नानाकर्तृतया नानाशक्तिता पुरुषे यथा । तथैवात्मनि सर्वज्ञे सर्वदा सर्वशक्तिता
Just as in a person there is manifold agency and various powers, so too in the all-knowing Self there is always all power.
विचित्रवर्णता यद्वद् दृश्यते कठिनातपे । विचित्रशक्तिता तद्वद् देवेशे सदसन्मयी
Just as manifold colors appear in the harsh sunlight, so too manifold powers, consisting of existence and non-existence, appear in the Lord of gods.
विचित्ररूपोदेतीयम् अविचित्रात् स्थितिश् शिवात् । एकवर्णात् पयोवाहाच् छक्रचापलता यथा
This manifold form arises from the unchanging Shiva; just as the play of lightning comes from a single color in the rain-bearing cloud.
अजडाज् जडतोदेति जाड्यभावनहेतुका । ऊर्णनाभाद् यथा तन्तुर् यथा पुंसस् सुषुप्तता
From the non-dull arises dullness, caused by the notion of dullness; just as a thread comes from the spider, or as deep sleep arises in a person.
अचित्तश् चैतसीं शक्तिं स्वबन्धायेच्छया शिवः । तनोति तान्तवं कोशं कोशकारक्रिमिर् यथा
The mindless Shiva, by his own will, extends the power of consciousness for his own bondage, just as the silkworm spins its cocoon.
स्वेच्छयात्मात्मनो ब्रह्मन् भावयित्वा स्वकं वपुः । संसारान् मोक्षम् आयाति स्वालानाद् इव वारणः
By his own will, O Brahman, the Self, having conceived his own form, attains liberation from samsara, just as an elephant frees itself from its bonds.
यद् एव भावयत्य् आत्मा सततं भावितस् स्वयम् । तयैवापूर्यते शक्त्या शीघ्रम् एव महान् अपि
Whatever the Self constantly contemplates, having contemplated it himself, he is quickly filled with that very power, even if he is great.
भाविता शक्तिर् आत्मानम् आत्मतां नयति क्षणात् । अनन्तम् अपि खं प्रावृण्मिहिका महती यथा
The power that has been contemplated leads the Self to selfhood in an instant, just as a great mist covers even the infinite sky.
या शक्तिर् उदिता शीघ्रं याति तन्मयताम् अजः । याम् एव तु स्थितिं यातस् तन्मयो भवति द्रुमः
Whatever power arises, the unborn one quickly becomes identified with it; and whatever state it attains, the tree becomes of that very nature.
न मोक्षो मोक्ष ईशस्य न बन्धो बन्ध आत्मनः । बन्धमोक्षदृशौ लोके न जाने प्रोत्थिते कुतः
There is no liberation as liberation for the Lord, nor bondage as bondage for the Self; in the world, I do not know whence the notions of bondage and liberation have arisen.
नास्य बन्धो न मोक्सो ऽस्ति तन्मयश् चैव लक्ष्यते । ग्रस्तं नित्यम् असत्येन मायामयम् अहो जगत्
For him, there is neither bondage nor liberation, yet he appears as identified with them; alas, the world is always seized by unreality, being made of illusion.
यदैव चित्तं कलितम् अकलेन किलात्मना । कोशकीटवद् आत्मायम् अनेनावलितस् तदा
When the mind is shaped by the unconditioned Self, then the Self is enveloped by it, just as a cocoon encloses the silkworm.
अनन्यरूपास् त्व् अन्यत्वविकल्पितशरीरकाः । मनश्शक्तय एतस्माद् इमा निर्यान्ति कोटिशः
These powers of the mind, which assume various forms and bodies through the notion of otherness, emerge from it by the millions.
तत्स्थास् तज्जाः पृथग्रूपास् समुद्राद् इव वीचयः । तत्स्थास् तज्जाः पृथक्स्थाश् च चन्द्राद् इव मरीचयः
Those abiding in that, born from that, and of distinct forms, are like waves from the ocean; those abiding in that, born from that, and remaining separate, are like rays from the moon.
अस्मिन् स्पन्दमये स्फारे परमात्ममहाम्बुधौ । चिज्जले वितताभोगे चिन्मात्ररसशालिनि
In this vast, vibrant ocean of the supreme Self, filled with the waves of consciousness and the pure essence of awareness,
काश्चित् स्थिता हरिब्रह्मरुद्रचिद्वलनाधिकाः । लहर्यः प्रस्फुरन्त्य् एतास् स्वभावोद्भावितात्मिकाः
Some waves, endowed with the brilliance of Hari, Brahma, and Rudra, arise and shimmer, manifesting from their own inherent nature.
काश्चिद् यममहेन्द्रार्कवह्निवैश्रवणादिकाः । घ्नन्ति कुर्वन्ति तिष्ठन्ति लहर्यश् चपलैषणाः
Some, associated with Yama, Mahendra, the Sun, Fire, and Kubera, are restless waves that destroy, create, and remain, driven by fickle desires.
काश्चित् किन्नरगन्धर्वविद्याधरसुरादिकाः । उत्पतन्ति पतन्त्य् उग्रा लहर्यः परिवल्गिताः
Some, linked to Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, and gods, are fierce, whirling waves that rise and fall.
काश्चित् किञ्चित्स्थिताकारा यथा कमलजादिकाः । काश्चिद् उत्पन्नविध्वस्ता यथा सुरनरादिकाः
Some have a somewhat stable form, like those born from the lotus (Brahma) and others; some arise and are destroyed, like gods, humans, and the rest.
क्रिमिकीटपतङ्गादिगोनासाजगरादिकाः । काश्चित् तस्मिन् महाम्भोधौ स्फुरन्त्य् एतेषु बिन्दुवत्
Some, such as worms, insects, moths, cattle, jackals, and the like, appear in that great ocean, flickering like droplets among its waves.
काश्चिच् चलाननमृगगृध्रवञ्जुलकादयः । स्फुरन्ति गिरिकुञ्जेषु वेलावनतटेष्व् इव
Others, such as restless-faced deer, vultures, and monkeys, manifest in the mountain groves, as if on the shores bent by the waves.
सुदीर्घजीविताः काश्चित् काश्चिद् अत्यल्पजीविताः । स्वतुच्छभावनात् तुच्छात् काश्चित् तुच्छशरीरिकाः
Some have very long lives, some have exceedingly brief lives; due to their own empty notions, some are possessed of insignificant bodies arising from insignificance.
संसारस्वप्नसंरम्भे काश्चित् स्थैर्येण भाविताः । स्वविकल्पहताः काश्चिच् छङ्कन्ते सुस्थिरं जगत्
In the tumult of the dream of worldly existence, some are established with steadiness; some, struck by their own imaginations, doubt that the world is truly stable.
अल्पाल्पभावनाः काश्चिद् दैन्यदोषवशीकृताः । कृशो ऽतिदुःखी मूढो ऽहम् इति दुःखैर् दृढीकृताः
Some, with meager and petty thoughts, are subdued by the faults of misery; thinking 'I am thin, extremely unhappy, and deluded,' they are made firm in their suffering.
काश्चित् स्थावरतां याताः काश्चिद् देवत्वम् आगताः । काश्चित् पुरुषतां प्राप्ताः काश्चिद् दानवतां गताः
Some have attained the state of immovable beings, some have come to divinity; some have achieved humanity, and some have reached the condition of demons.
काश्चित् स्थिता जगति कल्पशतान्य् अनल्पाः काश्चिद् व्रजन्ति परमं पुरुषं सुशुद्धाः । ब्रह्मार्णवात् समुदिता लहरीविलोलाश् चित्संविदो हि मननापरनामवत्यः
Some remain in the world for countless aeons, while others, pure, proceed to the Supreme Person; arisen from the ocean of Brahman, they are waves of consciousness, ever-shifting, known as those intent on contemplation.
मिथ्याभावनया ब्रह्मन् स्वविकल्पकलङ्किताः । न ब्रह्म वयम् इत्य् अन्तर्निश्चयेन ह्य् अधोगताः
Through false imagination, O Brahman, stained by their own mental constructs, with the inner conviction 'We are not Brahman,' they descend downward.
ब्रह्मणो व्यतिरिक्तत्वं ब्रह्मार्णवगता अपि । भावयन्त्यो विमुह्यन्ति भीमासु भवभूमिषु
Even those who contemplate the existence of something apart from Brahman, though immersed in the ocean of Brahman, become deluded amidst the terrifying realms of worldly existence.
या एतास् संविदो ब्राह्म्यो मुने नैककलङ्किताः । एतत् तत् कर्मणां बीजम् अथ कर्मैव विद्धि वा
O sage, these pure Brahman-consciousnesses, untainted in many ways, are the very seed of actions; or know that action itself is this.
सङ्कल्परूपयैवान्तर् मुने कलनयैतया । कर्मजालकरञ्जानां बीजमुष्ट्या करालया
By this inner process of imagination alone, O sage, the seed-fist of actions, which forms the dense thicket of karma, is made firm.