कासौ महाटवी ब्रह्मन् कदा दृष्टा कथं मया । के च ते पुरुषास् तत्र किं तत् कर्तुं कृतोद्यमाः
O Brahman, what is that great forest? When did I see it, and how? Who are those people there, and what are they striving to do?
रघुनाथ महाबाहो शृणु वक्ष्यामि ते ऽखिलम् । न सा महाटवी नाम दूरे नैव च ते नराः
O mighty-armed Raghunatha, listen, I will tell you everything: that great forest is not far away, nor are those people distant from you.
येयं संसारपदवी गम्भीरासारकोटरा । तां त्वं शून्यां विकाराढ्यां विद्धि राम महाटवीम्
This very path of worldly existence, deep and hollow, know, O Rama, that empty and ever-changing one as the great forest.
विचारालोकलभ्येन यदैकेनैव वस्तुना । पूर्णा नान्येन संयुक्ता केवलैव तदैव सा
That forest is filled by the one thing attainable through the light of inquiry; it is not joined by anything else, it exists solely as that alone.
तत्र ये ते महाकाराः पुरुषाः प्रसरन्ति हि । मनांसि तानि विद्धि त्वं दुःखे निपतितान्य् अलम्
Those mighty beings who move about there—know them to be the minds, fallen into suffering.
द्रष्टा यो ऽयम् अहं तेषां सविवेको महामते । विवेकेन मया तानि दृष्टान्य् अन्यानि राघव
O wise one, I am the witness who perceives them all with discernment; by means of discrimination, O Raghava, I have seen those and other things.
मया तान्य् एव बुध्यन्ते विवेकेन मनांसि हि । सततं स्वप्रकाशेन कमलानीव भानुना
It is by my discernment alone that these minds are understood by me, just as lotuses are ever revealed by the sun’s own light.
मत्प्रबोधं समासाद्य मत्प्रसादान् महामते । मनांसि कानिचित् तानि गतान्य् उपशमात् परम्
Having attained my awakening and through my grace, O wise one, some of those minds have reached supreme tranquility and have ceased.
कानिचिन् नाभिनन्दन्ति मां विवेकं विमोहतः । मत्तिरस्कारवशतः कूपेष्व् एव पतन्त्य् उत
Some do not welcome me, discernment, due to delusion; under the sway of rejection by me, they fall into pits indeed.
ये ते ऽन्धकूपा गहना नरकास् ते रघूद्वह । मनांसि तानि तेष्व् अन्तर् निपतन्त्य् उत्पतन्ति च
Those deep, blind pits, O descendant of Raghu, are known as hells; into them those minds fall and rise again within.
यत् तत् करञ्जगहनं तत् कलत्ररसं विदुः । दुःखकण्टकसम्बाधं मानुष्यं त्रिविधैषणम्
That which is called the dense karañja thicket is known as the taste of sensual pleasure; human life, beset with the thorns of suffering, is driven by threefold craving.
करञ्जगहनं यानि प्रविष्टानि मनांसि तु । मानुष्ये तानि जातानि तत्रैकरसिकानि च
The minds that have entered the karañja thicket are born as humans there, and in that state they are absorbed in a single flavor.
कदलीकाननं यत् तच् छशाङ्ककरशीतलम् । तन् मनोह्लादनकरं स्वर्गं विद्धि रघूद्वह
That which is the plantain grove, cool with the rays of the moon, O descendant of Raghu, know that as heaven, which brings delight to the mind.
कदलीकाननं यानि सम्प्रविष्टानि तानि तु । स्वर्गैकरसिकानि त्वं मनांसि ज्ञातुम् अर्हसि
Just as whatever enters a grove of plantains becomes immersed in it, so too, you should understand, O Rāma, that minds absorbed solely in heavenly pleasures are of such a nature.
प्रविष्टान्य् अन्धकूपान्तर् निर्गतानि न यानि तु । महापातकयुक्तानि तानि चित्तानि राघव
Those minds, O Rāghava, which have entered into a deep, dark pit and have not emerged, are bound up with great sins.
करञ्जवनयातानि निर्गतानि न यानि तु । तानि मानुष्यजातानि चित्तानि रघुनन्दन
Those minds, O delight of the Raghu lineage, which have entered a grove of karanja trees and have not come out, are the minds belonging to human beings.
कानिचित् सम्प्रबुद्धानि तत्र मुक्तानि बन्धनात् । कानिचिद् बहुरूपाणि योनेर् योनिं विशन्ति हि
Some of them, having awakened there, are freed from bondage; others, taking on many forms, enter from one womb into another.
कानिचित् पुण्यपूतेन तपसा दारुणात्मना । धारयन्ति शरीराणि संस्थितान्य् उचितान्य् च
Some, purified by meritorious austerity, though possessing a harsh nature, sustain bodies that are stable and appropriate.
यैर् अहं पुम्भिर् अबुधैर् दुर्द्विजेति तिरस्कृतः । तैर् मनोभिर् अनात्मज्ञैस् स्वविवेकतिरस्कृतः
By those ignorant men, who rejected me as a wicked one, by those minds devoid of self-knowledge, their own discernment has been cast aside.
त्वया दृष्टो विनष्टो ऽस्मि शत्रुर् मे त्वम् इति द्रुतम् । यद् उक्तं तद् धि चित्तेन गलता परिदेवितम्
Whatever is said in haste by the mind—'I have been destroyed by you, you are my enemy'—such lamentation is uttered by the mind as it slips away.
रुदितं यन् महाक्रन्दं पुंसा बह्वस्रु राघव । तद् भोगजालं त्यजता मनसा रोदनं कृतम्
The weeping, the loud cries, and the many tears shed by a man, O Rāghava, are the lamentations made by the mind as it abandons the web of enjoyments.
अर्धप्राप्तविवेकस्य न प्राप्तस्यामलं पदम् । चेतसस् त्यजतो भोगान् परितापो भृशं भवेत्
For one whose discernment is only half attained and who has not reached the stainless state, if the mind abandons enjoyments, there arises intense distress.
रुदताङ्गानि दृष्टानि कारुण्येनावबोधिना । कष्टम् एतानि सन्त्यज्य किं प्रयामीति चेतसा
When limbs are seen weeping by one who is awakened through compassion, the mind wonders, 'Alas, having abandoned these, where shall I go?'
अर्धप्राप्तविवेकस्य न प्राप्तस्यामलं पदम् । चेतसस् त्यजतो ऽङ्गानि परितापो हि वर्धते
For one whose discernment is only half attained and who has not reached the stainless state, if the mind abandons the limbs, indeed the distress increases.
हसितं यत् तद् आनन्दि पुंसा मदवबोधतः । परिप्राप्तविवेकेन तत् तुष्टं राम चेतसा
The laughter that arises in a person from the intoxication of awakening, O Rama, is the satisfaction of a mind endowed with complete discernment.
परिप्राप्तविवेकस्य त्यक्तसंसारसंसृतेः । चेतसस् त्यजतो रूपम् आनन्दो हि विवर्धते
For one who has attained complete discernment and abandoned the cycle of worldly existence, when the mind lets go of forms, bliss indeed increases.
हसताङ्गानि दृष्टानि पुंसा यान्य् उपहासतः । तानि दृष्टानि मनसा विप्रलम्भप्रदानि हि
When the limbs are seen laughing in a person out of mockery, those forms perceived by the mind indeed bring about deception.
मिथ्याविकल्परचितैर् विप्रलब्धम् अहं चिरम् । इत्य् अङ्गान्य् उपहासेन दृष्टानि स्वानि चेतसा
For a long time I was deceived by false imaginations constructed by delusion; thus, with mockery, my own limbs are seen by my mind.
मनः प्राप्तविवेकं हि विश्रान्तं वितते पदे । प्राक्तनीं दीनतां धीरं हसत् पश्यति दूरतः
The mind that has attained discernment and rests in the infinite state, calmly beholds its former wretchedness from afar, laughing.
यदासौ समवष्टभ्य मया पृष्टः प्रयत्नतः । तद् विवेको बलाच् चित्तम् आदत्त इति दर्शितम्
When he was carefully questioned by me, that discernment forcibly seized the mind, as has been shown.