अयं गिरिर् अयं स्थाणुर् इत्य् आडम्बरविभ्रमः । मनसो भावनादार्ढ्याद् असत् सद् इव लक्ष्यते
This mountain, this tree—such displays are mere illusions; due to the mind's strong imagination, the unreal appears as if it were real.
प्रपञ्चचतुरारम्भम् अन्तस् तुच्छम् इदं जगत् । सकामतृष्णामननं त्यक्त्वान्यद् राम भावय
This world, with its fourfold expansion, is empty within; abandon the mind's desires and thirst, and contemplate something else, O Rama.
यथा स्वप्ने महारम्भो भ्रान्तिर् एव न वस्तुसत् । दीर्घस्वप्नं तथैवेदं विद्धि चित्तोपकल्पितम्
Just as in a dream, grand undertakings are mere delusion and not reality, so too, know this long dream to be a fabrication of the mind.
दृश्यमानमहाभोगं गृह्यमाणम् अवस्तुकम् । कोशम् आशाभुजङ्गीनां संसाराडम्बरं त्यज
Abandon the display of worldly existence, which is a treasury of desires like serpents, which appears as great enjoyment but is, when grasped, without substance.
असद् एतद् इति ज्ञात्वा मात्र भावं निवेशय । अनुधावति कः प्राज्ञो विज्ञाय मृगतृष्णिकाम्
Knowing this to be unreal, establish your mind in mere awareness; who, having recognized a mirage, would pursue it, if wise?
स्वसङ्कल्पोत्थरूपाढ्यां मनोरथमयीं स्त्रियम् । यो ऽनुगच्छति मूढात्मा दुःखस्यैव स भाजनम्
He who, being deluded, follows the woman made of wishful thinking, rich in forms arising from his own imagination, becomes only a vessel of suffering.
वस्तुन्य् असति लोको ऽयं यातु कामम् अवस्तुनि । यस् तु वस्तु परित्यज्य यात्य् अवस्तु स नश्यति
Let this world, in the absence of reality, go as it will toward the unreal; but he who abandons the real and pursues the unreal is destroyed.
मनोव्यामोह एवेदं रज्ज्वाम् अहिभयं यथा । भावनामात्रवैचित्र्याच् चिरम् आवर्तते जगत्
This is only the delusion of the mind, like fear of a snake in a rope; through the mere diversity of imagination, the world revolves for a long time.
असदभ्युदितैर् भावैर् जलान्तश्चन्द्रचञ्चलैः । वञ्च्यते बाल एवेह न तत्त्वज्ञो भवादृशः
Here, only the child is deceived by states arising from unreality, like the flickering moon in water; not the knower of truth, like you.
य इमं गुणसङ्घातं भावयन् सुखम् ईहते । प्रमार्ष्टि स जडो जाड्यं वह्नाव् अप्प्रतिबिम्बिते
He who, contemplating this mass of qualities, seeks happiness, is indeed dull; he wipes away dullness in fire that does not reflect.
असद् एवेदम् आभोगि दृश्यते दृश्यपञ्जरम् । मनोमनननिर्माणं हृदये नगरं यथा
This enjoyment is truly unreal; the cage of appearances is seen, a creation of mind and thought, like a city in the heart.
इदं चित्तेच्छयोदेति लीयते च तदिच्छया । मिथ्यैव दृश्यते स्फारं गन्धर्वनगरं यथा
This arises by the will of the mind and dissolves by that same will; it appears as a vast illusion, like a city conjured by celestial beings.
राम नष्टे जगत्य् अस्मिन् न किञ्चिद् अपि नश्यति । युक्ते ऽपि च जगत्य् अस्मिन् न किञ्चिद् अपि युज्यते
Rama, when this world is lost, nothing at all is truly lost; even when this world seems to exist, nothing is truly established.
मनःप्रकल्पिते भग्ने हृदि विस्तीर्णपत्तने । वृद्धिं वोपगते ब्रूहि किं वृद्धं कस्य किं क्षतं
When the city imagined by the mind is destroyed in the heart, which was its vast expanse, and if it is said to have grown, tell me—what has grown, for whom, and what has been harmed?
क्रीडार्थेन यथोदेति बालानां हृदि पत्तनम् । मनसा तद्वद् एवेदम् उदेत्य् अविरतं जगत्
Just as a city arises in the hearts of children for the sake of play, so too does this world arise ceaselessly in the mind.
न किञ्चित् कस्यचिन् नष्टम् इन्द्रजालजले यथा । भ्रष्टे नष्टे तथैवास्मिन् संसारे विभवोत्थिते
Nothing is lost for anyone, just as in the water of a magician’s illusion; so too, when this world, with its rise and fall, is lost or destroyed.
यद् असत् तद् असत् स्याच् चेत् तत् किं कस्य किल क्षतम् । अतो हर्षविषादाभ्यां संसारो नाम नास्पदम्
If what is unreal is indeed unreal, then what loss or harm can there be for anyone? Therefore, this so-called world is not truly a ground for joy or sorrow.
असद् एव यद् अत्यन्तं तस्मिन् किं नाम नश्यति । नाशाभावे हि दुःखस्य कः प्रसङ्गो महामते
If something is utterly unreal, what indeed can be lost in it? In the absence of loss, O wise one, how can there be any occasion for suffering?
सद् एव वा यद् अत्यन्तं तस्य किं नाम नश्यति । ब्रह्मैवेदं जगत् सर्वं सुखदुःखे किम् उत्थिते
Or if something is utterly real, what can be lost of it? This entire world is truly Brahman—what then is the cause of happiness or sorrow?
सर्वत्रासत्यभूते ऽस्मिन् प्रपञ्चैकान्तकारिणि । संसारे किम् उपादेयं प्राज्ञो यद् अभिवाञ्छतु
In this world, which is entirely unreal and brings only destruction, what is there for the wise to desire or accept in the cycle of existence?
सर्वत्र सत्यभूते ऽस्मिन् ब्रह्मतत्त्वमये ऽपि च । किं स्यात् त्रिभुवने हेयं प्राज्ञाः परिहरन्तु यत्
Even in this world, which is entirely real and filled with the essence of Brahman, what could there be in the three worlds that the wise should reject or avoid?
असत् सद् वा जगज् ज्ञस्य तेनासौ सुखदुःखयोः । अगम्य एव मूर्खस् तु तृतीयांशेन दुःखितः
Whether the world is unreal or real, for the one who knows, it is beyond pleasure and pain; but the ignorant, due to their partial understanding, suffer.
आदाव् अन्ते ऽपि यन् नास्ति वर्तमाने ऽपि सन् न तत् । यो ऽभिवाञ्छत्य् असद् राम तस्यासत्तैव शिष्यते
That which does not exist at the beginning or end, and does not truly exist in the present, if someone desires the unreal, O Rama, only its nonexistence remains for him.
आदाव् अन्ते च यत् सत्यं वर्तमाने सद् एव तत् । यस्य सर्वं सद् एव स्यात् तस्य सत्तैव शिष्यते
That which is true at the beginning and end, and truly exists in the present, for one whose everything is real, only existence remains for him.
असत्यभूतं तोयान्तश् चन्द्रव्योमलतादिकम् । बाला एवाभिवाञ्छन्ति मनोमोहाय नोत्तमाः
Children alone desire things like the moon reflected in water or sky-flowers, which are unreal; the wise do not, for such desires only delude the mind.
बालो हि वितताकारैर् वस्तुरिक्तैः प्रयोजनैः । सन्तोषम् एत्य् अनन्ताय दुःखाय न सुखाय तु
A child, seeking satisfaction from objects with various forms and purposes, attains endless sorrow, not happiness.
तस्मान् मा भव बालस् त्वं राम राजीवलोचन । अनित्यताम् इहालोक्य नित्यम् आश्रय सुस्थिरम्
Therefore, do not be childish, O Rama, lotus-eyed one; seeing impermanence here, always rely on what is stable and enduring.
असद् इदम् अखिलं मया समेतं त्व् इति विगणय्य विषादितास्तु मा ते । सद् इह हि सकलं मया समेतं त्व् इति च विलोक्य विषादितास्तु मा ते
Do not let sorrow arise in you by thinking, 'All this is unreal, and I am united with it.' Likewise, do not let sorrow arise by thinking, 'All this is real, and I am united with it.'
इत्य् उक्तवत्य् अथ मुनौ दिवसो जगाम सायन्तनाय विधये ऽस्तम् इनो जगाम । स्नातुं सभा कृतनमस्करणा जगाम श्यामाक्षये रविकरैश् च सहाजगाम
When she had spoken thus to the sage, the day passed toward evening and set for the coming of night. She went to bathe, offered salutations in the assembly, and departed along with the rays of the sun as they faded.
नष्टे धने ऽथ दारादौ शोकस्यावसरो ऽत्र कः । इन्द्रजाले क्षणाद् दृष्टे नष्टे का परिदेवना
When wealth or spouse is lost, what occasion is there for grief? If an illusion is seen for a moment and then vanishes, what is the point of lamenting?