शास्त्रसज्जनसम्पर्कवैराग्याभ्यासपूर्वकम् । सदाचारप्रवृत्तिर् या प्रोच्यते सा विचारणा
The conduct that arises from association with scriptures and the wise, preceded by dispassion and practice, is called 'inquiry.'
विचारणाशुभेच्छाभ्याम् इन्द्रियार्थेष्व् अरक्तता । यत्राशातनुताभावात् प्रोच्यते तनुमानसा
Where, through inquiry and pure desire, there is lack of passion for sense objects, and due to absence of longing, it is called 'attenuation of mind.'
भूमिकात्रितयाभ्यासाच् चित्ते ऽर्थविरतेर् वशात् । सत्त्वात्मनि स्थिते शुद्धे सत्त्वापत्तिर् उदाहृता
Through practice of these three stages, and by the power of detachment from objects in the mind, when one abides in the pure essence of being, it is called 'establishment in purity.'
दशाचतुष्टयाभ्यासाद् असंसङ्गफलेन वै । रूढसत्त्वचमत्कारा प्रोक्तासंसक्तिनामिका
Through the practice of the fourteenfold discipline, with the result of non-attachment, arises the wondrous steadfastness of pure being, known as the state of non-attachment.
भूमिकापाञ्चकाभ्यासात् स्वात्मारामतया दृढम् । आभ्यन्तराणां बाह्यानां पदार्थानाम् अभावनात्
By the practice of the five stages, with firm delight in one's own Self, and by not conceiving of inner or outer objects, this is attained.
परप्रयुक्तेन चिरं प्रयत्नेनार्थबोधनात् । पदार्थाभावनानाम्नी षष्ठी सञ्जायते गतिः
And through long and diligent effort, prompted by another, in understanding the meaning of things, the sixth state called 'non-conception of objects' arises.
भूमिषट्कचिराभ्यासाद् भेदस्यानुपलम्भतः । यत् स्वभावैकनिष्ठत्वं सा ज्ञेया तुर्यगा गतिः
By long practice of the sixfold stage, and by not perceiving any division, that establishment in one's own true nature is to be known as the state called 'the fourth'.
एषा हि जीवन्मुक्तेषु तुर्यावस्थेह विद्यते । विदेहमुक्तविषयं तुर्यातीतम् अतः परम्
Indeed, this is the fourth state among those liberated while living; beyond this is the 'beyond the fourth', pertaining to those liberated after the body.
ये हि नाम महाभागास् सप्तमीं भूमिकाम् इताः । आत्मारामा महात्मानस् ते महत् पदम् आगताः
Those truly blessed ones who have reached the seventh stage, delighting in the Self and great of soul, have attained the supreme state.
जीवन्मुक्ता न मज्जन्ति सुखदुःखरसस्थितौ । प्राकृतेनार्यकार्येण किंचित् कुर्वन्ति वा न वा
The liberated while living do not sink into the taste of pleasure or pain; by natural or noble action, they may act or not act at all.
पार्श्वस्था बोधितास् सन्तस् सर्वाचारे क्रमागतम् । आचारम् आचरन्त्य् एव सुप्तबुद्धवद् अक्षताः
Those wise ones, when instructed by those nearby, perform all conduct in due order, remaining unshaken, like one awake in sleep.
आत्मारामतया तांस् तास् सुखयन्ति न काश्चन । जगत्क्रियास् सुसंसुप्तान् रूपालोकश्रियो यथा
Those who delight in the Self do not find any pleasure in worldly activities, just as one who is deeply asleep does not enjoy the splendors of forms and sights.
भूमिकासप्तकं त्व् एतद् धीमताम् एव गोचरम् । न पशुस्थावरादीनां न च म्लेच्छादिचेतसाम्
This sevenfold stage is accessible only to the wise; it is not for animals, immobile beings, or those whose minds are like barbarians.
प्राप्ता ज्ञानदशाम् एतां पशुम्लेच्छादयो ऽपि ये । सदेहा वाप्य् अदेहा वा ते मुक्ता नात्र संशयः
Even those among animals or barbarians who attain this state of knowledge, whether embodied or disembodied, are liberated—there is no doubt about this.
ज्ञप्तिर् हि ग्रन्थिविच्छेदस् तस्मिन् सति विमुक्तता । मृगतृष्णाम्बुबुद्ध्यादिशान्तिमात्रात्मकस् त्व् असौ
For knowledge is the severing of bondage; when that is present, there is liberation, which consists solely in the cessation of illusions like the mirage of water.
ये तु मोहाद् घनात् तीर्णा न प्राप्ताः पावनं पदम् । ते स्थिता भूमिकास्व् आसु स्वात्मलाभपरायणाः
But those who, though freed from dense delusion, have not reached the pure state, remain established in these stages, intent on realizing their own Self.
सर्वभूमिगताः केचित् केचिद् आन्तैकभूमिकाः । भूमित्रयगताः केचित् केचित् पञ्चमभूगताः
Some dwell in all the stages, some in only the innermost stage; some abide in three stages, and some in the fifth stage.
भूमिषट्कगताः केचित् केचित् सार्धैकभूमिकाः । भूचतुष्टयगाः केचित् केचिद् भूमिद्वये स्थिताः
Some are established in six stages, some in one and a half stages; some dwell in four stages, and some remain in two stages.
भूम्यंशभाजनाः केचित् केचित् सार्धत्रिभूमिकाः । केचित् सार्धचतुर्भूकास् सार्धषड्भूमिकाः परे
Some are partakers of portions of stages, some in three and a half stages; some in four and a half stages, and others in six and a half stages.
विवेकिनो नरा लोके चरन्त इति भूमिषु । गृहायतनतापस्य दशावेशेषु संस्थिताः
Discerning people in this world move about established in various states—of householder, hermit, or ascetic.
ते हि धीरास् सुराजानो दशास्व् आसु जयन्ति ते । तृणायते तु दिग्दन्तिघटाभटपराजयः
Indeed, those wise ones, noble rulers among men, prevail in these states; for them, defeat by armies of war-elephants is as insignificant as grass.
एतासु भूमिषु जयन्ति हि ये महान्तो वन्द्यास् त एव हि जितेन्द्रियशात्रवास् ते । सम्राड् विराड् अपि च यत्र तृणायते तत् स्फारं पदं झगिति ते समवाप्नुवन्ति
Those great ones who conquer in these states alone are worthy of reverence; they have subdued the enemy of the senses. Even the status of emperor or universal monarch appears trivial to them, and they swiftly attain that supreme state.
ऊर्मिकासंविदा हेम यथा विस्मृत्य हेमताम् । विरौति नाहं हेमेति वृथात्माहन्तया तथा
Just as a golden ornament, forgetting its nature as gold, does not cry out 'I am gold' out of vain self-assertion, so it is with the sense of self.
ऊर्मिकासंविदुदयः कथं हेम्नो महामुने । अहम्भावात्मक इति यथावद् ब्रूहि मे प्रभो
How does the awareness of being an ornament arise from gold, O great sage? Tell me precisely, master, how this sense of 'I' comes to be.
सत एवागमापायौ प्रष्टव्यौ नासतस् सदा । अहन्त्वम् ऊर्मिकात्वं च सती तु न कदाचन
Only what truly exists can have coming and going; never does the unreal have existence. The sense of 'I' and the state of being an ornament are never truly real.
हेम देह्य् ऊर्मिकात्वं त्वं गृहाणेत्य् उदिते यदि । तद् दीयते सोर्मिकेण तत् तद् अस्ति न संशयः
If, when told 'O gold, become an ornament,' it is made into one, then it certainly exists as an ornament—of this there is no doubt.
एवं चेत् तत् प्रभो ऽत्र स्याद् ऊर्मिकात्वं तु कीदृशम् । अनयैवार्थविच्छित्त्या ज्ञास्यामि ब्रह्मणो वपुः
If this is so, master, then what is the nature of becoming an ornament? By discerning this very matter, I shall come to know the true form of Brahman.
रूपं राघव नीरूपम् असतश् चेन् निरूप्यते । तद् वन्ध्यातनयाकारगुणान् मे त्वम् उदाहर
O Raghava, if form is ascribed to the formless unreal, then you may as well describe to me the qualities and actions of the son of a barren woman.
ऊर्मिकात्वं मुधा भ्रान्तिर् मायेवासत्स्वरूपिणी । रूपं तद् एतद् एवास्याः प्रेक्षिता यन् न दृश्यते
The notion of a wave is a mistaken illusion, just as the unreal appears as if it has a form; this is the very nature of illusion—what is seen is not truly perceived.
मृगतृष्णाम्भसि द्वीन्दाव् अहन्तारुचकादिषु । एतावद् एव रूपं यत् प्रेक्ष्यमाणं न लक्ष्यते
In the water of a mirage, in two moons, in the glow of ego and similar things, the form is only so much as what, when observed, cannot be grasped.