यथा स्वप्ने धराब्ध्यद्रिप्रजाव्यवहृतिर् नभः । तदाद्य चाहं त्वं सा च तद् इदं च तथा नभः
As in a dream, the dealings of earth, ocean, mountains, and beings appear in the sky, so too am I, you, she, and this—all like the sky.
यथा स्वप्ने नृभिर् युद्धकोलाहलगमागमाः । असन्तो ऽप्य् अनुभूयन्ते संसारनिकरास् तथा
Just as in a dream, the coming and going of people, the tumult of battle, though unreal, are experienced, so too are the multitudes of worldly existence.
वक्षि चेत् स्वप्नदृश्या श्रीẖ कस्मात् तद् असमञ्जसम् । अवाच्यम् एतद् धेतुर् हि नान्यो ऽस्त्य् अनुभवस्थितेः
If you say, 'Why is the dream-vision seen?'—that is not reasonable. The cause of this cannot be spoken; there is no other reason for the experience.
कथम् आलक्ष्यते स्वप्न इति प्रष्टुḫ प्रकथ्यते । यथैनं पश्यसीत्य् एव हेतुर् अत्रास्ति नेतरः
If you ask, 'How is a dream perceived?'—it is explained: the only reason is that you see it thus; there is no other cause here.
स्वप्नजन्तुर् इव व्योम्नि भाति प्रथमसर्गतः । प्रभृत्य् एव विराडात्मा खे खम् एव परापरे
Like a dream-creature in the sky, from the very beginning of creation, the cosmic person appears in space—indeed, the higher and lower are only space.
स्वप्नशब्देन बोधार्थं तव व्यवहराम्य् अहम् । दृश्यं त्व् इदं न सन् नासन् न स्वप्नो ब्रह्म केवलम्
I use the word 'dream' for your understanding, but this visible world is neither real nor unreal, nor a dream—it is only Brahman.
अथ राघव सा कान्ता मया कान्तानुषङ्गिणी । संविदं तन्मयीं कृत्वा पृष्टेदं दृष्टरूपिणी
Then, O Raghava, that beloved woman, attached to me, having made her consciousness one with mine, appeared before me in visible form and asked this question.
व्यवहारो यथोदेति स्वप्ने स्वप्नजनैस् सह । तथा तदा तया सार्धं व्यवहारो ममोदितः
Just as interactions arise in a dream with dream-beings, so at that time, my interaction with her arose.
यथैव स्वप्नसङ्काशो व्यवहारẖ खम् एव सः । तथैव त्वम् इमं विद्धि ममात्मानं जगच् च खम्
Just as the dealings in a dream are like empty space, so too, know this: my self and the world are like space.
यथा स्वप्ने जगद्रूपं खम् एवैवम् इदं जगत् । जाग्रदाख्यो महास्वप्नस् सर्गादौ वियदुद्भवः
As in a dream, the world appears as mere space, so also this world, called waking, is a great dream; at the beginning of creation, it arises from space.
स्वप्नो ऽयं जगदाभोगो नकिञ्चिद् वा खम् एव वा । निर्मलं ज्ञप्तितामात्रम् इत्य् असन्मात्रखं स्थितम्
This experience of the world is a dream, or perhaps nothing at all, or only space; it is pure awareness alone, established as the unsubstantial space of non-being.
स्वप्नस्य विद्यते द्रष्टा साकारो युष्मदादिकः । द्रष्टा तु सर्गस्वप्नस्य चिद्व्योमैवामलं स्वतः
In a dream, there is a perceiver with form, such as yourself and others; but the perceiver of the dream of creation is pure consciousness-space, inherently spotless.
यथा द्रष्टामलं व्योम दृश्यं तद्दृग्गतं तथा । स्वप्नरूपं कचत्य् उच्चैर् जगत् तेनामलं नभः
Just as the perceiver is pure space and the seen is dependent on that perception, so the world, appearing as a dream, shines forth through that pure space.
चिद्व्योम्नो ऽनाकृतेस् स्वप्नो हृदि स्फुरति यस् स्वतः । सर्गस् तस्य कुतस् तेन साकृतित्वं कथं भवेत्
When the dream arises spontaneously in the formless consciousness-space within the heart, how can there be creation, and how can it possess any real form?
साकारस्यैव यत् स्वप्नजगत् तद् व्योम केवलम् । निराकारस्य चिद्व्योम्नस् सर्गस्वप्नẖ कथं न खम्
The dream-world of one with form is only space; so why would not the creation-dream of the formless consciousness-space also be mere space?
निरुपादानसम्भारम् अभित्ताव् एव चिन्नभः । पश्यत्य् अकृतम् एवेमं जगत्स्वप्नं कृतं यथा
The sky of consciousness, without any material cause, perceives this uncreated dream-world on the canvas of itself, just as if it were created.
मृद्व्या चिदाकाशमृदा ब्रह्मणा ब्राह्मणेन खे । कृतो ऽपि न कृतस् सर्गमण्डपो ऽक्षगवाक्षकः
Even if the pavilion of creation, with its windows and doors, is said to be made from the clay of consciousness-space by the Brahman, the knower of Brahman, it is not truly made.
नो कर्तृता न च जगन्ति न भोक्तृतास्ति नास्तीति नास्ति न च किञ्चिद् अतो बुधस् सन् । पाषाणमौनम् अवलम्ब्य यथाप्रवाहम् आचारम् आचर शरीरम् इहास्तु मा वा
There is no doership, no worlds, no enjoyership, nothing exists or does not exist; therefore, being wise, remain silent like a stone and act according to the flow of life, whether the body remains here or not.
तव स्त्रिया खरूपेण देहेनाभूत् तया कथा । कथम् उच्चारितास् तत्र वर्णाẖ कचटतादयः
Your story was told with a body in the form of a woman, with a donkey's shape; how, in that state, were the sounds 'ka', 'cha', 'ṭa', and so on uttered?
अथ चेत् स्वप्नवद् वक्षि तत् पृच्छामि तद् अप्य् अहम् । प्रोच्चरन्ति कुतस् स्वप्ने वर्णा यरलवादयः
If you say it was like a dream, I ask you this: in a dream, from where do the sounds 'ya', 'ra', 'la', and others arise?
स्वप्नेषु खशरीराणां वर्णाẖ कचटतादयः । कदाचनापि नोद्यन्ति शवानाम् इव केचन
In dreams, for those with bodies made of space, the sounds 'ka', 'cha', 'ṭa', and so on never arise, just as they do not for corpses.
वर्णोच्चारो ऽभविष्यच् चेत् प्रकटार्थस् ततẖ क्वचित् । स्वप्नेष्व् अन्वभविष्यत् तं विनिद्रḫ पार्श्वगो जनः
If the utterance of sounds were to occur, then their clear meaning would sometimes be experienced in dreams by someone lying awake beside the sleeper.
तस्मान् न किञ्चित् स्वप्नेषु तत् सत्यं भ्रान्तिर् एव सा । चिन्मात्राकाशकचनं तथा तत् खे स्वभावजम्
Therefore, nothing in dreams is real; that is only delusion. It is merely a glimmer in the space of pure consciousness, arising naturally in that expanse.
यथेन्दुकार्ष्ण्यखतरुशिलागेयादितां गतः । इवाभाति चिदाकाशस् तथा यरलवादितां
Just as the sky appears to take on the darkness of the new moon, or the shade of a tree, or the hue of a stone, so too does the space of consciousness seem to assume various qualities.
तच् चिदाकाशकचनं यन् नाम स्वप्नवेदनम् । आकाशम् एव नभसẖ कचनं विद्धि नेतरत्
That which is called dream-experience is but a glimmer in the space of consciousness; know it to be nothing but space itself, not anything else.
यथा स्वप्नस् तथैवेदं जाग्रद् अग्रे व्यवस्थितम् । आकाशम् अप्य् अनाकाशं यथैवेदं तथैव तत्
Just as a dream, so too is this waking state established before you; and just as space is not truly space, so too is this exactly the same.
तथा कचति तच् चारु चेतनं चतुरं तदा । यथा स्थितं तद् एवेदं सत्यं स्थिरम् इव स्फुरत्
Thus, that glimmer shines beautifully and skillfully as consciousness; and as it stands, so does this appear—seemingly real and stable.
भगवन् स्वप्न एवेदं कथं जाग्रद् अवस्थितम् । असत्यम् एव सत्यत्वम् इव यातं कथं वद
O Lord, if this is only a dream, how has it come to appear as the waking state? How has unreality come to seem like reality? Please explain.
शृणु स्वप्नमयान्य् एव कथं सन्ति जगन्त्य् अलम् । नान्यानि न च सत्यानि न स्थिराणि स्थितानि च
Listen: these worlds are indeed only made of dream; there are no others, nor are they real or enduring in any way.
अनुभूतानि बीजानि बीजराशाव् इवाम्बरे । अन्यान्य् अन्यानि तान्य् एव समानि न समानि च
The experiences are like seeds in a heap of seeds in the sky; they are distinct, yet not distinct, the same and yet not the same.