अतो ज्ञानविवेकेन पुण्येनाथ वरेण वा । पुण्यदेहे न गच्छन्ति परं लोकम् अनेन नो
Therefore, through knowledge and discernment, or by virtue or by a boon, one does not reach the supreme world merely by having a virtuous body.
शुष्कपर्णं किलाङ्गारे पतद् एवाशु दह्यते । अयं देवमयीं देहः प्राप्त एव विशीर्यते
Just as a dry leaf instantly burns when it falls on a coal, so too this body, though divine, perishes as soon as it is obtained.
एतावद् एव भवति वरलाभविजृम्भितैः । यथा संवित् स एवाहं तथा स्मृत इति स्थितिः
This alone is the extent of the expansion gained by good fortune: as one remembers, 'I am that consciousness,' so is one's state.
यस् सर्पप्रत्ययो रज्ज्वां स कथं सर्पकार्यकृत् । आत्मन्य् एव हि यो नास्ति तस्य का कार्यकारिता
He who has the notion of a snake in a rope—how can he perform the actions of a snake? For in oneself, what does not exist—how can there be any activity from it?
यत् त्व् एतन् मृत इत्य् एव मिथ्या समनुभूयते । प्रागभ्यासस्य पुष्टस्य नामैतत् प्रविजृम्भितम्
That which is experienced as 'this is dead' is merely false; it arises only from the prior cultivation of habit.
स्वानुभूते जगज्जाले सुगमे संसृतिभ्रमः । नान्यसङ्कल्पिते नाम सर्गाद्यभ्यास ईदृशः
In the web of the world perceived by oneself, the delusion of transmigration is easy; but in what is imagined by others, such habitual notions of creation and so on do not occur.
अन्तर् अनुभूयमानास् संसृतयो बाह्यभूतजालानाम् । अविदितवेद्यदृशाम् अतिदूरे पुंसाम् इवैन्दवं बिम्बम्
The cycles of transmigration experienced within are far removed from the external web of beings, unseen and unknown, like the moon's disk to those who do not perceive it.
तस्माद् ये वेद्यवेत्तारो ये वा धर्मं परं श्रिताः । आतिवाहिकदेहत्वं प्राप्नुवन्त्य् एव नेतरे
Therefore, those who know the knowable or who have taken refuge in the supreme dharma attain the ātivāhika body; others do not.
आधिभौतिकदेहत्वं मिथ्या भ्रममयात्मकम् । कथम् अन्ये स्थितिं यातु च्छायास् ते कथम् आतपे
The state of the elemental body is false, its nature is made of delusion; how can others reach stability, just as shadows cannot stand in sunlight?
लीला विदितवेद्या नो परमं धर्मम् आश्रिता । केवलं तेन सा भर्तृकल्पितं नगरं गता
Līlā, who knows the knowable but has not taken refuge in the supreme dharma, has merely reached the city imagined by her husband.
एवम् एषा प्रयाता तु भर्ता पश्य ममाम्बिके । प्रवृत्तः प्राणसन्त्यागे कर्तव्यम् किम् इहाधुना
Thus she has departed, O Ambika, see—her husband has begun to abandon his life-force; what is to be done here now?
भावाभावेषु भावानां कथं नियतिर् आगता । कथं भूयो ऽप्य् अनियतिर् मृतिजन्मादिषूचिता
How has destiny come among the existences and non-existences of beings? How is it that again, non-destiny is spoken of in matters like death and birth?
कथं स्वभावसंसिद्धिः कथं सत्ता पदार्थगा । कथम् अग्न्यादिषूष्णत्वं पृथ्व्यादौ स्थिरता कथम्
How does natural disposition arise? How does existence enter into objects? How does heat reside in fire and the like, and how does stability abide in earth and such?
हिमादिषु कथं शैत्यं का सत्ता कालखादिषु । भावाभावग्रहोत्सर्गस् स्थूलसूक्ष्मदृशः कथम्
How does coldness exist in things like snow? What is the existence in time, space, and so on? How do the arising and ceasing of being and non-being, and the perception of gross and subtle, occur?
कथम् अत्यन्तम् उच्छ्रायं तृणगुल्माङ्कुरादिकम् । वस्तुनायात्य् अनष्टे ऽपि स्थिते स्वोच्छ्रायकारणे
How does great height, as seen in grass, bushes, sprouts, and the like, not come to a thing even when the cause for its height remains and the object itself is not destroyed?
महाप्रलयसंपत्तौ सर्गास्थास्तमये सति । अनन्ताकाशम् आशान्तं सद् ब्रह्मैवावतिष्ठते
At the time of the great dissolution, when creation and its foundation have set, only the infinite, peaceful space-like existence, the true Brahman, remains.
तच्चिद्रूपतया तेजःकणो ऽहम् इति चेतति । स्वप्ने संविद् यथा हि त्वम् आकाशगमनादि वा
That, in the form of consciousness, imagines itself as a particle of light, thinking, 'I am this.' Just as in a dream you experience awareness or flying in the sky.
तेजःकणो सौस्थूलत्वम् आत्मनात्मनि विन्दति । असत्यम् एव सत्याभं ब्रह्माण्डं तद् इदं स्मृतम्
The particle of light perceives grossness within itself, in itself. This universe, though unreal, is regarded as real in appearance.
तत्रान्तर् ब्रह्म तद् वेत्ति ब्रह्माहम् अयम् इत्य् अथ । मनोराज्यं स कुरुते खात्मैव तद् इदं जगत्
Within that, Brahman knows itself as Brahman, saying, 'I am this.' Then it creates a kingdom of thought; this world is truly only its own sky-like self.
तस्मिन् प्रथमतस् सर्गे या यथा यत्र संविदः । कथितास् तास् तथा तत्र स्थिता अद्यापि निश्चलाः
In that first creation, whatever forms of awareness were described as existing in whatever way and wherever, those remain there even now, unmoving.
यद् यथा स्फुरितं चित्त्वं तत् तथान्यत्म चिद् भवेत् । स्वयम् एवानियमितस् ततस् स्यान् नेह किञ्चन
Whatever form consciousness takes, in that very way it appears as another self; being itself unrestrained, from that, nothing here is fixed.
न च नाम नकिञ्चित्त्वं युज्यते चित्स्वरूपिणः । त्यक्त्वा समस्तसंस्थानं हि संतिष्ठतु वै कथम्
And the notion of 'nothing at all' does not apply to the very nature of consciousness; for, having abandoned all forms, how could it possibly remain?
सर्गादौ स्वयम् एवान्तश् चिद् यथा कचितात्मनि । हिमाग्न्यादितयाद्यापि सा तथास्ते स्वसत्तया
At the beginning of creation, consciousness itself, within, takes on various forms in itself; even now, by its own being, it remains as cold, fire, and so on.
तस्मात् स्वसत्तासन्त्यागस् सतः कर्तुं न युज्यते । यदा चिदादेस् तेनेयं नियतिर् न विनश्यति
Therefore, for one who exists, it is not possible to abandon one's own being; as long as there is consciousness and so forth, this order does not perish.
यद् यथा कचितं यत्र व्योमरूप्य् अपि पार्थिवम् । सर्गादौ तस्य चलितुम् अद्य यावन् न युज्यते
Whatever is formed, wherever, whether space-like or earth-like, from the beginning of creation until now, it is not possible for it to move away from that.
या यथा चित् प्रकचिता प्रतिपक्षविदं विना । न सा ततः प्रचलति वेदनाभ्यासतस् स्वयम्
Whatever consciousness is manifested in whatever way, unless there is an opposing force, it does not depart from that; by the habit of experience, it remains as it is.
जगदादाव् अनुत्पन्नं यच् चेदम् अनुभूयते । तत् संविद्व्योमकचनं स्वप्नस्त्रीसुरतं यथा
At the beginning of the world, what is not produced, yet is experienced as this— that is the formation of consciousness-space, like the pleasure of a woman in a dream.
असत्यम् एव सत्याभं प्रतिभानम् इति स्थितम् । इति स्वभावसंवित्तिर् इत्थं भूतानुभूतयः
It is established that the appearance is unreal, though it seems real; thus, the awareness of its own nature is such, and so are the experiences of beings.
सर्गादौ या यथा रूढा संवित्कचनसन्ततिः । साद्यापि चालितान्येन स्थिता नियतिर् दृश्यते
The stream of consciousness that was established at the beginning of creation is still observed to remain, even when stirred by another influence.
गृहीतव्योमतासंविच् चिद्व्योम व्योमतां गतम् । गृहीतकालतासंविच् चिन्नभः कालतां गतम्
The awareness that has taken on the nature of space becomes the consciousness of the sky; the awareness that has assumed the form of time becomes the consciousness of the ether as time.