पृथिव्यप्तेजसाम् अत्र नभस्वन्नभसोर् अपि । यथोत्तरं दशगुणान् अतीत्यावरकान् क्षणात्
Here, earth, water, fire, air, and even space, each surpasses the previous tenfold, transcending the lower elements in an instant.
ददर्श परमाकाशं तत् प्रमाणविवर्जितम् । तथा ततं जगद् इदं यथा तत्राणुमात्रकम्
He beheld the supreme ether, devoid of measure, and saw this world spread within it as if it were merely an atom.
तादृक्षावरणान् सर्गान् ब्रह्माण्डेषु ददर्श सा । कोटिशस् स्फुरिता व्योम्नि त्रसरेणुर् इवातपे
She saw such veiling creations within the cosmic eggs, countless and shimmering in the ether like motes of dust in sunlight.
महाकाशमहाम्भोधौ महाशून्यत्ववारिणि । महाचिद्द्रवभावोत्थान् बुद्बुदान् अर्बुदक्रमान्
In the great ether-ocean, in the waters of supreme emptiness, she saw bubbles and clusters arising from the nature of great consciousness-fluid.
कांश्चिद् आपततो ऽधस्तात् कांश्चिच् चोपरि गच्छतः । कांश्चित् तिर्यग्गतीन् अन्यान् स्थितान् स्तब्धान् स्वसंविदा
Some are falling downward, some are moving upward, some are going sideways, and others remain motionless, fixed in their own awareness.
यत्र यत्रोदिता संविद् येषां येषां यथा यथा । तत्र तत्रोदितं रूपं तेषां तेषां तथा तथा
Wherever and however awareness arises in each of them, in that very place and in that very manner, their form appears.
न चैव तत्र नामोर्ध्वं नाधो न च गमागमाः । अन्यद् एव पदं किञ्चिद् अस्मद्देहागमं हि तत्
Yet there, truly, there is neither above nor below, nor coming nor going; it is a different state altogether, for it is the arrival of our own body.
उत्पद्योत्पद्यते तत्र स्वयं संवित् स्वभावतः । स्वसङ्कल्पैश् शमं याति बालसङ्कल्पजालवत्
There, awareness arises and arises again by its own nature; by one's own thoughts, it subsides, just like a web of childish imaginings.
किम् अधस् स्यात् किम् ऊर्ध्वं स्यात् किं तिर्यक् तत्र भासुरे । इति ब्रूहि मम ब्रह्मन्न् इहैव यदि न स्थितिः
What could be below, what could be above, what could be across, in that radiant expanse? Tell me, O Brahman, if truly there is no fixed position here.
ससर्वावरणान्य् अत्र महत्य् अन्तविवर्जिते । ब्रह्मणो ऽण्डानि भासन्ते व्योम्नि केशोण्डुको यथा
Here, in this vast, limitless expanse, the cosmic eggs of Brahman, with all their coverings, shine forth like tiny bubbles in the sky.
अस्वतन्त्राः प्रधावन्ति पदार्थास् सर्व एव यत् । ब्रह्माण्डं पार्थिवं भागं तद् अधश् शून्यम् अन्यथा
All objects move about without independence; the earth portion of the cosmic egg is called 'below,' but otherwise it is void.
पिपीलिकानाम् भ्रमतां व्योम्नि वर्तुललोष्टके । दशदिक्कम् अधःपादाः पृष्ठम् ऊर्ध्वम् उदाहृतम्
For ants wandering on a round clod in the sky, the ten directions—downward is their feet, upward is their back—are designated as such.
वृक्षवल्मीकजालेन केषाञ्चिद् धृदि भूतलम् । सेन्द्वर्कामरदैत्येन वेष्टितं व्योम निर्मलम्
For some, the earth in their hearts is covered by a web of trees and anthills; the clear sky is encircled by the sun, moon, gods, and demons.
सम्भूतं मरुभूतेन सग्रामपुरपर्वतम् । इदङ्कल्पम् अलूनेन पक्वाक्षोटम् इव त्वचा
This world, with its villages, cities, and mountains, has arisen from the desert element, and is enveloped, like a ripe myrobalan fruit by its skin, by the undiminished.
यथा विन्ध्यवनाभोगे प्रस्फुरन्ति करेणवः । तथा तस्मिन् पराभोगे ब्रह्माण्डत्रसरेणवः
Just as elephants roam in the Vindhya forest region, so in that supreme expanse, the rivers of universes flow.
तस्मिन् सर्वं ततस् सर्वं तत् सर्वं सर्वतश् च तत् । तच् च सर्वमयं नित्यं तथा तद् अणुकं प्रति
In that, is everything; from that, is everything; that is everything, and everywhere; and that is always all-pervading, even in the smallest particle.
शुद्धबोधमये तस्मिन् परमालोकवारिधौ । अजस्रम् एत्य गच्छन्ति ब्रह्माण्डाख्यास् तरङ्गकाः
In that ocean of supreme light, composed of pure consciousness, the waves called universes continually arise and subside.
अन्तश्शून्यास् स्थिताः केचित् सकल्पक्षयरात्रयः । तरङ्गा इव तोयाब्धौ प्रोह्यन्ते शून्यतार्णवे
Some, empty within, remain as the nights of the dissolution of all thoughts; like waves in the ocean of water, they are cast into the ocean of emptiness.
केषाञ्चिद् अन्तः कल्पान्तः प्रवृत्तो घर्घरारवः । न श्रुतो ऽन्यैर् न च ज्ञातस् स्वभावरसनाकुलैः
For some, at the end of the cycle, an inner rumbling sound arises, but it is neither heard nor known by others, whose taste is absorbed in their own nature.
अन्येषां प्रथमारम्भेषूद्बुभूषा विजृम्भते । सर्गसंसिक्तबीजानां कोशे ऽङ्कुरलता यथा
In others, at the very beginning, the desire to manifest arises, like a tender shoot in the seed-capsule moistened by creation.
महाप्रलयसम्पत्तौ सूर्यार्चिर्विद्रुताश्रयाः । प्रवृत्ता गलितुं केचित् तापे हिमकणा यथा
At the time of the great dissolution, some beings, whose refuge is scattered by the sun's rays, begin to melt away, like drops of frost under heat.
आकल्पं निपतन्त्य् एव केचिद् अप्राप्तभूमयः । यावद् विशीर्य जायन्ते तथासंविन्मयाः किल
Some, not having attained their destined realms, keep falling for an age, until, having disintegrated, they are born again, it is said, as forms made of mere consciousness.
स्तब्धा एव स्थिताः केचित् केषोण्डुकम् इवाम्बरे । वायोस् स्पन्दा इवाभान्ति तथाप्रोदितसम्पदः
Some remain motionless, like a hairball suspended in the sky; their fortunes appear like the vibrations of wind, arising in such a manner.
आचाराद् वेदशास्त्राणाम् अन्य एवान्यथोदितः । आरम्भो विततो ऽन्येषाम् अनित्थं संस्थितक्रमः
From the practice of Vedic scriptures, a different course is described for others; for some, the beginning is extended, and their sequence of existence is otherwise established.
केचिद् ब्रह्मादिपुरुषाः केचिद् विष्ण्वादिसर्गपाः । केचिच् चान्ये प्रजानाथाः केचिन् निर्नाथजन्तवः
Some are beings like Brahma and others, some are creators like Vishnu and the rest; some are lords of creatures, while others are beings without any lord.
केचिद् विचित्रसर्गेशाः केचित् तिर्यङ्मयान्तराः । केचिद् एकार्णवापूर्णा जलेतरविवर्जिताः
Some are lords of wondrous creations, some are among the animal forms; some are filled with a single ocean, devoid of water or anything else.
केचिच् छिलाङ्गनिष्पिण्डाः केचित् क्रिमिपथान्तराः । केचिद् देवमया एव केचिन् नरमयान्तराः
Some are lumps of stone and metal, some are within the paths of worms; some are entirely divine in form, others are partly human.
केचिन् नित्यान्धकाराढ्यास् तथाशीलितजन्तवः । केचिन् मषकसम्पूर्णा उडुम्बरफलश्रियः
Some are always enveloped in darkness, thus inhabited by such beings; some are filled with swarms of gnats, possessing the glory of fig fruits.
नित्यं शून्यान्तराः केचिच् छून्यस्पन्दात्मजन्तवः । सर्गेण तादृशेनान्ये पूर्णा ये ऽस्मद्धियाम् इह । कल्पनाम् अपि नायान्ति व्योममूकाचला इव
Some beings are always empty within, their essence arising from the stillness of emptiness; others, who are full in this world according to our understanding, do not even conceive of such emptiness, like the silent mountains of the sky.
तादृगन्तरम् एतेषां महाकाशं ततस् स्थितम् । आजीवितं प्रयच्छद्भिर् विष्ण्वाद्यैर् यन् न दीयते
Within them is such an inner vastness, a great expanse, which is not bestowed even by Vishnu and the other gods who grant life.