in action, there are no actions, and in the doer, there is no sense of doership.
अहं ममेति संविदन् न दुẖखतो विमुच्यसे । असंविदन् विमुच्यसे यद् ईप्सितं तद् आहर
As long as the notions 'I' and 'mine' persist, you are not freed from suffering; when these notions cease, you are liberated—then obtain whatever you desire.
अहं ममेति नास्त्य् अलं यद् अस्ति तच् छिवं परम् । परात् परं त्व् इदं शिवम् अशब्दम् अर्थवर्जितम्
Where 'I' and 'mine' do not exist, that alone is sufficient; what does exist is the supreme auspiciousness—this auspiciousness is beyond the highest, soundless, and devoid of meaning.
यद् दृश्यते जगद् इदं खलु किञ्चिद् एतद् धेम्नो ऽङ्गदत्वम् इव भाति न विद्यमानम् । अर्थक्षयं विदुर् अवेदनम् एव पश्चात् सत्यं तद् एव परमार्थम् अथावशिष्टम्
Whatever is seen as this world is truly nothing; it appears like the gold in an ornament, but does not truly exist. When meaning is lost, only insensibility remains—this alone is the ultimate reality, and what remains thereafter.
अद्वैतैक्यं विमननं शान्तम् आत्मन्य् अवस्थितम् । यथा पुस्तमयं सैन्यं तथा शिवमयं जगत्
Nondual unity, tranquil contemplation, established in the Self—just as an army made of straw, so is the world pervaded by auspiciousness.
मनोऽहङ्कारबुद्ध्यादि चैवम् एव च तन्मयम् । कालाकारक्रियाशब्दशक्तिसन्दर्भसंयुतम्
Mind, ego, intellect, and the rest are likewise composed of that; along with time, form, action, sound, power, structure, and combination.
शिवपङ्कमया एव रूपालोकमनẖक्रमाः । तन्मयत्वाद् अनन्तत्वाद् अतẖ किं केन चेत्यते
Forms, perceptions, and sequences are indeed composed of the mud of Shiva; because of identification with That and its infinitude, what is there to be measured by whom?
मानमेयप्रमाणादि देशकालौ दिगादि च । भावाभावविवर्तादि शिवपङ्कमयात्मकम्
Measures, objects of measurement, standards, space and time, directions and so forth, transformations of existence and nonexistence—all have the nature of Shiva's mud.
अहं ममेत्य् अतस् सारान् नेतरत् परमाम्बरात् । असंसक्तमतिस् तिष्ठ ज्ञश् शिलोदरमौनवत्
Therefore, the notions 'I' and 'mine' are not the essence, but only the supreme sky; remain unattached in understanding, O knower, like the silent stone.
अहं ममेत्य् असद्रूपं ज्ञस्याभावयतḫ प्रभो । असङ्गं कर्मणां त्यागाद् अनुष्ठानाच् च किं शुभम्
The notions 'I' and 'mine' are unreal forms; O master, let the knower dissolve them. What virtue is there in renouncing actions or in their performance, when one is unattached?
पृच्छामि यद् अहं त्वं तत् कथयाशु ममानघ । यदि जानासि तत्त्वेन कर्म तावत् किम् उच्यते
I ask you, whatever I am, you are; tell me quickly, O sinless one. If you truly know the essence, then what is said about action?
विस्तारẖ कर्मणां कीदृङ् मूलं तस्य च किं भवेत् । नाशनीयं च निपुणं कथं कथय नाश्यते
What is the extent of actions, what is their root, and how can they be destroyed skillfully? Tell me, how are they annihilated?
यन् नाशनीयं निपुणं तन् नूनं प्रविनाश्यते । मूलकाषेण भगवन् न शाखादिविकर्तनैः
That which is skillfully destroyed is surely annihilated, O blessed one; not by cutting branches and so forth, but by uprooting the root.
शुभाशुभं नाशनीयं स्वकर्म खलु धीमता । मूलकाषविनाशेन तच् च नष्टं भवत्य् अलम्
Indeed, one's own actions, whether good or bad, must be destroyed by the wise; by destroying the root, they are completely eliminated.
कर्मवृक्षस्य वक्ष्यामि ब्रह्मन् मूलानि मे शृणु । यन् निकाषेण निर्मूलो न स भूयḫ प्ररोहति
O Brahman, I will speak of the roots of the tree of action; listen to me. When it is uprooted by the axe, it does not sprout again.
देहस् तावद् अयं ब्रह्मन् कर्मवृक्षस् समुत्थितः । रूढस् संसारविपिने विचित्राङ्गलतान्वितः
This body, O Brahman, is the tree of action that has arisen, firmly rooted in the forest of worldly existence, adorned with various branches and creepers.