यथोदिते दिनकरे क्वापि याति तमस्वती । तथा विवेके ऽभ्युदिते क्वाप्य् अविद्या प्रलीयते
Just as darkness disappears somewhere when the sun rises, so too does ignorance dissolve somewhere when discernment arises.
दृढवासनया बन्धो घनताम् एति चेतसः । चलवेतालसङ्कल्पस् सन्ध्याकाले यथा शिशोः
Bondage arises in the mind through strong latent tendencies; fickle thoughts subside, as a child's playfulness fades at dusk.
यावत् किञ्चिद् इदं दृश्यं साविद्या क्षीयते च सा । आत्मभावनया ब्रह्मन्न् आत्मासौ कीदृशस् स्मृतः
As long as this visible world appears, that is ignorance, which diminishes; by contemplating the Self, O Brahman, what is that Self considered to be?
चेत्यानुपातरहितं सामान्येन च सर्वगम् । यच् चित्तत्त्वम् अनाख्येयं स आत्मा परमेश्वरः
That which is the essence of consciousness, untouched by objects, universally present, and indescribable—that is the Self, the Supreme Lord.
आब्रह्मस्तम्बपर्यन्तं तृणादि यद् इदं जगत् । तत् सर्वं सर्वदात्मैव नाविद्या विद्यते ऽनघ
From Brahma down to a blade of grass, whatever this world is, all of it is always the Self alone; O sinless one, ignorance does not exist.
सर्वं च खल्व् इदं ब्रह्म नित्यं चिद्घनम् अक्षयम् । कल्पनान्या मनोनाम्नी विद्यते न हि काचन
Indeed, all this is Brahman—eternal, solid consciousness, imperishable; there is no other imagination called 'mind' at all.
न जायते न म्रियते किञ्चिद् अस्मिञ् जगत्त्रये । न च भावविकाराणां सत्ता क्वचन विद्यते
Nothing is born or dies in these three worlds; nor does the existence of modifications ever occur anywhere.
केवलं केवलाभासं सर्वसामान्यम् अक्षतम् । चेत्यानुपातरहितं चिन्मात्रम् इह विद्यते
Here, there exists only pure consciousness—unmixed, unbroken, universal, untouched by objects, and undisturbed.
अस्मिन् नित्ये तते शुद्धे चिन्मात्रे निरुपद्रवे । शान्ते समसमाभोगे निर्विकारोदितात्मनि
In this eternal, pure, undisturbed, peaceful, and equally pervasive pure consciousness, the Self arises without change.
यैषा स्वभावाभिगतं स्वयं सङ्कल्प्य धावति । चिच् चेत्यं स्वयम् अम्लाना सा म्लाना तन् मनस् स्मृतम्
This, having arisen by its own nature, rushes forth by its own imagining; consciousness, as the object of consciousness, withers on its own, and when it is withered, that is remembered as the mind.
एकस्मात् सर्वगाद् देवात् सर्वशक्तेर् महात्मनः । विभागकलनाशक्तिर् लहरीवोत्थिताम्भसः
From the one, all-pervading, divine, all-powerful, great Self, the power of division and calculation arises, like a wave from water.
एकस्मिन् वितते शान्ते या न किञ्चन विद्यते । सङ्कल्पमात्रेण गता सा सिद्धिं परमात्मनि
In the one, expansive, peaceful reality where nothing exists, whatever departs by mere thought attains perfection in the Supreme Self.
अतस् सङ्कल्पसिद्धेयं सङ्कल्पेनैव नश्यति । येनैव जाता तेनैव वह्निज्वालेव वायुना
Therefore, this accomplishment through thought is destroyed by thought alone; just as it arose, so it perishes, like a flame extinguished by wind.
पौरुषोद्योगसिद्धेन भोगाशारूपतां गता । असङ्कल्पनमात्रेण साविद्या परिलीयते
Having attained the form of enjoyment through the accomplishment of effort, this ignorance is dissolved by mere absence of thought.
नाहं ब्रह्मेति सङ्कल्पात् सुदृढाद् बध्यते मनः । सर्वं ब्रह्मेति सङ्कल्पात् सुदृढान् मुच्यते पुनः
By the firm thought 'I am not Brahman,' the mind is bound; by the firm thought 'All is Brahman,' it is again liberated.
सङ्कल्पः परमो बन्धस् त्व् असङ्कल्पो विमुक्तता । सङ्कल्पम् अवजित्यान्तर् यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु
Thought is the highest bondage; absence of thought is liberation. Having conquered thought within, act as you wish.
दृष्टा मयाम्बरे ऽत्रास्ति नलिनी हेमपङ्कजा । लोलवैडूर्यमधुपा सुगन्धितदिगम्बरा
I have seen here in the sky a lotus of golden petals, with restless bees of beryl, fragrant, and adorned by the directions as its garment.
उद्दण्डैः प्रकटाभोगैर् मृणालभुजमण्डलैः । विहसन्ती प्रकाशस्य शशिनो रश्मिमण्डलात्
She laughs, with her arms like lotus stalks, openly displaying her proud curves, as if mocking the circle of rays from the shining moon.
विकल्पजालिकैवेत्थम् असत्यैवापि सत्समा । मनस्स्वास्थ्यविनाशार्थं यथा बालेन कल्प्यते
In the same way, the web of imagination, though unreal, appears real; it is conjured by the mind, like a child inventing things, only to disturb its own peace.
तथैवेयम् अविद्येह भावनाभवबन्धनी । चपलेनासुखायैव मनोबालेन कल्पिता
Just so, here in this world, ignorance is imagined by the restless child-mind, binding itself with thoughts of existence and nonexistence, and bringing only suffering.
कृशो ऽतिदुःखी बद्धो ऽहं हस्तपादादिमान् अहम् । इति भावानुरूपेण व्यवहारेण बध्यते
Thinking, 'I am thin, I am greatly afflicted, I am bound, I possess hands and feet,' one is bound according to the nature of such thoughts and actions.
नाहं दुःखी न मे देहः को बन्धो ऽस्यात्मनश् चितः । इति भावानुरूपेण व्यवहारेण मुच्यते
But thinking, 'I am not afflicted, I have no body, what bondage can there be for this conscious self?'—one is freed, in accordance with such thoughts and actions.
नाहं मांसं न चास्थीनि देहाद् अन्यः परो ह्य् अहम् । इति निश्चयवान् अन्तःक्षीणाविद्य इहोच्यते
He who is firmly convinced within, 'I am not flesh, nor bones; I am other than the body, I am the supreme,' is said here to have destroyed ignorance within.
प्रोत्तुङ्गसुरशैलाग्रवैडूर्यशिखरप्रभा । अथ वार्कांशुदुर्भेदा तिमिरश्रीस् स्थितोपरि
Just as the brilliance atop a lofty mountain of sapphire, or the radiance above, difficult to pierce even by the sun's rays, stands above the splendor of darkness—
कल्प्यते हि यथा व्योम्नः कालिमेति स्वभावजः । पुंसा धरणिसंस्थेन स्वविकल्पनयेद्धया
So too, as darkness in the sky is imagined by someone on earth, due to his own nature and conception—
कल्पितैवम् अविद्येयम् अनात्मन्य् आत्मभावना । पुरुषेणाप्रबुद्धेन न प्रबुद्धेन राघव
This ignorance, the notion of self in what is not the self, is merely imagined by one who is not awakened, not by one who is awakened, O Raghava.
मेरुनीलमणिच्छाया नेयं नापि तमःप्रभा । तद् इदं किं कृतं ब्रह्मन् नीलत्वं नभसो वद
This is not the luster of a sapphire from Mount Meru, nor is it the glow of darkness; so tell me, O Brahman, what causes the blueness of the sky?
न राम नीलता व्योम्नश् शून्यस्य गुणवत् स्थिता । अन्यरत्नप्रभाभावान् न चाप्य् एषात्र मैरवी
O Rama, the blueness of the sky does not exist as a quality in the void; it is not due to the radiance of any other gem, nor is it the luster of the Meru sapphire.
तेजोमयत्वाद् अण्डस्य स्फारत्वात् सिद्धतेजसः । प्राकाश्याद् अण्डपारस्य तमसो नात्र सम्भवः
Because the cosmic egg is made of light, because of the brilliance of the perfected ones, and because of the luminosity beyond the cosmic shell, darkness cannot arise here.
केवलं शून्यतैवैषा बह्वी सुभग दृश्यते । वयस्येवानुरूपाया अविद्याया न सन्मयी
This is merely emptiness, O fortunate one, though it appears in many ways; it is like the ignorance that fits each age, not composed of reality.