इन्द्रियं प्रकृतिर् माया क्रिया चेतीतरा अपि । चित्राश् शब्दश्रियो बह्व्यस् संसारभ्रमहेतवः
The senses, nature, illusion, activity, and others as well; the many varied forms of sound and beauty—these are the causes of the confusion of worldly existence.
काकतालीययोगेन त्यक्तस्फारचमत्कृतेः । चितेश् चेत्यानुपातिन्यः कृताः पर्यायवृत्तयः
By a chance conjunction, abandoning the wonder of expansion, these various modes arise in the consciousness, following the objects of awareness.
परायास् संविदो ब्रह्मन्न् एताः पर्यायवृत्तयः । कल्प्यमानविचित्रार्थाः कथं रूढिम् उपागताः
O Brahman, these various modes of consciousness, belonging to the supreme awareness, how have they, being mere imagined diverse objects, come to be established?
गतेव सकलङ्कत्वं यदा चित् कलनात्मकम् । उन्मेषरूपिणी जाता तदैव हि मनस्स्थितिः
When consciousness, which is of the nature of thought, appears to have become entirely tainted, and arises as the form of a notion, that itself is called the state of mind.
भावानाम् अनुसन्धानं यदा निश्चित्य संस्थिता । तदैषा प्रोच्यते बुद्धिर् नियता ग्रहणक्षमा
When, having determined, it remains fixed in the investigation of objects, then it is called intellect, capable of definite grasping.
यदा मिथ्याभिमानेन सत्तां कलयति स्वयम् । अहङ्काराभिधा तेन प्रोच्यते भवबन्धनी
When, through false identification, it itself assumes existence, it is then called ego, the cause of bondage in becoming.
इदं त्यक्त्वेदम् आयाति बालवत् पेलवा यदा । विचारं सम्परित्यज्य तदा सा चित्तम् उच्यते
When, like a child, it abandons one thing and goes to another, and, having completely given up inquiry, then it is called thought (citta).
यदा स्पन्दैकधर्मत्वात् कर्मपैशुन्यशंसिनी । आधावति स्पन्दफलं तदा कर्मेत्य् उदाहृता
When, due to the nature of vibration alone, the result of vibration indicates the subtlety of action, then that result is called 'action'.
काकतालीययोगेन त्यक्त्वैकद्रव्यनिश्चयम् । यदेहितं कल्पयति भावं तेनेह कल्पना
By a chance conjunction, abandoning certainty about a single substance, whatever is imagined as desirable here, that is called imagination.
पूर्वं दृष्टम् अदृष्टं वा प्राग् सृष्टम् इति निश्चयम् । यदैषेहां विधत्ते ऽन्तस् तदा स्मृतिर् उदाहृता
When, with the conviction that something seen before or unseen, or created earlier, is desired within, then that is called 'memory'.
यदा पदार्थशक्तीनां सम्भुक्तानाम् इवान्तरे । वसत्य् अस्तमितान्येहं वासनेति तदोच्यते
When, as if among the powers of objects that have been enjoyed, those that have ceased remain within here, that is called 'residue'.
अस्त्य् आत्मतत्त्वं विमलं द्वितीया दृष्टिर् अङ्किता । ऽजाता ह्य् अविद्यमानैव तदाविद्येति कथ्यते
There exists the pure essence of the self, but a second perception is marked; since the unborn and non-existent appears, that is called 'ignorance'.
स्फुरत्य् आत्मविनाशाय विस्मारयति तत् पदम् । मिथ्याविकल्पजालेन तन् मलं परिकल्प्यते
It flashes forth to destroy the self, causing forgetfulness of that state; through the web of false conceptualization, that impurity is imagined.
श्रुत्वा सृष्ट्वा च दृष्ट्वा च भुक्त्वा घ्रात्वा विमृश्य च । इन्द्रम् आमोदयत्य् एषा तेनेन्द्रियम् इति स्मृता
By hearing, creating, seeing, enjoying, smelling, and reflecting, it delights Indra; thus, it is called 'sense organ'.
सर्वस्य दृश्यजालस्य परमात्मन्य् अलक्षिते । प्रकृतत्वेन भावानां लोके प्रकृतिर् उच्यते
For all the array of visible things, in the supreme self which is unmanifest, the nature of things in the world is called 'nature'.
सदसत्तां नयत्य् आशु सत्तां वासत्त्वम् अञ्जसा । सद् वासद् वा विकल्पौघं तेन मायेति कथ्यते
That which swiftly leads being into non-being, and non-being into being, and which brings about a multitude of distinctions between real and unreal—this is called 'maya'.
दर्शनश्रवणस्पर्शरसनघ्राणकर्मभिः । क्रियेति कथ्यते लोके कार्यकारणतां गता
By the actions of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, and doing, it is called 'activity' in the world, having assumed the relation of cause and effect.
चितश् चेत्यानुपातिन्या गतायास् सकलङ्कताम् । प्रस्फुरद्रूपधर्मिण्या एताः पर्यायवृत्तयः
When consciousness, following its objects, becomes tainted, and takes on the nature of manifest forms, these are its various modes of operation.
चित्तताम् उपयाताया गतायाः प्राकृतं पदम् । स्वैर् एव सङ्कल्पशतैर् भृशं रूढिम् उपागताः
When it has assumed the state of mind, having departed from its natural condition, it becomes firmly established through countless independent imaginations.
चेतनीयकलङ्काङ्का जाड्यजालानुपातिनी । सङ्ख्याविभागकलिता स्वविकल्पाकुलैव चित्
Consciousness, marked by the stains of sentience, following the web of dullness, and filled with divisions and distinctions, is itself agitated by its own imaginations.
जीव इत्य् उच्यते लोके मन इत्य् अपि कथ्यते । चित्तम् इत्य् उच्यते चैव बुद्धिर् इत्य् उच्यते तथा
In the world, it is called 'jiva' (the individual soul), it is also called 'mind', it is called 'citta' (consciousness), and likewise it is called 'buddhi' (intellect).
नानासङ्कल्पकलिलं पर्यायनिचयं बुधाः । वदन्त्य् अस्याः कलङ्किन्याश् च्युतायाः परमार्थतः
The wise speak of this tainted one, fallen from reality, as a mass of various imaginations and a collection of changing states.
मनः किं स्याज् जडं ब्रह्मन्न् अथ वापि च चेतनम् । इत्य् एको मम तत्त्वज्ञ निश्चयो ऽन्तर् न जायते
O Brahman, whether the mind is insentient or conscious—regarding this, O knower of truth, I do not arrive at a definite conclusion within myself.
मनो हि न जडं राम नापि चेतनतां गतम् । म्लाना जडाजडा दृष्टिर् मन इत्य् एव कथ्यते
The mind, O Rama, is neither inert nor has it attained consciousness; the perception that is faded, neither fully inert nor fully conscious, is what is called the mind.
मध्ये सदसतो रूपं प्रतिभातं यद् आबिलम् । जगतः कारणं राम तद् एतच् चित्तम् उच्यते
That form which appears in between existence and non-existence, which is clouded, is the cause of the world, O Rama; this is called the mind.
शाश्वतेनैकरूपेण निश्चयेन विना स्थितिः । येह सा चित्तम् इत्य् उक्ता तस्माज् जातम् इदं जगत्
The state that lacks a permanent, single form and certainty is here called the mind; from this, the world has arisen.
जडाजडदृशोर् मध्ये दोलारूढं स्वकल्पनम् । यच् चितो म्लानरूपिण्यस् तद् एतन् मन उच्यते
That imagination which swings between inert and conscious perceptions, and whose nature is faded, is called the mind.
चिन्निष्यन्दो हि मलिनः कलङ्कविकलान्तरः । मन इत्य् उच्यते राम न जडं न च चिन्मयम्
The impure flow of consciousness, marked by various stains and differences, is called the mind, O Rama; it is neither inert nor purely conscious.
तस्येमानि विचित्राणि नामानि कलितान्य् अलम् । अहङ्कारमनोबुद्धिजीवाद्यानीतराण्य् अपि
Many diverse names have been assigned to it: ego, mind, intellect, soul, and others as well.
यथा गच्छति शैलूषो रूपाण्यत्वं तथैव हि । मनो नामान्यताम् एति राम कर्मान्तरं व्रजन्
Just as an actor assumes different forms, so too does the mind take on different names, O Rama, as it undergoes various actions.