महानिशि महारण्ये महाराक्षसकन्यया । इति प्रोक्ते महाप्रश्ने महामन्त्री गिरं ददौ
In the great night, in the great forest, after the great demon maiden had spoken, the chief minister gave his reply to the great question.
शृणु तोयदसङ्काशे प्रश्नम् एनं भिनद्मि ते । अनुक्रमात्मकं मत्तं गजेन्द्रम् इव केसरी
Listen, O you who resemble a rain cloud! I will break apart your question, as a lion does to a maddened elephant, in a systematic manner.
भवत्या परमात्मैष कथितः कमलेक्षणे । अनयैव वचोभङ्ग्या ब्रह्मविद्बोधयोग्यया
O lotus-eyed one, this supreme Self has been described by you; and in this very manner of speech, suitable for awakening knowledge of Brahman.
अनाख्यत्वाद् अगम्यत्वान् मनसाम् अप्य् अगोचरः । चिन्मात्रम् एवम् आत्माणुर् आकाशाद् अपि सूक्ष्मकः
Because it cannot be described and cannot be reached, it is beyond even the mind's grasp; thus, the Self is pure consciousness, subtler even than space.
चिदणोः परमस्यान्तस् सद् एवासद् इव स्थितम् । सत्ताप्य् एवम् असत्तेव स्फुरतीदं जगत् स्थितम्
Within the supreme atom of consciousness, existence abides as if it were non-existence; in this way, this world appears to shine forth as if it exists, though it is as if it does not.
स किञ्चिदनुभूतित्वात् सर्गात्मकतया स्थितः। तदात्मकतया पूर्वं भावसत्तां किलागतः
Because it is experienced in some way and stands as the essence of creation, it previously assumed the state of being as its own nature.
अतीन्द्रियत्वान् नो किञ्चित् स एवाणुर् अनन्तकः । सर्वात्मकत्वाद् भुङ्क्ते च तेन किञ्चिन् न किञ्चन
Because it is beyond the senses, that subtle atom is nothing at all and yet infinite; because it is all-pervading, it enjoys everything, yet nothing at all.
चिदणोः प्रतिभासात् स्वाद् एकस्यानेकतोदिता । असत्यैवापि सत्येव हेम्नः कटकता यथा
From the reflection of the atom of consciousness, the one appears as many; though unreal, it seems real, like a bracelet appears from gold.
एषो ऽणुः परमाकाशस् सूक्ष्मः खाद् अप्य् अलक्षितः । मनष्षष्ठेन्द्रियातीतस् स्थितस् सर्वात्मको ऽपि सन्
This atom is the supreme space, subtler even than ether, invisible, beyond mind and the six senses, yet abiding as the Self of all.
सर्वात्मकस् स्यान् नैवासौ शून्यो भवति कर्हिचित् । यद् अस्ति न तद् अस्तीति वक्तोन्मत्त इति स्मृतः
Though it is the Self of all, it is never void; one who says that what exists does not exist is considered mad.
कयाचिद् अपि युक्त्येह सतो ऽसत्त्वं न युज्यते । सर्वात्मा खातगुप्तेन कर्पूरेणेव दर्श्यते
By no reasoning here can non-existence be ascribed to what exists; the all-pervading Self is revealed, hidden like camphor in space.
चिन्मात्राणुस् स एवेह सर्वं किञ्चिद् घनं स्थितः । न किञ्चिद् इन्द्रियातीतरूपत्वाद् अमलस् स्थितः
He alone, who is the subtle essence of pure consciousness, stands here as all this dense existence; nothing else exists, for he is beyond the senses, stainless and ever-present.
स एव चैको ऽनेकश् च सर्वसत्तात्मवेदनात् । स एवेदं जगद् धत्ते जगत्कोटीस् तथैव च
He alone is one and yet many, because he is the inner self of all beings; he alone upholds this universe and countless worlds as well.
इमाश् चित्त्वमहाम्भोधेस् त्रिजगज्जलवीचयः । प्रजास् तस्मिन् कचन्त्य् अप्सु द्रवत्वाच् चक्रता इव
These waves of the three worlds are but the offspring of the great ocean of consciousness; just as wheels move in water because of its fluidity, so do beings move within it.
चित्तेन्द्रियाद्यलभ्यत्वात् सो ऽणुश् शून्यं खरूपधृत् । स्वसंवेदनलभ्यत्वाद् अशून्यं व्योमरूप्य् अपि
Because he cannot be grasped by mind, senses, or the like, he is subtle, void, and assumes the form of space; yet, because he is known by self-awareness, he is not void, but also has the nature of space.
सो ऽहं भवन्न् एव भवात् सम्पन्नो द्वैतवेदनात् । भवान् भवन्न् अहं जातो बोधबृंहाबृहद्वपुः
I become you, indeed, by the arising of dualistic perception; you become me, and I am born as you, having the vast form of expanded consciousness.
त्वत्ताहन्तात्मकं सर्वं विनिगीर्यावबोधतः । न त्वं नाहं न सर्वं वासर्वं वा भवति स्वयम्
When all is absorbed into the awareness that is the essence of 'I' and 'you,' then neither you nor I nor all else remains, nor does anything at all exist by itself.
गच्छन् न गच्छत्य् एषो ऽणुर् योजनौघगतो ऽपि सन् । संवित्त्या योजनौघत्वं तस्याणोर् अन्तरे स्थितम्
This subtle essence, even while going, does not go; even if it traverses countless leagues, it does not move, for the measure of distance exists only within consciousness itself.
न गच्छत्य् एष यातो ऽपि सम्प्राप्तो ऽपि न चागतः । स्वसत्ताकाशकोशे ऽन्तर् वासित्वाद् देशकालयोः
He does not go, even when he appears to have gone; nor does he arrive, even when he seems to have come, for, abiding within the space of his own being, he is untouched by place and time.
गम्यं यस्य शरीरस्थं क्व किलासौ प्रयाति हि । कुचकोटरगः पुत्रः किं मात्रान्यत्र वीक्ष्यते
When that which is to be reached resides in the body, where indeed does it go? Just as a child in the hollow of a breast is not seen apart from the mother.
गम्यो यस्य महादेशो यावत्सम्भवम् अक्षयः । अन्तस्स्थस् सर्वकर्तुश् च स कथं क्वेव गच्छति
When the vast region that is to be reached is inexhaustible and present as long as possible, and when it is within and the agent of all actions, how then does it go anywhere?
यथा देशान्तरप्राप्ते कुम्भे वक्त्रसुमुद्रिते । तदाकाशस्य गमनागमौ न स्तस् तथात्मनः
Just as, when a pot is moved to another place with its mouth sealed, the space inside does not move or change, so too is it with the self.
चितितास्थाणुते ऽस्यान्तर् यदा स्तो ऽनुभवात्मिके । चेतनश् च जडश् चैव तदासौ द्वयम् एव हि
When the awareness within abides in the experience-based self, then both consciousness and inertness are present; thus, it is indeed a duality.
यदा चेतनपाषाणसत्तैकात्मैव चिद्वपुः । तदा चेतन एवासौ पाषाण इव राक्षसि
When the form of consciousness is unified with the existence of sentience and stone, then it is consciousness alone, like a stone possessed by a demon.
परमे व्योम्न्य् अनाद्यन्ते चिन्मात्रपरमाणुना । विचित्रं त्रिजगच् चित्रं तेनेदम् अकृतं कृतम्
In the supreme space, without beginning or end, composed of the ultimate atom of pure consciousness, this marvelous triple world is made and unmade by that.
तत्संवित्त्या वह्निसत्ता तेनात्यक्तानलाकृतिः । सर्वगो ऽप्य् अदहन्न् एव स जगद्द्रव्यपाचकः
By that awareness, the existence of fire remains, and its fiery form is not abandoned; though it pervades all, it does not burn, yet it cooks the substances of the world.
अज्वलन् भासुराकारान् निर्मलाद् गगनाद् अपि । प्रज्वलंश् चेतनैकात्मा तस्माद् अग्निः प्रजायते
Without burning, and with a radiant form, even purer than the sky, when consciousness alone blazes forth, from that fire arises.
संवेदनाद् अनर्कादिः प्रधाने स प्रकाशकः । न नश्यत्य् आद्यभारूपो महाकल्पाम्बुदैर् अपि
From awareness arises the beginningless, supreme illuminator; its primordial nature does not perish, even through the great cycles of time.
अनेत्रलभ्यो ऽनुभवरूपो हृद्गृहदीपकः । सर्वसत्ताप्रदो ऽनन्तः प्रकाशस् स परस् स्मृतः
Not attainable by the eyes, it is of the nature of experience, the lamp within the heart’s abode; bestower of all existence, infinite, that light is called supreme.
प्रवर्तते ऽस्माद् आलोको मनष्षष्ठेन्द्रियातिगात् । येनान्तर् अपि वस्तूनां दृश्यादृश्यचमत्कृतिः
From it proceeds illumination, surpassing mind and the six senses, by which even the marvel of both visible and invisible things within is revealed.