प्रभुत्वं समदृष्टित्वं तच् च स्याद् राजविद्यया । ताम् एव यो न जानाति नासौ मन्त्री न सो ऽधिपः
Authority and impartial vision arise from royal wisdom; whoever does not know this is neither a minister nor a ruler.
भवन्तौ तद्विदौ साधू यदि तच् छ्रेय आप्स्यथः । नो चेद् अनर्थदौ स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर् नाद्म्य् अहं युवाम्
If you both possess that knowledge, you are virtuous and will attain the highest good; otherwise, you bring harm, and I do not accept you as belonging to my nature.
एकोपायेन मत्पार्श्वाद् बालकाव् उत्तरिष्यथः । मत्प्रश्नपञ्जरं सारं चेद् विचारयथो धिया
By a single means, you two boys will cross over from my side, if you thoughtfully examine the essence of my cage of questions.
प्रश्नानि मां कथय पार्थिव नाथ मन्त्रिन्न् अत्रार्थिनी भृशम् अहं परिपूरयार्थम् । अङ्गीकृतार्थम् अददत् क इवास्ति लोके दोषेण सङ्क्षयकरेण न युज्यते यः
O king, tell me your questions; I am eager to fulfill your wishes. Who in this world, having accepted a request, does not grant it, unless hindered by some fault that brings decline?
इत्य् उक्त्वा राक्षसी प्रश्नान् सा वक्तुम् उपचक्रमे । उच्यताम् इति राज्ञोक्ते तान् इमाञ् शृणु राघव
Having spoken thus, the demoness began to ask her questions. When the king said, 'Speak,' listen now, O Raghava, to these questions.
एकस्यानेकसङ्ख्यस्य कस्याणोर् अम्बुधेर् इव । अन्तर् ब्रह्माण्डलक्षाणि लीयन्ते बुद्बुदा इव
In the one, in the countless, in the minute, as in the ocean—within, countless universes dissolve like bubbles.
किम् आकाशम् अनाकाशं नकिञ्चित् किञ्चिद् एव किम् । को ऽहम् एवापि सम्पन्नः को भवान् अप्य् अहं स्थितः
What is space, what is non-space, what is nothing, and what is something? Who am I, truly fulfilled, and who are you, and who am I that stands here?
गच्छन् न गच्छति च कः को ऽतिष्ठन्न् एव तिष्ठति । कश् चेतनो ऽपि पाषाणः कश् चिद्व्योमनि चित्रकृत्
Who moves yet does not move, who stands yet remains standing? Who is conscious yet like a stone, and who creates wonders in the sky?
वह्निताम् अजहच् चैव कश् च वह्निर् न दाहकः । अवह्नेर् जायते वह्निः कस्माद् राजन् निरन्तरम्
Who is fire that does not abandon its fiery nature, and who is fire that does not burn? From the non-fire, how does fire arise, O king, continually?
अचन्द्रार्काग्नितारो ऽपि को ऽविनाशः प्रकाशकः । अनेत्रलभ्यात् कस्माच् च प्रकाशश् च प्रवर्तते
Who is the imperishable illuminator, even without moon, sun, fire, or stars? And from what, though not perceived by the eyes, does light manifest?
लतागुल्माङ्कुरादीनां जात्यन्धानां तथैव च । अन्येषाम् अप्य् अनक्षाणाम् आलोकः क इवोत्तमः
For creepers, bushes, sprouts, and those born blind, and likewise for others without eyes, what is the highest source of light?
जनकः को ऽम्बरादीनां सत्तायाः कस् स्वभावदः । को जगद्रत्नकोशस् स्यात् कस्य कोशे मणेर् जगत्
Who is the origin of space and other elements, who gives them their nature? Who is the treasure chest of the world's jewels, and in whose treasury is the world a gem?
को ऽणुस् तमः प्रकाशश् च को ऽणुर् अस्ति च नास्ति च । को ऽणुर् दूरे ऽप्य् अदूरे च को ऽणुर् एव महागिरिः
What is the atom that is darkness and light, that both exists and does not exist? What is the atom that is distant yet not distant, and that itself is a great mountain?
निमेष एव कः कल्पः कः कल्पो ऽपि निमेषकः । किं प्रत्यक्षम् असद्रूपं किं चेतनम् अचेतनम्
What is a moment that is an age, and what is an age that is a moment? What is apparent yet unreal, and what is conscious yet unconscious?
कश् चावायुश् च वायुश् च कश् शब्दो ऽशब्द एव च । कस् सर्वं च नकिञ्चिद् च को ऽहं नाहं च किं भवेत्
What is both airless and air, what is sound and soundlessness? What is everything and nothing, who am I and who am I not, and what can that be?
किं प्रयत्नशतप्राप्तं लब्ध्वापि बहुजन्मभिः । लब्धं नकिञ्चिद् भवति ननु सर्वं च लभ्यते
What is gained through hundreds of efforts and many lifetimes, yet when attained is nothing, and yet everything is attainable?
स्वस्थेन जीवतैवोच्चैः केन स्वात्मापहारितः । केनाणुनान्तर् व्रियते मेरुस् त्रिभुवनं तृणम्
By whom is one's own self taken away, even while living in one's own nature? By what atom is the Meru mountain, the three worlds, and a blade of grass contained within?
केनाणुकणमात्रेण पूरिता शतयोजनी । को ऽणुर् एव भवन् माति न योजनशतेष्व् अपि
By what atom is a hundred-yojana expanse filled? What atom alone becomes a world, yet not even in a hundred yojanas?
केनालोकनमात्रेण जगद्बालः प्रनाट्यते । कस्याणोर् अन्तरे सन्ति कुलावनिभृतां घटाः
By what mere act of seeing is the world-play enacted? Within which atom are the pots that hold the families of mountains?
अणुत्वम् अजहत् को ऽणुर् मेरोस् स्थूलतराकृतिः । वालाग्रशतभागात्मा को ऽणुर् उच्चैश् शिलोच्चयः
What is the atom that does not abandon its minuteness, yet appears in the massive form of Meru? What is the atom that is the hundredth part of a hair’s tip, and what is the towering mountain?
को ऽणुः प्रकाशतमसोर् दीपः प्रकटनप्रदः । कस्याणोर् अन्तरे सन्ति समग्रानुभवाणवः
What is the atom that is the light revealing both brightness and darkness? Within which atom do all experiences, minute as they are, reside?
को ऽणुर् अत्यन्तनिस्स्वादुर् अपि संस्वदते भृशम् । केन सन्त्यजता सर्वम् अणुना सर्वम् आश्रितम्
What is the atom that, though utterly tasteless, is intensely savored? By which atom, having renounced all, is everything nevertheless supported?
केनात्माच्छादनाशक्तेर् अणुनाच्छादितं जगत् । जगन् नयेन कस्याणोस् सद्भूतम् अभिजीवति
By which atom, lacking the power to conceal itself, is the world concealed? By the method of which atom does the world subsist as real?
अजातावयवः को ऽणुस् सहस्रकरलोचनः । को निमेषो महाकल्पो महाकल्पशतानि वा
What is the atom that is without parts, yet has a thousand hands and eyes? What is an instant, or a great age, or even hundreds of great ages?
अणौ जगन्ति तिष्ठन्ति कस्मिन् बीज इव द्रुमाः । बीजाद्यानि फलान्तानि स्फुटान्य् अनुदितान्य् अपि
In which atom do worlds abide, as trees in a seed? From seed to fruit, all things, whether manifest or unmanifest, are contained therein.
कल्पः कस्य निमेषस्य जीवस्येवान्तरे स्थितः । कः प्रयोजककर्तृत्वम् अप्य् अनाश्रित्य कारकः
Of which instant is an age contained within, as life is within a living being? What acts as the agent of action, even without relying on any doer?
दृश्यसम्पत्तये द्रष्टाप्य् आत्मानं दृश्यतां नयेत् । दृश्यं पश्यन् स्वम् आत्मानं को न पश्यति नेत्रवत्
For the sake of perceivable wealth, the seer may make himself the seen; yet, seeing the seen, who does not see his own self, as the eye does not see itself?
अन्तर्गलितदृश्यं च क आत्मानम् अखण्डितम् । दृश्यासम्पत्तये पश्यन् पुरो दृश्यं न पश्यति
Who, seeing the undivided Self into which all objects have merged, does not see the external objects, even when they appear before him?
आत्मानं दर्शनं दृश्यं को भासयति दृश्यवत् । कटकादीनि हेम्नेव निगीर्णं केन च त्रयम्
Who illumines the Self, the act of seeing, and the seen, just as gold pervades ornaments like a bangle, and by whom are these three absorbed?
कस्मान् न किञ्चिच् च पृथग् ऊर्म्यादीव महाम्भसः । कस्येच्छया पृथक् चास्ति वीचितेव महाम्भसः
Why does nothing remain separate, like waves in the great ocean, and by whose will does anything appear distinct, like foam upon the vast sea?