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.
चित्राधिकारवशतो विचित्राधिकृताभिधाम् । यथा याति नरः कर्मवशाद् याति तथा मनः
As a person, according to the role, acquires various titles by virtue of his actions, so too does the mind, depending on its functions, acquire different names.
या एताः कथितास् सञ्ज्ञा मया राघव चेतसः । एता एवान्यथा प्रोक्ता वादिभिः कल्पनाशतैः
O Raghava, the terms for the mind that I have described are spoken differently by others, with hundreds of imagined distinctions.
स्वभावाभिमतां युक्तिम् आरोप्य मनसा कृताः । मनोबुद्धीन्द्रियादीनां विचित्रा नामगीतयः
By projecting their own preferred reasoning, people have created various names and descriptions for the mind, intellect, senses, and so on.
मनो हि जडम् अन्यस्य भिन्नम् अन्यस्य जीवतः । तथाहङ्कृतिर् अन्यस्य बुद्धिर् अन्यस्य वादिनः
For one, the mind is considered insentient; for another, it is alive; likewise, ego and intellect are defined differently by different thinkers.
अहङ्कारमनोबुद्धिदृष्टयस् सृष्टकल्पनाः । एकरूपतया प्रोक्ता या मया रघुनन्दन
O delight of the Raghu lineage, I have explained the notions of ego, mind, and intellect as one in essence, though others imagine them as separate in creation.
नैयायिकैर् इतरथा तादृशाः परिकल्पिताः । अन्यथा कल्पितास् साङ्ख्यैश् चार्वाकैर् अपि चान्यथा
The Naiyayikas conceive them otherwise; the Sankhyas and Charvakas imagine them differently still.
जैमिनीयैर् आर्हतैश् च बौद्धैर् वैशेषिकैस् तथा । अन्यैर् अपि विचित्रेहैः पाञ्चरात्रादिभिस् तथा
So too do the Jaiminiyas, Arhatas, Buddhists, Vaisheshikas, and others with varied views, such as the Pancharatras.
सर्वैर् एव हि गन्तव्यं तत् पदं पारमात्मिकम् । विचित्रदेशकालोत्थैः पुरम् एकम् इवाध्वगैः
Yet all must reach that supreme state of the Self, just as travelers from different places and times all arrive at the same city.
अज्ञानात् परमार्थस्य विपरीतावबोधतः । केवलं विवदन्ते ते विकल्पैर् आरुरुक्षवः
Because of ignorance of the highest truth and mistaken understanding, they merely dispute, each wishing to assert their own opinions.
स्वं मार्गम् अभिशंसन्ति वादिनश् चित्रया दृशा । विचित्रदेशकालोत्था मार्गं स्वं पथिका इव
Debaters praise their own path with elaborate reasoning, each like a traveler extolling their route, shaped by the diverse places and times they arise from.