तदा मयोक्ता सा कान्ता क्व भवत्सर्गभूर् इति । क्व चन्द्रार्काग्नितारादि क्व लोकान्तरसप्तकम्
Then I asked that beloved: 'Where is your world of creation? Where are the moon, sun, fire, stars, and the seven other worlds?'
क्वार्णवाकाशककुभẖ क्वोन्मज्जननिमज्जने । क्व महाम्भोदसम्भारẖ क्व ताराम्बरडम्बरम्
Where are the oceans, the sky, the quarters? Where is rising and sinking? Where is the vast mass of the great ocean? Where is the starry expanse of the heavens?
क्व शैलशिखरश्रेण्यः क्व महार्णवभूमिकाः । क्व द्वीपावलयस् सप्त क्व तप्तकनकावनिः
Where are the chains of mountain peaks, where the vast beds of the great oceans? Where are the seven rings of islands, where the lands of molten gold?
क्व कार्यकालकलनाẖ क्व भूतभुवनभ्रमः । क्व विद्याधरगन्धर्वाẖ क्व नरामरदानवाः
Where are the calculations of cause and time, where the illusion of worlds and beings? Where are the Vidyādharas and Gandharvas, where the humans, gods, and demons?
क्वर्षिभूपालमुनयẖ क्व नयापनयक्रमः । क्व यामायामयामिन्यẖ क्व स्वर्गनरकभ्रमः
Where are the sages, kings, and ascetics, where the methods of justice and injustice? Where are the nights woven of illusion, where the delusion of heaven and hell?
क्व पुण्यपापकलनाẖ क्व कलाकालकेलयः । क्वासुरामरवैराणि क्व द्वेषस्नेहरीतयः
Where are the reckonings of merit and sin, where the playful turns of time and art? Where are the hostilities of gods and demons, where the flows of hatred and affection?
वदत्य् एवं मयि वचस् सोवाच वरवर्णिनी । विस्मयाकुलम् आलोक्य शिलाम् अलिविलोचना
Thus, as she spoke to me, the woman of radiant beauty, her bee-like eyes gazed in wonder at the stone.
पश्याम्य् अखिलम् आत्मीयम् अहं सर्गम् इहोपले । मकुरप्रतिबिम्बस्थपुरान्यपुरवत् पुरः
I see all creation as my own, here upon this stone, just as one sees old and new cities reflected in a mirror.
नित्यानुभव एवात्र दर्शने कारणं मम । तदभावो मुने मन्ये ते कारणम् अदर्शने
For me, it is only constant experience that is the cause of vision here; O sage, I think its absence is the cause of non-vision for you.
अन्योऽन्यचिरकालैकद्वैतसङ्कथयानया । शुद्धातिवाहिकैकात्म्यदेहता विस्मृतावयोः
Because of our long and mutual discourse on the oneness of non-duality, we both have forgotten the pure, transcendent unity of the Self.
ममातिसुचिराभ्यस्तम् अपि श्यामलताम् इव । गतं निजं जगद् इदं यतḫ पश्यामि न स्फुटम्
This world of mine, though practiced for a very long time, has become indistinct to me, like a darkness that has set in, for I do not perceive it clearly.
अभूद् यत् स्वजगत् पूर्वम् अतिप्रकटम् एव मे । तत् पश्यामीदम् आदर्श इव बिम्बितम् अस्फुटम्
What was once my own world, exceedingly clear before, now I see as faintly reflected in a mirror, indistinct.
चिरव्यर्थोत्थया नाथसङ्कथाव्यथया मिथः । स्वास्थ्यं विस्मृतम् आत्मीयम् अवदाततमं ततम्
Through the long and fruitless agitation of discussions and debates, my own natural composure has been forgotten, and a deep obscurity has spread.
यो ऽभ्यासḫ प्रकचत्य् अन्तश् शुद्धचिन्नभसो रसात् । भवेत् तन्मयम् एवान्तर् आबालम् इति लक्ष्यते
That practice which shines forth within, from the essence of pure consciousness, is said to be truly established when it pervades entirely, even from childhood.
न तच् छास्त्रं न सा सिद्धिर् न स न्यायो न सा कला । अस्त्य् अनस्तमितोद्योगाद् यद् अभ्यासान् न सिध्यति
There is no scripture, no attainment, no reasoning, nor any art that cannot be accomplished by persistent, unwavering effort and practice.
स्वजगत्सन्तताभ्यासवशतो मां कथाभ्रमः । नूनम् आक्रान्तवान् एष द्वयोर् हि बलवाञ् जयी
Because of the force of constant attention to my own world, this confusion of stories has surely overtaken me; for between the two, the stronger is victorious.
इष्टवस्त्वर्थिनां तज्ज्ञसूपदिष्टेन कर्मणा । पौनḫपुण्येन करणान् नेतरच् छरणं मुने
For those who desire what is dear, only repeated action, as instructed by those who know, is the means; there is no other refuge, O sage.
अयम् इत्थम् इहाज्ञानभ्रमḫ प्रौढो ऽहमात्मकः । शाम्यति ज्ञानचर्चाभिḫ पश्याभ्यासविजृम्भितम्
This delusion, strong and self-based, arising here from ignorance, subsides through repeated contemplation of knowledge—see how it unfolds through practice.
अज्ञो ऽपि तज्ज्ञताम् एति शनैश् शैलो ऽपि चूर्ण्यते । घुणो ऽप्य् अत्ति महावृक्षं पश्याभ्यासविजृम्भितम्
Even an ignorant person gradually attains knowledge; even a mountain is ground down; even a worm eats a great tree—see how practice unfolds its power.
अहं शिष्याबला बाला पश्यामि त्वं न पश्यसि । सर्वज्ञो ऽपि शिलासर्गं पश्याभ्यासविजृम्भितम्
Though I am a young and inexperienced disciple, I see what you do not; even one who knows everything can see only what practice reveals—see how practice unfolds its power.
इत्थं नाम परिप्रौढा मिथ्याज्ञानविषूचिका । शाम्यत्य् एव विचारेण पश्याभ्यासविजृम्भितम्
Thus, this deeply rooted disease of false knowledge is surely pacified by inquiry—see how practice unfolds its power.
अभ्यासेन कटुद्रव्यं भवत्य् अभिमतं मुने । अन्यस्मै रोचते निम्बं त्व् अन्यस्मै मधु रोचते
By practice, even something bitter becomes agreeable, O sage; for one person neem is pleasing, for another, honey is pleasing.
अबन्धौ घनताम् एति नैकट्याभ्यासयोगतः । यात्य् अनभ्यासतो दूरात् स्नेहो बन्धुषु तानवम्
Without kinship, closeness becomes firm through the practice of association; without practice, even affection for relatives fades with distance.
आतिवाहिकदेहो ऽयं शुद्धचिद्व्योम केवलम् । आधिभौतिकताम् एति भावनाभ्यासयोगतः
This transmigratory body is in reality pure consciousness-space alone; by the force of repeated imagination, it comes to appear as material.
आधिभौतिकदेहो ऽसौ धारणाभ्यासभावनात् । विहङ्गवत् खम् अभ्येति पश्याभ्यासविजृम्भितम्
That material body, through the repeated practice of concentration, returns to the sky-like state, like a bird—see how practice unfolds its power.
पुण्यानि यान्ति वैफल्यं वैफल्यं यान्ति मातरः । भाग्यानि यान्ति वैफल्यं नाभ्यासस् तु कदाचन
Merit comes to nothing, mothers come to nothing, fortunes come to nothing—but practice never comes to nothing.
दुस्साधास् सिद्धिम् आयान्ति रिपवो यान्ति मित्रताम् । विषाण्य् अमृततां यान्ति सन्तताभ्यासयोगतः
Difficult achievements are attained, enemies become friends, and poisons turn into nectar, all through the constant practice of yoga.
येनाभ्यासḫ परित्यक्त इष्टे वस्तुनि सो ऽधमः । कदाचिन् न तद् आप्नोति वन्ध्या स्वतनयं यथा
He who abandons practice regarding the desired object is base; he never attains it, just as a barren woman never has a child.
यद् अत्यभिमतं वस्तु स्वभ्यासो न तदर्जनात् । तद्युक्तिपूर्वकं त्याज्य आ मृत्योर् जीवितं यथा
If one’s own practice does not bring about the greatly desired object, then, guided by reason, it should be abandoned, just as life is relinquished at death.
इष्टे वस्तुनि नाभ्यासं यẖ करोति नराधमः । सो ऽनिष्टानिष्टम् आप्नोति नरकान् नरकान्तरम्
The ignoble man who does not practice regarding the desired object attains only what is undesired, moving from one hell to another.