भाजनं त्वं विविक्तानां वचसां शुद्धिशालिनाम् । विविक्तहृदयो वेणुर् मुक्तानाम् इव मानद
You are the vessel for pure and distinguished words, O bestower of honor; your heart is solitary and pure, like a bamboo for the liberated.
कमलासनपुत्रेण मुनिना सुमहौजसा । एवंवितीर्णावसरो रामो वाक्यम् उवाच ह
When the occasion had thus passed, Rama spoke these words to the sage, the son of the lotus-seated one, who possessed great power and knowledge.
भगवन् सर्वधर्मज्ञ तवैवैतद् विजृम्भितम् । यद् अहं परमोदारं बुद्धवान् वचनं तव
O revered one, knower of all dharmas, it is solely through you that this has been revealed; that I have attained your supremely noble teaching.
यद् आदिशसि तत् सर्वं तथैव न तद् अन्यथा । अपास्तनिद्रेण मया वाक्यार्थो निशि चिन्तितः
Whatever you command, all that is just so, not otherwise; free from sleep, I have reflected upon the meaning of your words during the night.
भवान्धकारक्षतये भवतोर्वीविवस्वता । ह्यः प्रसारितम् आह्लादि वाग्रश्मिपटलं प्रभो
To dispel the darkness of existence, O Lord, yesterday you spread forth a delightful array of radiant speech, like the sun upon the earth.
तद् अदीनम् अदीनात्मन् सर्वम् अन्तःकृतं मया । रम्यं पुण्यं विचित्रं च रत्नवृन्दम् इवाब्धिना
All that, O undepressed one of undepressed spirit, has been taken to heart by me—charming, virtuous, and wondrous, like a collection of gems from the ocean.
हितानुबन्धि हृद्यं च पुण्यम् आनन्दसाधनम् । शिरसा ध्रियते कैर् नो सिद्ध्यै त्वदनुशासनम्
Who would not, for success, bear your instruction upon their head—beneficial, pleasing, virtuous, and a source of bliss?
प्रक्षीयमाणसंसारनीहारावरणा वयम् । प्रसन्नास् त्वत्प्रसादेन वर्षान्त इव वासराः
We, whose veil of worldly delusion is being dissolved, are serene by your grace, like days at the end of the rainy season.
आपातमधुरारम्भं मध्ये सौभाग्यवर्धनम् । अनुत्तमफलोदर्कं पुण्यं त्वदनुशासनम्
Your instruction is virtuous—sweet at the outset, increasing good fortune in the middle, and yielding the highest fruit in the end.
विकासि सितम् अम्लानम् आह्लादि मुदिताशयम् । त्वद्वचःकुसुमं नित्यं श्रीमत्फलदम् अस्तु नः
May your words, ever blossoming, white, unfading, delightful, and gladdening the heart, always bestow upon us splendid fruit.
सकलशाश्वतशास्त्रविशारद प्रसृतपुण्यजलैकमहाह्रद । भज भृशं विततव्रत सम्प्रति प्रसृततां हतकिल्बिष मां प्रति
O master of all eternal scriptures, great lake of ever-flowing waters of virtue, steadfast in manifold vows—now let your favor, free from all sin, be extended to me.
इदम् उत्तमसिद्धान्तसुन्दरं सुन्दराकृते । उपशान्तिप्रकरणं शृणुष्वावहितो हितम्
Listen attentively, O beautiful one, to this excellent and delightful section on tranquility, which is beneficial and well established in the highest doctrine.
दीर्घसंसारमायेयं राम राजसतामसैः । धार्यते पुरुषैर् नित्यं सुस्तम्भैर् इव मण्डपः
O Rāma, this long-standing illusion of worldly existence is sustained by people of rajas and tamas, just as a pavilion is held up by sturdy pillars.
सत्त्वस्थजातिभिर् वीरैस् त्वादृशैर् गुणबृंहितैः । हेलया त्यज्यते पक्वा मायेयं त्वग् इवोरगैः
But this matured illusion is easily cast off by heroic ones established in sattva, like you, who are endowed with virtues—just as a snake sheds its old skin.
ये सत्त्वजातयः प्राज्ञास् तथा राजससात्त्विकाः । विचारयन्ति ते साधो जगत् पूर्वापरं परम्
Those wise ones who are of sattvic nature, or a blend of rajas and sattva, O noble one, thoroughly examine the world—its past, future, and highest truth.
शास्त्रसज्जनसत्कारसङ्गेनापगतैनसाम् । सारावलोकिनी बुद्धिर् जायते दीपिकोपमा
Through association with scriptures, good people, and noble company, and by being free from sin, the discerning intellect arises, shining like a lamp.
स्वयम् एव विचारेण विचार्यात्मानम् आत्मना । यावन् नाधिगतं ज्ञेयं न तावद् अधिगम्यते
By self-inquiry alone, one must examine oneself with one's own mind; until the knowable is attained, it is not truly realized.
प्रज्ञावतां नयवतां धीराणां कुलशालिनाम् । जात्या राजससत्त्वानां मुख्यस् त्वं कुलनन्दन
Among the wise, the prudent, the steadfast, and those of noble lineage, you, O delight of your family, are foremost among those born of rajas and sattva.
स्वयम् आलोकय प्राज्ञ संसारारम्भदृष्टिषु । किं सत्यं किम् असत्यं वा भव सत्यपरायणः
See for yourself, O wise one, in the origins of worldly existence: what is true and what is untrue—be devoted to truth.
आदाव् अन्ते च यन् नास्ति कीदृशी तस्य सत्यता । आदाव् अन्ते च यन् नित्यं तत् सत्यं राम नेतरत्
That which does not exist in the beginning and at the end—how can that be considered real? That which is eternal at the beginning and at the end, O Rama, that alone is true, not anything else.
आद्यन्तासन्मये यस्य वस्तुन्य् आरज्यते मनः । तस्य मुग्धपशोर् जन्तोर् विवेकः केन जन्यते
If someone's mind becomes attached to an object that is unreal at its beginning and end, how can discernment arise in that deluded, ignorant being?
जायते मन एवेह मन एवेह वर्धते । सम्यग्दर्शनदृष्ट्या तु मन एव विलीयते
Here, the mind alone is born, and the mind alone grows; but through the vision of true understanding, the mind itself is dissolved.
ज्ञातम् एतन् मया ब्रह्मन् यथास्मिन् भुवनत्रये । मन एव हि संसारि जरामरणभाजनम्
This has been known by me, O Brahman, that in these three worlds, the mind alone is the transmigrator, the vessel of old age and death.
यस् तस्योत्तरणोपायस् तं मे ब्रूहि विनिश्चितम् । हार्दं तमस् त्वयार्केण राघवाणां विनाश्यते
Tell me with certainty the means for crossing over that. The inner darkness of the Raghavas is destroyed by your sun-like light.
पूर्वं राघव शास्त्रेण वैराग्येण वरेण च । तथा सज्जनसङ्गेन नीयते पुण्यतां मनः
First, O Raghava, by scripture, by the supreme virtue of dispassion, and by association with the good, the mind is led toward purity.
सौजन्यबृंहितं चेतो यदा वैराग्यम् आगतम् । तदानुगम्या गुरवो विज्ञानगुरवो हि ये
When the mind, strengthened by nobility, attains dispassion, then one should follow those teachers who are truly teachers of knowledge.
ततस् तदुपदिष्टेन कृत्वा ध्यानार्चनादिकम् । क्रमेण पदम् आप्नोति तद् यत् परमपावनम्
Then, by what has been taught by them, practicing meditation, worship, and the like, one gradually attains that state which is supremely pure.
विचारेणावदातेन पश्यत्य् आत्मानम् आत्मना । इन्दुना शीतलेनान्तर् बिम्बं स्वम् इव तेजसा
By pure inquiry, the self perceives itself with its own awareness, just as the cool moon sees its own reflection within by its own radiance.
तावद् भवमहाम्भोधौ जनस् तृणवद् उह्यते । विचारतटविश्रान्तिम् एति यावन् न चेतसा
As long as the mind does not rest in the forest of inquiry, people are tossed about in the vast ocean of existence like blades of grass.
विचारेण परिज्ञातवस्तुनो ऽस्य जनस्य धीः । सर्वान् अधः करोत्य् आधीन् सोम्याम्भ इव वालुकाः
When the nature of things is understood through inquiry, the intellect of a person brings everything under its control, like gentle water subdues sand.