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.
यश् शुक्तौ रजताकारं प्रेक्षते रजतस्य सः । न सम्प्राप्नोत्य् अणुम् अपि कणं क्षीणम् अपि क्वचित्
He who sees the appearance of silver in a shell never obtains even the smallest particle of silver from it, anywhere, ever.
अपर्यालोचनेनैव सद् इवासद् विराजते । यथा शुक्तौ रजतता जलं मरुमरीचिषु
By failing to discern properly, the unreal appears as real, just as silver appears in a shell, or water in a desert mirage.
यन् नास्ति तस्य नास्तित्वं प्रेक्ष्यमाणं प्रकाशते । अप्रेक्ष्यमाणं स्फुरति मृगतृष्णास्व् इवाम्बुधीः
The nonexistence of what does not exist becomes evident when observed; when not observed, it seems to flash forth, like water in a mirage.
असद् एव च तत् कार्यकरं भवति च स्थिरम् । बालानां मरणायैव वेतालभ्रान्तिसङ्गमः
That which is unreal can indeed act as a cause and seem stable; but, like the delusion of a ghoul, it leads only to the destruction of the ignorant.
हेमतां वर्जयित्वैकां वर्तते हेम्नि नेतरत् । ऊर्मिकाकटकादित्वं तैलादि सिकतास्व् इव
Except for the quality of goldness, nothing else exists in gold; just as in oil and the like, there is only the nature of a wave or a bubble in sand.
नेहास्ति सत्यं नो मिथ्या यद् यथा प्रतिभासते । तत् तथार्थक्रियाकारि बालयक्षविकारवत्
Here, there is neither truth nor falsehood; whatever appears, acts accordingly, just as the changes seen in a child's game of dice.
सद् वा भवत्व् असद् वापि सुदृढं हृदये तु यत् । तत् तद् अर्थक्रियाकारि विषस्येवामृतक्रिया
Whether it is real or unreal, whatever is firmly held in the heart produces its effects, like poison or nectar.
परमैव हि साविद्या मायैषा संसृतिर् ह्य् असौ । असतो निष्प्रतिष्ठस्य यदाहन्त्वस्य भावनम्
This supreme ignorance is indeed māyā; it is the cycle of existence, arising from the contemplation of 'I-ness' in what is baseless and unreal.
हेम्न्य् अस्ति नोर्मिकादित्वम् अहन्ताद्य् अस्ति नात्मनि । अहन्त्वाभावतस् त्व् एवं स्वच्छे शान्ते समे परे
Gold does not possess the qualities of a worm, nor does the Self have attributes like 'I-ness'; due to the absence of 'I-ness', the supreme, clear, peaceful, and equal essence remains.
न सनातनता काचिन् न च काचिद् विरिञ्चता । न च ब्रह्माण्डता काचिन् न च काचित् सुरादिता
There is no eternal nature, nor any creator-nature; there is no cosmic egg-nature, nor any nature of gods or others.