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?
गन्धर्वनगरस्यार्धे भूषिते दूषिते ऽथ वा । अविद्यांशे सुतादौ वा कः क्रमस् सुखदुःखयोः
Whether a city of the Gandharvas is adorned or defiled, or whether ignorance affects children and others, what is the sequence of happiness and sorrow in these?
प्राप्ते धने ऽथ दारादौ हर्षस्यावसरो हि कः । वृद्धायां मृगतृष्णायां किम् आनन्दो जलार्थिनः
When wealth or spouse is gained, what occasion is there for joy? What happiness does a thirsty person find in a mirage that has grown larger?
धनदारेषु वृद्धेषु दुःखं युक्तं न तुष्टता । वृद्धायां मोहमायायां कस् समाश्वासवान् इह
When wealth and spouse have increased, sorrow is appropriate, not satisfaction. When delusion and illusion have grown, who here finds reassurance?
यैर् एव जायते रागो मूर्खस्याधिकतां गतैः । तैर् एव भोगैः प्राज्ञस्य विराग उपजायते
The very enjoyments that give rise to attachment in the foolish, when pursued excessively, are the same enjoyments by which the wise develop detachment.
अपारदर्शिनो मूढा भोगैर् आयान्ति तुष्टताम् । पारावलोकिनस् त्व् एतैर् विरागं यान्ति साधवः
Those who do not see the other shore, the deluded, attain satisfaction through enjoyments; but those who perceive the far shore, the virtuous, attain detachment through these same enjoyments.
अतो राघव तत्त्वज्ञो व्यवहारेषु संसृतेः । नष्टं नष्टम् उपेक्षस्व प्राप्तं प्राप्तम् उपाहर
Therefore, Raghava, knowing the truth, in worldly dealings, disregard what is lost as lost, and accept what is gained as gained.
अनागतानां भोगानाम् अवाञ्छनम् अकृत्रिमम् । आगतानां च सम्भोग इति पण्डितलक्षणम्
The mark of the wise is genuine indifference toward pleasures not yet arrived, and enjoyment of those that have come.
संसारसम्भ्रमे ह्य् अस्मिंश् छन्नात्मन्य् आततायिनि । तथा विहर सम्बुद्धो यथा नायासि मूढताम्
In this turmoil of worldly existence, where the true self is concealed and hostile, live with awakened understanding so that you do not fall into delusion.
संसाराडम्बरस्यास्य प्रपञ्चरचिते क्रमे । सम्यक् समं न पश्यन्ति ये हतास् ते कुबुद्धयः
In this display of worldly grandeur, constructed by the process of manifestation, those whose insight is destroyed do not see rightly or evenly; they are of misguided intellect.
यया कयाचिद् युक्त्येह यस्य दृश्यगतारतिः । परिमज्जति तस्याच्छा न क्वचिन् निर्मला मतिः
By whatever means, here, one whose mind is attached to objects of perception and is cleansed by them, never attains pure understanding anywhere.