आशामञ्जरिताकृतिं विवलितं दुःखाहिभिर् दारुणैर् भोगैः पल्लवितं जराकुसुमितं तृष्णालताभासुरम् । संसारं विषवृक्षम् आत्मनिगडं छित्त्वा विवेकासिना मुक्तस् त्वं विहरेह वारणपतिस् स्तम्भाद् इवोन्मोचितः
Having cut through the poisonous tree of worldly existence—whose form is adorned with buds of hope, shaken by the fierce serpents of suffering, blossoming with pleasures, and flowered with the blossoms of old age, shining with the creeper of craving—having broken the chains of the self with the sword of discernment, you are liberated and may roam freely, like an elephant released from its post.
उत्पत्तिः कथम् एतेषां जीवानां ब्रह्मणः पदात् । कियती कीदृशी वेति विस्तरेण वद प्रभो
How do these living beings arise from the state of Brahman? What is their extent and nature? Please explain this in detail, O Lord.
उत्पद्यन्ते यथा चित्रा ब्रह्मणो भूतजातयः । यथा नाशं प्रयान्त्य् एता यथा मुक्ता भवन्ति च
How do the various kinds of beings arise from Brahman? How do they come to destruction, and how do they attain liberation?
यथा च परिवर्धन्ते तिष्ठन्त्य् अन्तर्हिता यथा । तत् क्रमेण महाबाहो शृणु वक्ष्यामि ते ऽनघ
How do they grow, how do they remain, and how do they become hidden? Listen, O mighty-armed one, I will explain this to you step by step, O sinless one.
ब्राह्मी चिच्छक्तिर् अमला कलयन्ती यदृच्छया । सर्वशक्तिस् स्वयं चेत्यं भवत्य् आकलनात्मकम्
The pure Brahmanic power of consciousness, by its own will, creates; being the source of all powers, it is itself knowable and becomes the nature of creation.
कलना घनताम् एत्य यत् किञ्चिद् अपि सा स्वयम् । सङ्कल्पयति पश्चात् तत् तत्ताम् एति मनःपदम्
When imagination becomes dense, whatever it conceives by itself, that afterwards attains the status of reality in the realm of the mind.
मनस् सङ्कल्पमात्रेण गन्धर्वपुरवत् क्षणात् । तनोतीदम् असद् दृश्यं ब्राह्मीं दृष्टिम् इव त्यजत्
By mere intention of the mind, in an instant, like a city of the Gandharvas, this unreal appearance is produced, abandoning the divine vision.
चित्स्वरूपं परिकचच् छून्यम् एवावतिष्ठते । यत् तद् दृश्यं स्थितं तस्माद् दृश्यम् आकाशम् एव नः
What remains is the essential nature of consciousness, perfectly empty; whatever is seen as existing is, for us, only like space.
कृत्वा पद्मजसङ्कल्पं रूपं पश्यति पाद्मजम् । ततो जगत् कल्पयति स्वप्रजापतिपूर्वकम्
Having formed the intention of the lotus-born, one sees the form of the lotus-born; then, one imagines the world, beginning with one's own progenitor.
चतुर्दशविधानन्तभूतजातसघुङ्घुमम् । ज्ञप्तिर् एवम् इयं राम चित्तान् निर्मितिम् आगता
In this way, O Rama, this knowledge, accompanied by the humming of the countless fourteenfold classes of beings, has arisen as a creation of the mind.
चित्तमात्रमयी शून्या व्योममात्रशरीरिका । सङ्कल्पमात्रनगरी भ्रान्तिमात्रात्मिकासती
It is made only of mind, empty, with space alone as its body; a city made only of imagination, existing solely as delusion and unreality.
इह काश्चिन् महामोहा भूतानां जातयस् स्थिताः । काश्चिद् अभ्युदितज्ञानाः काश्चिन् मध्ये स्खलन्ति हि
Here, among beings, some lineages remain in great delusion, some have arisen to knowledge, and some indeed stumble in between.
भुवि सम्बुध्यमानानां यान्तीनाम् उपदेश्यताम् । सर्वासां भूतजातीनां या एता नरजातयः
Among all these classes of beings on earth, those human lineages who are awakening are fit to receive instruction.
बह्वाधयो दुःखमय्यस् ता हि द्वेषभयातुराः । तासां मध्यात् प्रवक्ष्यामि तावद् राजससात्त्विकीम्
There are many afflictions, full of suffering, for they are tormented by aversion and fear; among them, I will now explain the one that is of the nature of both rajas and sattva.
यत् तद् अस्त्य् अमृतं ब्रह्म सर्वव्यापि निरामयम् । चिदाभासम् अनन्ताख्यम् अनादि विगतभ्रमम्
That which is immortal, Brahman, all-pervading and free from affliction, appearing as consciousness, called the Infinite, beginningless and free from delusion—
निस्स्पन्दवपुषस् तस्य स्पन्दसत्तैकदेशतः । घनताम् एति सोम्ये ऽब्धौ चलत्वाच् चक्रताम् इव
Of that which has the form of stillness, a portion, by the presence of movement, takes on density, O gentle one, just as in the ocean, due to motion, a whirlpool is formed.
अनन्तस्यात्मतत्त्वस्य एकदेशः क उच्यते । कथं विकारिता वा स्यात् कथं चावयविक्रमः
Who can speak of a part of the infinite essence of the Self? How could there be modification, or any sequence of components, in That?
तेन जातं ततो जातम् इतीयं रचना गिराम् । शास्त्रसंव्यवहारार्थं न राम परमार्थतः
Thus, the statements 'this is born from that, and that from this' are made only for the sake of discourse and scriptural convention, O Rama, not in the ultimate sense.
विकारितावयवितादिङ्मत्तादेशितादयः । क्रमा न सम्भवन्तीशे दृश्यमानोदया अपि
Ideas such as modification, composite structure, sequence, and so on, though they appear to arise, do not truly exist in the Supreme.
तं विना कल्पनैवान्या नास्ति नापि भविष्यति । कुतस्त्यौ क्रमशब्दार्थाव् उक्तयो व्यवहारजाः
Apart from That, all else is mere imagination; it neither exists nor will exist. Therefore, the meanings of words like 'sequence' are only for conventional usage.
येहा या कल्पना यो ऽर्थो यश् शब्दो यो ऽङ्गिनां गणः । तज्जत्वात् तन्मयत्वाच् च तत् तत् तन्मयम् इष्यते
Whatever conception, object, word, or group of attributes exists here—because it arises from That and is pervaded by That, it is considered to be That alone.
तज्जस् स एव भवति वह्नेर् वह्निर् इवोत्थितः । जन्यो ऽयं जनकश् चायम् इत्य् उक्तौ भेदकल्पना
That which arises from it is itself, just as fire emerging from fire; the notions of 'produced' and 'producer' are merely imagined distinctions.
अयम् अस्मात् समुत्पन्न इतीयं या जगत्स्थितिः । आधिक्यं तत् क्रियाशक्तौ जन्यं जनकम् एव तत्
This idea that 'this has arisen from that'—this maintenance of the world—arises from the predominance of the power of activity; in truth, the produced is nothing but the producer.
इदम् अन्यद् इदं चान्यद् इति शब्दार्थविभ्रमः । उक्ताव् एव न देवो ऽस्ति प्रमिते भिन्नता यतः
The confusion of words and meanings—'this is different, that is different'—exists only in speech; in reality, there is no separation, for the divine is undivided.
तज्जयैव मनश्शक्त्या स्वतस् सञ्ज्ञा प्रवर्तते । दृढभावनया तस्या इष्टो ऽर्थः प्रतिपद्यते
By the very power of that mind alone, the sense of individuality arises; through firm conviction in that, the desired object is attained.
अग्नेश् शिखाया एकस्या द्वितीया जनिकेति या । उक्तिवैचित्र्यम् एवैतन् नोक्त्यर्थे ऽत्रास्ति सत्यता
When one speaks of a single flame of fire as having a second as its origin, it is merely a peculiarity of expression; in such statements, there is no actual truth.
न जन्यजनकाद्यास् तास् सम्भवन्त्य् उक्तयः परे । एकम् एव त्व् अनन्तं यत् किं कथं तज् जनिष्यते
Such statements as 'produced' and 'producer' do not apply to the Supreme; for that which is one and infinite, how, in what way, could it be produced?
उक्तेर् एष स्वभावो यद् उक्तैवोक्तिर् अनन्तरम् । प्रतियोगिव्यवच्छेदसङ्ख्याद्यर्थेन युज्यते
This is the nature of speech: that a statement is just a statement, and is only appropriate when referring to distinctions such as number or opposition.
ऊर्मिजालम् इवाम्भोधौ परे यः परिदृश्यते । शब्दार्थकलनाकारस् तद् ब्रह्मैव विदुर् बुधाः
Just as a network of waves appears in the ocean, so too what is perceived in the Supreme as forms of words and meanings—wise ones know that to be Brahman alone.
ब्रह्म चिद् ब्रह्म च मनो ब्रह्म ज्ञानम् अवस्तु च । ब्रह्मार्थो ब्रह्म शब्दश् च ब्रह्म दिग् ब्रह्म धातवः
Brahman is consciousness; Brahman is also the mind; Brahman is knowledge and what is called non-being; Brahman is the object, the word, the direction, and the elements.