गृहीतजलसंविद् चिद्व्योम वारि व्यवस्थितम् । स्वप्ने तथा हि पुरुषः पश्यत्य् आत्मनि वारिताम्
The awareness that has taken on the nature of water becomes the consciousness of water established in the ether; in dreams, a person likewise perceives water within himself.
स्वमरुत्संविदा भाति भवत्य् एषा यथास्थिता । चिच्चमत्कारचातुर्यम् असद् एतत् समूहते
It shines forth with its own awareness of wind, remaining as it is; this cleverness of consciousness imagines what is unreal.
खत्वं मरुत्त्वम् उर्वीत्वम् अप्त्वम् अग्नित्वम् अप्य् असत् । वेत्त्य् अन्तस् स्वप्नसङ्कल्पध्यानेष्व् इव चितिस् स्वयम्
The states of being space, wind, earth, water, and fire are all unreal; consciousness itself knows this inwardly, as in dreams, imaginations, and meditations.
मरणानन्तरं कर्मफलानुभवनक्रमम् । सर्वकर्मेहशान्त्यर्थं श्रुतं श्रेयस्करं शृणु
Listen to what is taught for the cessation of all actions here, concerning the sequence of experiencing the results of karma after death, which is beneficial.
रूढादिसर्गे नियतिर् यैकद्वित्रिचतुर्मिता । पुष्ट्यादिष्व् आयुषः पुंसां तस्याथ नियतिं शृणु
The fixed order at the beginning of creation is onefold, twofold, threefold, or fourfold; now hear about the order regarding the vitality of beings in nourishment and so forth.
देशकालक्रियाद्रव्यशुद्ध्यशुद्धी स्वकर्मणाम् । ऊनत्वे चाधिकत्वे च नृणां कारणम् आयुषः
The cause of the increase or decrease of human lifespan is the purity or impurity of place, time, action, substance, and their own deeds.
स्वकर्मधर्मे ह्रसति ह्रसत्य् आयुर् नृणाम् इह । वृद्धे वृद्धिम् उपायाति समम् एव भवेत् समे
When one’s own prescribed duty declines, the lifespan of people here also diminishes; when it increases, it grows; and when it is steady, it remains steady.
बालमृत्युप्रदैर् बालो युवा यौवनमृत्युदैः । वृद्धमृत्युप्रदैर् वृद्धः कर्मभिर् मृतिम् ऋच्छति
A child meets death through actions that cause childhood death; a youth through actions that bring youthful death; an elder through actions that bring death in old age.
यो यथा शास्त्रम् आरब्धं स्वधर्मम् अनुतिष्ठति । भाजनं भवति श्रीमान् स यथाशास्त्रम् आयुषः
Whoever performs their own duty as prescribed by scripture becomes a recipient of prosperity and lifespan according to the scripture.
एवं कर्मानुसारेण जन्तुर् अन्त्यां दशाम् इतः । भवत्य् अस्तङ्गतवचो दृङ्मर्मच्छेदिवेदनः
Thus, according to one’s actions, a living being reaches the final state from here—becoming speechless, with vision fading, and experiencing pain at the vital points.
मरणं मे समासेन कथयेन्दुसमानने । किं सुखं मरणं किं वा दुःखं मृत्वा च किं भवेत्
O moon-faced one, briefly tell me about death: what makes death pleasant, what makes it painful, and what happens after dying?
त्रिविधाः पुरुषास् सन्ति देहस्यान्ते मुमूर्षवः । मूर्खो ऽथ धारणाभ्यासी युक्तिमान् पुरुषस् तथा
There are three types of people at the end of the body who wish to die: the ignorant, the practitioner of concentration, and the person endowed with discernment.
अभ्यस्य धारणाश् चेष्टा देहं त्यक्त्वा यथासुखम् । प्रयाति धारणाभ्यासी युक्तियुक्तस् तथैव च
Having practiced concentration, the practitioner and the one possessing discernment depart happily, leaving the body behind.
धारणा यस्य नाभ्यासं प्राप्ता नैव स मुक्तिभाक् । मूर्खस् स्वमृतिकाले ऽसौ दुःखम् एत्य् अवशाशयः
One who has not attained the practice of concentration does not gain liberation; the ignorant, at the time of their own death, experiences suffering, helpless and without hope.
वासनावेशवैवश्यं भावयन् विषयाशयः । दीनतां परमाम् एति परिलूनम् इवाम्बुजम्
When one cultivates attachment to sense objects, overwhelmed by the force of latent impressions, he falls into deep dejection, like a lotus withered away.
अशास्त्रसंस्कृतमतिर् असज्जनपरायणः । मृताव् अनुभवत्य् अन्तर् दाहम् अग्नाव् इव च्युतः
A mind unrefined by scripture, devoted to the company of the wicked, experiences inner burning at death, as if cast into fire.
यदा घर्घरकण्ठत्वं वैरूप्यं दृष्टिवर्णजम् । गच्छत्य् एष विनाशात्मा तदा भवति दीनधीः
When hoarseness of voice and distortion caused by impaired vision arise, this destructive condition brings about a depressed mind.
परमश्यामलालोको दिवाभ्युदितरात्रिकः । भ्रमद्दिङ्मण्डलाभोगो घनमेचकिताम्बरः
His appearance becomes utterly dark, as if day has turned into night; his form wanders aimlessly, surrounded by dense, cloud-like gloom.
मर्मव्यथाविधुरितः प्रभ्रमद्वृक्षमण्डलः । आकाशीभूतवसुधो वसुधीभूतखान्तरः
Afflicted by pain at his vital points, his vision reels among trees; earth seems to become sky, and sky appears as earth.
परिवृत्तककुप्चक्र उह्यमान इवार्णवे । नीयमान इवाकाशे घननिद्रोन्मुखाशयः
He spins like the turning wheel of a well, tossed as if in the ocean, drawn as if into the sky, his mind inclined toward the sleep of dense clouds.
अन्धकूपम् इवापन्नश् शिलान्तर् इव योजितः । स्वयं जडीभवज्जिह्वो विकर्तित इवाशये
He seems to have fallen into a dark pit, wedged between rocks; his tongue becomes dull, as if self-paralyzed, and his mind feels as if torn apart.
पततीव नभोमार्गाद् घुणावर्त इवार्पितः । रथद्रुत इवारूढो हिमवद्गलनोन्मुखः
He appears to be falling from the path of the sky, caught in a whirlpool, riding a swiftly moving chariot, headed toward the mouth of the Himalayas.
ज्योत्कुर्वन्न् इव संसारं वह्निमध्यं स्पृशन्न् इव । भ्रमितः क्षेपणेणेव वातयन्त्र इव स्थितः
He spins the world as if making it luminous, as if touching the midst of fire; he is whirled about by a force, standing like a wind-driven machine.
भ्रमितो वा भ्रम इव कृष्टो रशनयेव वा । भ्रमन्न् इव जलावर्ते शस्त्रयन्त्र इवार्पितः
He is tossed about like an illusion, pulled as if by a rope, revolving as if in a whirlpool, set as if in a mechanical device of blades.
प्रोह्यमानस् तृणम् इव महत्य् अर्णवमारुते । दूरोढो वारिपूरेण निपतन्न् इव वाडवे
He is driven like a blade of grass by the great wind of the ocean, carried far by a flood of water, falling as if into a submarine fire.
अनन्तगगने श्वभ्रे चक्रावर्ते पतन्न् इव । अद्रिद्यूर्वीविपर्यासदशाम् अनुभवन् स्थितः
He is as if falling in the endless sky, in a deep abyss, in the swirl of a wheel; experiencing the reversal of mountain and earth, he remains.
पतन्न् इवानवरतं प्रोत्पतन्न् इव वाभितः । घूत्काराकर्णनोद्भ्रान्तः पूर्णसर्वेन्द्रियव्रजः
He is as if falling endlessly, or leaping up on all sides; startled by the sound of roaring, with all his senses fully active.
क्रमाच् छ्यामलतां यान्ति तस्य सर्वार्थसंविदः । यथास्तङ्गच्छन्ति रवौ मन्दालोकतया दिशः
Gradually, all his perceptions of meaning grow dark, just as the directions lose their brightness when the sun sets.
पूर्वापरं न जानाति स्मृतिस् तानवम् आगता । यथा पाश्चात्यसन्ध्यान्ते नष्टा दृष्टिर् दिगष्टके
His memory, grown thin, does not know before or after, just as at the end of twilight in the west, sight is lost in the eight directions.
मनःकल्पनसामर्थ्यं जहात्य् अस्य विमोहितः । अविवेकेन तेनासौ महामोहे निमज्जति
Bewildered, he loses the power of mental imagination; through lack of discernment, he sinks into great delusion.