रज्जुसर्पविकल्पौ द्वाव् अज्ञानैकोपकल्पितौ । ज्ञेन त्व् एकैव निर्णीता ब्रह्मदृष्टिर् अकृत्रिमा
The two—rope and snake—are both imagined by ignorance; but through knowledge, only one is determined: the vision of Brahman, uncontrived.
मा भवाज्ञो भव ज्ञस् त्वं जहि संसारवासनाः । अनात्मन्य् आत्मभावेन किम् अन्य इव रोदिषि
Do not be ignorant; become a knower. Abandon the tendencies of worldly existence. Why do you grieve as if you were another, identifying with what is not the Self?
कस् तवायं जडो मूको देहो भवति राघव । यदर्थं सुखदुःखाभ्याम् अवशः परिहीयते
What is this inert, mute body to you, O Raghava, for whose sake you are helplessly subjected to pleasure and pain?
यथा हि काष्ठजतुनोर् यथा बदरकुण्डयोः । श्लिष्टयोर् अपि नैकत्वं देहदेहवतोस् तथा
Just as there is no unity between wood and resin, or between two berry vessels even when joined, so too between body and embodied being there is no oneness.
भस्त्रादाहे यथा दाहो न भस्त्रान्तरवर्तिनः । पवनस्य तथा देहनाशे नात्म विनश्यति
Just as the fire in a bellows does not affect the air within the bellows, so too, when the body perishes, the Self does not perish.
दुःखितो ऽहं सुखाढ्यो ऽहम् इति भ्रान्ती रघूद्वह । अनयोपहते चित्ते दुष्पारेह कदर्थना
‘I am unhappy, I am full of happiness’—such delusion, O descendant of Raghu, afflicts the mind, and this torment is hard to overcome.
मिथ्यैवानर्थकारिण्या मनोमननपीनया । अनया दुःखदायिन्या महामोहमलान्धया
By this false, harmful, and mind-inflating notion—by this giver of sorrow, blinded by the great impurity of delusion—
चन्द्रबिम्बे सुधार्द्रे ऽपि कृत्वा रौरवकल्पनाम् । नारकं दाहसंशोषदुःखं समनुभूयते
Even when the moon's disk is moist with nectar, if one imagines it as a Raurava hell, one experiences the suffering of burning and desiccation as in a hellish realm.
जललोलोच्चकल्हारपुष्पशीतलवीचिषु । सरस्सु मृगतृष्णाढ्यं महत्त्वं परिदृश्यते
In lakes with cool waves adorned by garlands of water-moving lotuses, the greatness of a mirage is perceived.
नभोनगरनिर्माणपातोत्पतनसम्भ्रमाः । स्वप्नादिष्व् अनुभूयन्ते विचित्रसुखदुःखदाः
In dreams and similar states, the excitement of building cities in the sky, falling, and flying is experienced, giving rise to various pleasures and pains.
संसारवासना चेतो यदि नाम न पूरयेत् । तज् जाग्रत्स्वप्नसंरम्भाः कं नयेयुर् इहापदम्
If the mind's inclination toward worldly existence is not fulfilled, then what harm can the agitations of waking and dreaming bring here?
दृश्यन्ते रौरवावीचिनरकानर्थशासनाः । मिथ्याज्ञाने गते वृद्धिं स्वर्गोपवनभूमिषु
Raurava, Avīci, and other hells, with their domains of suffering, are seen to increase in the celestial groves and regions when false knowledge prevails.
अनया वेधितं चेतो बिसतन्ताव् अपि क्षणात् । पश्यत्य् अखिलसंसारसागरावर्तविभ्रमम्
When the mind is pierced by this (ignorance), even a fiber of a lotus thread instantly perceives the bewildering whirlpool of the entire ocean of worldly existence.
अनयोपहते चित्ते राज्य एव हि संस्थितः । तास् ता दशा जनो याति या न योग्याश् श्वपाकिनः
When the mind is afflicted by this (ignorance), even while established in sovereignty, a person attains those very states that are not suitable even for outcastes.
तस्माद् राम परित्यज्य वासनां भवबन्धनीम् । सर्वभावमयीं तिष्ठ नीरागस् स्फटिको यथा
Therefore, O Rāma, abandoning the tendency that binds to worldly existence, remain composed of all states, unattached, like a crystal.
तिष्ठतस् तव कार्येषु मास्तु रागानुरञ्जना । स्फटिकस्येव चित्राणि प्रतिबिम्बानि गृह्णतः
While you remain engaged in your duties, let there be no coloring of attachment—just as a crystal, though reflecting various images, remains itself unchanged.
विगतकौतुकसङ्गसमिद्धया यदि करोषि सदैव हि लीलया । वरधिया जगति प्रकृतिक्रियास् तद् असि केन महान् उपमीयसे
If, with a mind free from curiosity and attachment, you always act in the world playfully, with noble understanding, performing natural actions—then, to what can your greatness be compared?
एवम् उक्तो भगवता वसिष्ठेन महात्मना । रामः कमलपत्त्राक्ष उन्मीलित इवाबभौ
Thus addressed by the venerable and great-souled Vasistha, Rama, whose eyes were like lotus petals, appeared as if awakened.
विकासितान्तःकरणश् शोभाम् अलम् उपाययौ । आश्वस्तस् तमसि क्षीणे पद्मो ऽर्कालोकवान् इव
His inner being blossomed, attaining great radiance; reassured, as darkness faded, like a lotus filled with sunlight.
बोधविस्मयसञ्जातसौम्यस्मितसिताननः । दन्तरश्मिसुधाधौताम् इमां वाचम् उवाच च
With a gentle smile born of wonder and awakening, his face shone bright, as if washed by the moon’s nectar-beams, and he spoke these words:
अहो नु चित्रं पद्मोत्थैर् बद्धास् तन्तुभिर् अद्रयः । अविद्यमाना याविद्या तया सर्वे वशीकृताः
Ah, how marvelous! Mountains are bound by threads spun from lotus stalks; by this ignorance, which does not truly exist, all are brought under its sway.
इदं तद् वज्रतां यातं रूपम् अस्मिञ् जगत्त्रये । अविद्ययापि यन् नाम सद् एवासद् इव स्थितम्
This is that form which has attained the hardness of diamond in the three worlds—though it is only ignorance, it appears as if the real exists as the unreal.
अस्यास् संसारमायाया नट्यास् त्रिभुवनाङ्गने । रूपं सदवबोधार्थं कथयानुग्रहात् पुनः
Out of compassion, please describe again the true nature of this worldly illusion—this dancer upon the stage of the three worlds—so that true understanding may arise.
अन्यच् च संशयो ऽयं मे महात्मन् हृदि वर्तते । लवणो ऽसौ महाभागः किं ताम् आपदम् आप्तवान्
And, O great soul, another doubt arises in my heart: Did that noble Lavana truly encounter such a calamity?
संश्लिष्टयोर् अहतयोर् द्वयोर् वा देहदेहिनोः । ब्रह्मन् क इव संसारी शुभाशुभफलैकभुक्
When two—body and embodied self—are joined and unharmed, O Brahman, who among them is the experiencer of worldly existence, enjoying the fruits of good and evil alone?
लवणस्य तथा दत्त्वा ताम् आपदम् अनुत्तमाम् । किं गतश् चञ्चलारम्भः कश् चासाव् ऐन्द्रजालिकः
Having thus brought upon Lavana that supreme misfortune, who was it that departed, restless in beginning—who indeed was that master of illusion?
काष्ठकुड्योपमो देहो न किञ्चन इवानघ । स्वप्नालोक इवानेन चेतसा परिकल्प्यते
The body, O stainless one, is like a wooden wall, as if it were nothing at all; it is conceived by this mind like a world seen in a dream.
चेतस् तु जीवतां यातं चिच्छक्तिपरिरूषितम् । विद्धि संसारि सुमते कपिपोतकचञ्चलम्
But the mind, endowed with the power of consciousness, attains the state of the living; know, O wise one, that it is the transmigrator—restless as a young monkey.
चेतो हि कर्मभाग् देहे नानाकारं शरीरधृत् । अहङ्कारमनोजीवनामभिः परिकथ्यते
Indeed, it is the mind that acts within the body, assuming various forms as the bearer of the body; it is described by the names ego, mind, and life-force.
तस्येमान्य् अप्रबुद्धस्य सुप्रबुद्धस्य राघव । सुखदुखान्य् अनन्तानि न शरीरस्य कानिचित्
For that mind—whether unawakened or fully awakened, O Raghava—pleasures and pains, endless in number, belong not at all to the body.