एकार्णवपयḫपूरे घर्घरारावरंहसि । त्रैलोक्यखण्डसम्भारे प्रोह्यमाने महाम्भसि
In the vast ocean’s flood, roaring with thunderous sounds, as the mass of the three worlds was driven about in the great waters.
नासीत् कश्चित् परित्राता दाता वा वचसो ऽपि च । शक्नोति कḫ परित्रातुं कालेन कवलीकृतम्
There was no one to save, nor anyone to give even a word; who could rescue what was swallowed by Time?
नाकाशम् आसीन् न दिगन्तम् आसीद् अधो ऽपि नासीन् न तदोर्ध्वम् आसीत् । भूतं न चासीन् न च सर्ग आसीद् आसीत् परं केवलम् एव वारि
There was no sky, no horizon, no below, nor above; neither being nor creation existed—only water, utterly alone, remained.
एतस्मिन्न् अन्तरे चक्षुर् व्योमस्थो ऽहम् अथात्यजम् । ब्रह्मलोके महीलोके प्रभाते ऽर्कḫ प्रभाम् इव
Meanwhile, my vision, dwelling in the sky, transcended; in Brahma’s world and on earth, I shone like the sun at dawn.
यावद् दृष्टो मया तत्र शैलाद् इव विनिर्मितः । परमेष्ठी समाधिस्थḫ प्रधानपरिवारवान्
There I saw, as if fashioned from a mountain, Parameṣṭhī absorbed in meditation, surrounded by his chief attendants.
समूहश् चैव वेदानां मुनीनां भावितात्मनाम् । शुक्रो बृहस्पतिश् चैव शक्रो वैश्रवणो यमः
There was also a gathering of Vedas, of sages with purified minds—Śukra, Bṛhaspati, Śakra, Vaiśravaṇa, and Yama.
सोमो ऽथ वरुणो ऽग्निश् च तथान्ये च सुरर्षयः । देवगन्धर्वसिद्धानां साध्यानां चैव नायकाः
Then Soma, Varuna, Agni, and other sages among the gods, as well as the leaders of the gods, gandharvas, siddhas, and sadhyas,
लिपिकर्मार्पिताकारास् सर्वे ध्यानपरायणाः । बद्धपद्मासनास् तत्र निर्जीवा इव संस्थिताः
All, whose forms were shaped by the work of scribes, were absorbed in meditation, seated in the lotus posture, remaining there as if lifeless.
अथैते द्वादशादित्यास् तम् एवोद्देशम् आगताः । बद्धपद्मासनास् तस्थुस् तथैवाशु यथैव ते
Then, those twelve Adityas also arrived at that very place, and, quickly, just as the others, stood seated in the lotus posture.
ततो मुहूर्तमात्रेण दृष्टवान् नाहम् अब्जजम् । पुरो विनिद्रतां यातस् स्वप्नदृष्टम् इवाग्रगम्
After a brief moment, I did not see the lotus-born one before me; he had entered a state like sleep, as if seen in a dream.
ब्रह्मलोकजनं सर्वम् अहं ताम् अपि वासनाम् । नापश्यं स्वप्ननगरं बुध्यमान इवाग्रगम्
All the inhabitants of Brahma’s world, along with that very impression, I did not see; it was like awakening from a dream city.
अरण्यं शून्यम् एवासीत् तद् ब्रह्मनगरं तदा । कठिनाकाण्डविध्वस्तं पृथिव्याम् इव पत्तनम्
That city of Brahma became deserted, like a wilderness, destroyed and desolate, as a ruined city on earth.
सर्व एव गताẖ क्वापि ते तथा तादृशास् तदा । ऋषयो मुनयो वेदा देवा विद्याधरादयः
All those sages, ascetics, Vedas, gods, vidyadharas, and others had departed somewhere, just like that, at that time.
ज्ञातं ततो ऽवधानेन मया नभसि तिष्ठता । यावन् निर्वाणम् आपन्ना ब्रह्मवत् सर्व एव ते
Then, with careful attention, as I stood in the sky, I understood that all of them had attained nirvana, like Brahma.
वासनायां विलीनायाम् अदर्शनम् उपागताः । स्वप्नलोकाः प्रबुद्धानाम् इव स्वं रूपम् आगताः
When the latent impressions have dissolved, the worlds of dream become invisible, just as they return to their own nature for those who have awakened.
आकाशात्मैव देहो ऽयं भाति वासनया स्फुटः । तदभावात् तु नाभाति स्वप्नो बोधवतो यथा
This body, whose essence is space, appears clearly due to latent impressions; in their absence, it does not appear—just as a dream does not appear to one who is awake.
अन्तरिक्षगतो देहो यथा स्वप्ने ऽवलोक्यते । बोधे तद्वासनाशान्तौ न किञ्चिद् अपि लक्ष्यते
Just as, in a dream, one sees a body moving through the sky, so too, when those latent impressions are pacified in waking, nothing at all is perceived.
जाग्रत्य् अपि तथैवायं वासनायाḫ परिक्षये । नैवातिवाहिको नैव लक्ष्यते ऽत्राधिभौतिकः
In the waking state as well, when these latent impressions are exhausted, neither the subtle nor the gross physical body is perceived here.
स्वप्नानुभव एषो ऽत्र दृष्टान्तẖ केन खण्ड्यते । आबालम् एतत् संसिद्धम् अनुभूतं श्रुतं स्मृतम्
Who can refute this analogy of dream experience? From childhood onward, it is well established, directly experienced, heard, and remembered.
अपह्नवेच् च वा यो ऽपि स्वम् एवानुभवं शठः । स त्याज्यẖ को ह्य् अलीकेन सुप्तम् उद्बोधयेत् किल
Even if someone deceitfully denies his own experience, he should be disregarded—for who indeed can awaken one who is asleep with falsehood?
देहकारणकस् स्वप्नो देहाभावे न दृश्यते । इति चेत् तद् अदेहानां परलोको ऽपि नास्ति वः
If you say that dream is caused by the body and is not seen in the absence of the body, then for those without a body, there would be no afterlife for you either.
इत्य् एतद् अभविष्यच् चेत् तच् छरीरकसङ्क्षये । नाभविष्यद् अयं सर्गस् स चास्त्य् एव हि सर्वदा
If this were so, then at the destruction of the body, this creation would not exist; but in fact, it always exists.
अवयवविभागात्मन्य् अवश्यंभाविनि क्षये । न कदाचिद् अनित्थं तज् जगद् इत्य् अप्य् असंस्थितम्
When the dissolution of the body, which is composed of parts, is inevitable, this world too is never truly established, nor is it ever otherwise.
न कदाचिज् जगन्नाशे देहाद् भूतगणाद् इयम् । मदशक्तिर् इव ज्ञप्तिर् उदेतीत्य् असि वक्षि चेत्
If you say that, even when the world is destroyed, this awareness arises from the body and the group of elements, like the power of intoxication, then—
तत् पुराणेतिहासानां सर्वसङ्क्षयवादिनाम् । स्मृत्यादीनां च वेदानां वैयर्थ्यम् उपजायते
Then, the ancient legends and all the scriptures that speak of universal dissolution, as well as the Vedas and other texts based on memory, become meaningless.
अप्रमाणतयैतस्मिन्न् अर्थे तेषां महामते । अन्यत्रापि प्रमाणत्वं विद्यादाव् अपि किं भवेत्
If, in this matter, those authorities are not valid, O wise one, then how can their authority be accepted elsewhere, even in matters of knowledge?
न चैतद् विद्यते लोके जगदुच्छेदकारणात् । अन्यच् चास्ताम् एतद् अङ्ग ममेदम् अपरं शृणु
And this is not found in the world, that the world is destroyed for such a reason; but let that be, my friend—now hear this other point of mine.
मदशक्त्यात्मनि ज्ञाने दृष्टा देशान्तरेषु या । प्रमृतानां पिशाचादिदेहता सा न सिध्यति
The knowledge that appears in the self, as the power of intoxication is seen in distant lands, does not truly become the embodiment of ghosts and the like after death.
अथ सापि मुधाभ्रान्तिर् यावद्देहं प्रदृश्यते । इति चेत् तन् मुधानाम सत्यम् इत्य् एव वो भवेत्
If you say that even this is a false delusion as long as the body is perceived, then let it be so—such is truly the view of the deluded.
एवं चेत् तत् परे लोके सत् स्वर्गनरकादिकम् । इत्य् एषापि न संवित् किं सत्यताम् उपगच्छति
If it is so, then in the other world, with heaven, hell, and so on, even that is not consciousness—how, then, can it be considered real?