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.
अप्रबुद्धं मनो नानासञ्ज्ञाकल्पितकल्पनम् । वृत्तीर् अनुपतच् चित्रा विचित्राकृतितां गतम्
The unawakened mind, imagining various designations, follows manifold and diverse activities, assuming forms of every kind.
अप्रबुद्धम् भवेद् यावन् निद्रान्तं तावद् एव हि । सम्भ्रमं पश्यति स्वप्ने न प्रबुद्धः कदाचन
As long as one has not awakened, sleep persists; during that time, one perceives confusion in dreams, but never upon awakening.
अज्ञाननिद्राकुलितो जीवो यावन् न बोधितः । तावत् पश्यति दुर्बोधं संसारारम्भविभ्रमम्
As long as the living being is afflicted by the sleep of ignorance and has not awakened, he perceives the bewildering and incomprehensible turmoil of worldly existence.
सम्प्रबुद्धस्य मनसस् तमस् सर्वं विलीयते । कमलस्य यथा ह्य् आन्ध्यं दिनालोकविकासिनः
When the mind is fully awakened, all darkness dissolves, just as the blindness of a lotus disappears when it opens in the daylight.
चित्ताविद्यामनोजीववासनेति कृतात्मभिः । कर्मात्मेति च यः प्रोक्तस् स देही दुःखकोविदः
Those who identify themselves with mind, ignorance, mental being, and residence, and also with karma and self, are called embodied beings who are acquainted with suffering.
जडो देहो न दुःखार्हो दुःखी जीवो ऽविचारतः । अविचारो घनाज्ञानाद् अज्ञानं दुःखकारणम्
The inert body is not subject to suffering; it is the living being who suffers due to lack of discernment. Lack of discernment arises from dense ignorance, and ignorance is the cause of suffering.
शुभाशुभानां धर्माणां जीवो विषयतां गतः । अविवेकैकदोषेण कोशे नेदं महापदम्
The living being, having become attached to the domains of virtuous and unvirtuous actions, due to the single fault of indiscrimination, does not reach this supreme state.
अविवेकामयोत्तब्धं मनो विविधवृत्तिमत् । नानाकारविहारेण परिभ्रमति चक्रवत्
The mind, bound by the disease of indiscrimination and possessing various tendencies, wanders in diverse forms of play, revolving like a wheel.
उदेति रौति हन्त्य् अत्ति याति वल्गति नन्दति । मन एव शरीरे ऽस्मिन् न शरीरं कदाचन
It arises, cries, kills, eats, goes, leaps, rejoices; it is only the mind in this body, never the body itself.
यथा गृहपतिर् गेहे रथे वा सारथिर् यथा । यथा भुजङ्गो भस्त्रायां शरीरे ऽस्मिंस् तथा मनः
Just as a householder is in his house, or a charioteer in a chariot, or a serpent in its hole, so is the mind within this body.
अचले चञ्चलाकारः पादपे पवनो यथा । स्फुरत्य् एवं मनो देहे स्थितो देहो न चेतसि
As wind moves restlessly among unmoving trees, so the mind stirs within the body, though the body itself does not enter the mind.
सर्वेषु सुखदुःखेषु सर्वासु कलनासु च । मनः कर्तृ मनो भोक्तृ मानसं विद्धि मानवम्
In all experiences of pleasure and pain, and in every thought, the mind is the doer and the enjoyer; know the mind as the true person.
अत्र ते शृणु वक्ष्यामि वृत्तान्तम् इमम् अद्भुतम् । लवणो ऽसौ यथा यातश् चण्डालत्वं मनोभ्रमात्
Now listen as I tell you this marvelous story—how Lavaṇa, through a delusion of mind, came to be a chandāla.
मनः कर्मफलं भुङ्क्ते शुभं वाशुभम् एव वा । यथैतद् बुध्यसे नूनं तथाकर्णय राघव
The mind experiences the fruits of actions, whether good or bad; as you will surely understand, listen to this, O Rāghava.
हरिश्चन्द्रकुलोत्थेन लवणेन पुरानघ । एकान्तैकोपविष्टेन चिन्तितं मनसा चिरम्
Once, Lavaṇa of the Harishchandra lineage, sinless one, sat alone and pondered deeply in his mind for a long time.
पितामहो मे सुमहान् राजसूयस्य याजकः । अहं तस्य कुले जातस् तं यजे मनसा मखम्
My grandfather was great, the priest of the rājasūya sacrifice; I was born in his line, and I perform that sacrifice in my mind.
इति सञ्चिन्त्य मनसा कृत्वा सम्भारम् आदितः । राजसूयस्य दीक्षायां विवेश स महीपतिः
Thinking thus in his mind, gathering all the necessary materials, that king entered the initiation for the rājasūya sacrifice.
ऋत्विजश् चार्चयाम् आस पूजयाम् आस सन्मुनीन् । देवता वन्दयाम् आस ज्वालयाम् आस पावकम्
He worshipped the priests, honored the noble sages, saluted the deities, and kindled the sacred fire.
तस्येत्थं यजमानस्य मनस्य् उपवनान्तरे । ययौ संवत्सरस् साग्रो देवर्षिद्विजपूजया
Thus, as the sacrificer’s mind dwelled in the grove, a year passed by, filled with the worship of gods, sages, and twice-born ones.
भूतेभ्यो द्विजपूर्वेभ्यो दत्त्वा सर्वस्वदक्षिणाम् । व्यबुध्यत दिनस्यान्ते स्वस्मिन्न् उपवने नृपः
Having given all his wealth as gifts to beings and to the twice-born ancestors, the king awoke at the end of the day in his own grove.