अजम् अजरम् अजाड्यं शाश्वतं ब्रह्म नित्यं शिवम् अमलम् अनाद्यं वन्ध्यवेद्यैर् अनिन्द्यम् । सकलकलनशून्यं कारणं कारणानाम् अनुभवनम् अवेद्यं वेदनं वित्त्वम् अन्तः
Unborn, undecaying, unclouded, eternal, Brahman, everlasting, auspicious, stainless, without beginning, ungraspable by barren knowledge, blameless, devoid of all constructions, the cause of causes, the experience that is unknowable, the knowing, the inner knower.
महाप्रलयसम्पत्तौ यद् एतद् अवशिष्यते । भवत्व् एतद् अनाकारं नाम नास्त्य् अत्र संशयः
At the time of the great dissolution, that which remains—let it be formless; there is no doubt about this.
न शून्यं कथम् एतत् स्यान् न प्रकाशः कथं भवेत् । कथं वा न तमोरूपं कथं वा नैव खात्मकम्
How could this be void? How could it not be luminous? How could it not be of the nature of darkness? How could it not be of the nature of space?
कथं वा नैव चिद्रूपं जीवो वा न कथं भवेत् । कथं न बुद्धितत्त्वं स्यात् कथं वा न मनो भवेत्
How could it not be of the nature of consciousness? How could there not be a living being? How could there not be the principle of intellect? How could there not be mind?
कथं वा न नकिञ्चित् स्यात् कथं वा सर्वम् इत्य् अपि । अनया च वचोभङ्ग्या मम मोह इवोदितः
How could there be nothing at all? How could there be everything? By such a manner of questioning, my own delusion seems to be expressed.
विषमो ऽयम् अति प्रश्नो भवता समुदाहृतः । भिनद्म्य् एनं त्व् अयत्नेन नैशं तम इवांशुमान्
You have raised a most difficult question; yet I will break through it effortlessly, like the sun dispelling the darkness of night.
महाकल्पान्तसम्पत्तौ यत् तत् सद् अवशिष्यते । तन् नाम न यथा शून्यं तद् इदं कथ्यते शृणु
At the end of a great aeon, that which remains as existence is not truly void; listen as I explain what that is called.
अनुत्कीर्णा यथा स्तम्भे संस्थिता सालभञ्जिका । तथा विश्वं स्थितं तत्र तेन शून्यं न तत् पदम्
Just as a carved figure remains in a pillar, so too the universe abides there; therefore, that state is not void.
अयम् इत्थं महाभोगो जगदाख्यो ऽवभासते । सत्यो भवत्व् असत्यो वा यत्र तत्र क्व शून्यता
In this way, this vast experience, called the world, appears; whether it is real or unreal, where then is emptiness?
यथा न पुत्रिकाशून्यस् स्तम्भो ऽनुत्कीर्णसालिकः । तथा तात जगद् ब्रह्म तेन शून्यं न तत् पदम्
Just as a pillar with an uncarved figure is not devoid of the figure, so too, dear one, the world is Brahman; therefore, that state is not void.
सौम्याम्भसि यथा वीचिर् न चास्ति न च नास्ति च । तथा जगद् ब्रह्मणीदं शून्याशून्यपदं गतम्
Just as a ripple on gentle water neither truly exists nor does not exist, so too this world has entered the state of both emptiness and non-emptiness within Brahman.
देशकालादिशान्तत्वात् पुत्रिकारचनं द्रुमे । सम्भवत्य् अजधातौ तु केन नान्तर् विमुह्यते
Because of the limits of place, time, and direction, the making of a doll from a tree is possible; but in the inert substratum, by whom and how could any inner confusion arise?
तत् स्तम्भपुत्रिकाद्य् एतत् परमार्थजगत्स्थितेः । एकदेशेन सदृशम् उपमानं न सर्वतः
Therefore, such examples as the doll or the tree only partially resemble the true state of the world; no comparison is entirely adequate.
न कदाचिद् उदेतीदं परस्मान् न च शाम्यति । इत्थंरूपं केवलं सद् ब्रह्म स्वात्मनि संस्थितम्
This world never arises from anything else, nor does it ever cease; in this way, only pure Brahman, of such a nature, abides in its own Self.
अशून्यापेक्षया शून्यशब्दार्थपरिकल्पना । अशून्यत्वासम्भवतश् शून्यताशून्यते कुतः
The concept of 'emptiness' is imagined only in relation to 'non-emptiness'; since true non-emptiness is impossible, how can there be either emptiness or non-emptiness?
ब्रह्मण्य् अयं प्रकाशो हि न सम्भवति भूतजः । सूर्यानलेन्दुतारादि कुतस् तत्र किलाव्यये
This radiance in Brahman does not arise from any material element; so how could sun, fire, moon, stars, or the like exist in that which is imperishable?
महाभूतप्रकाशानाम् अभावस् तम उच्यते । महाभूताभावजं तु तेनात्र न तमः क्वचित्
The absence of the light of the great elements is called darkness; but since there is no absence of the great elements here, therefore, there is never any darkness.
स्वानुभूतिप्रकाशो ऽस्य केवलं व्योमरूपिणः । यो ऽन्तर् अस्ति स तेनैव न त्व् अन्येनानुभूयते
Its illumination is only the direct experience of one whose nature is like space; whatever is within is known by that alone, not by anything else.
मुक्तं तमःप्रकाशाभ्याम् इत्य् एतद् अजरं पदम् । आकाशकोशम् एवैनं विद्धि कोशं जगत्स्थितेः
That state, free from both darkness and light, is the ageless abode; know it to be like the space within a vessel, the container of the world's existence.
बिल्वस्य बिल्वसञ्ज्ञस्य यथा भेदो न कश्चन । तथेह ब्रह्मजगतोर् न मनाग् अपि भिन्नता
Just as there is no real distinction in the fruit called bilva, so too, here, there is not the slightest separation between Brahman and the world.
सलिले ऽन्तर् यथा वीचिर् मृदो ऽन्तर् घटको यथा । तथा यत्र जगत्सत्ता तत् कथं खात्मकं भवेत्
As a wave exists within water, or a pot within clay, so too, wherever the existence of the world is found, how can it be of the nature of space?
मृज्जलाद्युपमानश्रीस् साकारात्रा समा न सा । ब्रह्म त्व् आकाशविशदं तस्यान्तस्स्थं तथैव तत्
The analogy of clay and water, though possessing form, is not truly equal; Brahman is pure like space, and the world exists within it in the same way.
तस्माद् यादृक् चिदाकाशम् आकाशाद् अपि निर्मलम् । तदन्तस्स्थं तादृग् एव जगच्छब्दार्थभाग् अपि
Therefore, just as consciousness-space is even purer than space, so too, whatever is contained within it—such as the world, words, and their meanings—has that very nature.
मरिचे ऽन्तर् यथा तैक्ष्ण्यम् ऋते भोक्तुर् न लक्ष्यते । चिन्मात्रत्वं पराकाशे तथा चेत्यकलां विना
Just as sharpness within a ray is not perceived except by the one who experiences it, so too, in the supreme space of consciousness, pure consciousness is not known apart from the objects of cognition.
तस्माच् चिद् अप्य् अचिद्रूपा चेत्यरिक्ततयात्मनि । जगत्ता तादृश्य् एवेयं तादृङ्मात्रात्मतावशा
Therefore, even consciousness appears as inert, since in itself it is devoid of objects; the existence of the world is just like that, compelled by the very nature of that reality.
रूपालोकमनस्कारास् तन्मया एव नेतरत् । यथास्थितम् अतो विश्वं सुषुप्तं तुर्यम् एव वा
Forms, light, and mental constructions are made only of that; nothing else. Thus, the entire universe, as it stands, is either in deep sleep or in the fourth state (turiya) alone.
तेन योगी सुषुप्तात्मा व्यवहार्य् अपि शान्तधीः । आस्ते ब्रह्म निराभासं सर्वभासां समुद्गकम्
Thus, the yogi, whose mind is tranquil and who abides in deep sleep-like awareness even while engaged in worldly activity, remains established in Brahman, which is without appearance and is the source of all appearances.
आकारिणि यथा सौम्ये स्थितस् तोये द्रवक्रमः । अनाकृतौ तथा विश्वं स्थितं तत्सदृशं परे
Just as fluidity remains in water, O gentle one, whether it takes form or not, so too does the universe exist in the Supreme, whether manifest or unmanifest, in the same way.
पूर्णात् पूर्णं प्रसरति निराकारान् निराकृति । ब्रह्मणो विश्वम् आभातं तद् विश्वार्थविवर्जितम्
From the Full arises the full; from the formless, the formless spreads forth; the universe appears from Brahman, yet that universe is devoid of any objective reality.
पूर्णात् पूर्णं प्रसरति संस्थितं पूर्णम् एव तत् । अतो विश्वम् अनुत्पन्नं यच् चोत्पन्नं तद् एव तत्
From the Full arises the full, and what is established is ever full; therefore, the universe is unborn, and whatever appears to be born is that very fullness.