दृश्यं चेत् सम्भवत्य् आदौ पश्चात् क्षयम् उपागतम् । तद् दृश्यस्मरणानर्थरूपो बन्धो न शाम्यति
If the object first arises and later perishes, then due to the memory of the object, the bondage, which is of the nature of useless recollection, does not cease.
यत्र क्वचन संस्थस्य स्वादर्शस्येव चिद्गतेः । प्रतिबिम्बो लगत्य् एव सर्गस्मृतिमयो ह्य् अयम्
Wherever the mind is established, like its own reflection in a mirror, a reflection arises; this is indeed the memory of creation.
आदाव् एव हि नोत्पन्नं दृश्यं नास्त्य् एव चेत् स्वयम् । द्रष्टृदृश्यभ्रमाभावात् तत् सम्भवति मुक्तता
In the beginning, indeed, the perceived world does not arise; if it does not exist by itself, then, due to the absence of the illusion of seer and seen, liberation is attained.
तस्माद् असम्भवन्मुक्तेर् मम प्रोत्सार्य युक्तितः । अत्यन्तासम्भवं दृश्ये कथयात्मविदां वर
Therefore, O best among knowers of the Self, dispel for me, through reasoning, the notion of impossible liberation, and speak of the utter impossibility of the perceived world.
असद् एव यथा भाति जगत्सर्गात्मकं तथा । शृण्व् अहं कथया राम दीर्घया कथयामि ते
Just as the world, consisting of creation, appears though it is unreal, so too, O Rama, listen as I explain this to you at length.
व्यवसायकथावाक्यैर् यावत् तन् नानुवर्णितम् । न विश्राम्यति ते तावद् धृदि पांसुर् यथा ह्रदे
Until this is fully described by words of decisive teaching, the dust in your heart will not settle, just as silt does not settle in a lake.
अत्यन्ताभावम् अस्यास् त्वं जगत्सर्गभ्रमस्थितेः । बुद्ध्वैकध्याननिष्ठात्मा व्यवहारं करिष्यसि
When you realize the absolute nonexistence of this illusion of world-creation, you will act in the world established in the one-pointedness of meditation.
भावाभावग्रहोत्सर्गस्थूलसूक्ष्मचलाचलाः । दृशस् त्वा वेधयिष्यन्ति न महाद्रिम् इवेषवः
The appearances of existence and nonexistence, grasping and letting go, gross and subtle, moving and unmoving, will strike at you, but will not pierce you, like arrows cannot pierce a great mountain.
स एषो ऽस्त्य् एक एवात्मा न द्वितीयास्ति कल्पना । जगद् अत्र यथोत्पन्नं तत् ते वक्ष्यामि राघव
There is indeed only this one Self; there is no second, even as a notion. I will explain to you, O Raghava, how this world appears here.
तस्माद् इमानि सकलानि विजृम्भितानि यो हीदम् अङ्ग सकले सकलं महात्मा । रूपावलोकनमनोमननप्रकाशकोशास्पदं स्वयम् उदेति च लीयते च
Therefore, O dear one, that great Self alone manifests all these things; being the abode of the light of perception, thought, and mind, it itself arises and subsides in all forms.
एतस्मात् परमाच् छान्तात् पदात् परमपावनात् । यथेदम् उत्थितं विश्वं तच् छृणूत्तमया धिया
From that supreme, tranquil, and most pure state, listen with your highest understanding to how this universe has arisen.
सुषुप्तं स्वप्नवद् भाति भाति ब्रह्मैव सर्गवत् । सर्वम् एकं च तच् छान्तं तत्र तावत् क्रमं शृणु
Just as deep sleep appears like a dream, so too does only Brahman shine forth as creation; all is one and peaceful—now hear the sequence therein.
तस्यानन्तप्रकाशात्मरूपस्याततचिन्मणेः । सत्तामात्रात्म कचनं यद् अजस्रं स्वभावतः
Of that infinite, self-luminous essence, that jewel of pure consciousness, there is, by its very nature, a mere existence that is continuous.
तद् आत्मनि स्वयं किञ्चिच् चेत्यताम् इव गच्छति । अगृहीतार्थकं संविदीहामर्शनसूचकम्
In that Self, something seems to become an object of awareness, though no object is grasped; it is a sign of the stir of consciousness, an indication of subtle cognition.
भाविनामार्थकलनैः किञ्चिदूहितरूपकम् । आकाशाद् अणु शुद्धं च सर्वस्मिन् भाविबोधनम्
Through the imagined formations of future objects, it takes on a slight conceptual form; subtler than space, pure, and the revealer of all that will be.
ततस् सा परमा सत्ता सतीतश् चेतनोन्मुखी । चिन्नामयोग्या भवति किञ्चिल्लभ्यतया तया
From that, the supreme existence, transcending being, turns toward consciousness; by that, it becomes fit for awareness, as it becomes slightly accessible.
घनसंवेदनात् पश्चाद् भाविजीवादिनामिका । सा भवत्य् आत्मकलना यदा यान्ती परात् पदात्
Then, through dense awareness, it receives the name of the future individual soul and others; this is the Self’s own conception, as it descends from the supreme state.
स्वतैकभावनामात्रसारा संसरणोन्मुखी । तदा वस्तुस्वभावेन तन्वस् तिष्ठन्ति ताम् इमाः
When it is poised only in the notion of its own singular being, ready for manifestation, then, by the very nature of reality, these subtle bodies abide in it.
समनन्तरम् एतस्याः खसत्तोदेति शून्यता । शब्दादिगुणबीजं सा भविष्यदभिधार्थदा
Immediately after this, the emptiness of space arises; it is the seed of qualities such as sound, and will give rise to future objects of expression.
अहन्तोदेति तदनु सह वै कालसत्तया । भविष्यदभिधार्थे ते बीजं मुख्यं जगत्स्थितेः
Then, the sense of 'I' emerges, together with the existence of time; these are the primary seeds for the sustenance of the world and its future objects of expression.
तस्याश् शक्तेः परायास् तु स्वसंवेदनमात्रकम् । एतज् जालम् असद्रूपं सद् इवोदेति विस्फुरत्
The supreme power of that, consisting only of self-awareness, manifests as this network, which is unreal in nature but appears as if real, shining forth.
एवम्प्रायात्मिका सा चिद् बीजं सङ्कल्पशाखिनः । तत्राप्य् अहङ्कारकरस् स तत्स्पन्दतया मरुत्
Thus, that consciousness, which is of this kind, is the seed of the tree of intention; and there, the essence of ego acts as the wind by its vibration.
चिद् अहन्तावती व्योमशब्दतन्मात्रभावनात् । स्वतो घनीभूय शनैः खतन्मात्रं भवत्य् अलम्
Consciousness, endowed with ego, through the contemplation of the subtle element of sound in space, gradually becomes dense by itself and sufficiently forms the subtle element of space.
भाविनामार्थरूपं तद् बीजं शब्दौघशाखिनः । पदवाक्यप्रमाणाढ्यवेदवृन्दविकारि तत्
That which is destined to become objects is the seed of the tree of the multitude of sounds; it transforms through the abundance of words, sentences, measures, and groups of Vedas.
तस्माद् उदेष्यत्य् अखिला जगच्छ्रीश् शब्दरूपिणः । शब्दौघनिर्मितार्थौघपरिणामविसारिणी
From that, the entire glory of the world, in the form of sound, will arise; it spreads through the transformation of the multitude of objects created by the multitude of sounds.
चिद् एवम्परिवारा सा जीवशब्देन कथ्यते । भाविशब्दार्थजालेन बीजं भूतौघशाखिनः
That consciousness, together with its retinue, is referred to by the term 'jīva'; through the network of future objects of sound, it is the seed of the tree of the multitude of elements.
चतुर्दशविधं भूतजातम् आवलिताम्बरम् । जगज्जठरयन्त्रौघं प्रसरिष्यति वै ततः
The fourteenfold class of beings, enveloped in space, will then spread forth as the multitude of mechanisms within the womb of the world.
असम्प्राप्ताभिधासारा चिज् जीवत्वात् स्फुरद्वपुः । या सैव स्पर्शतन्मात्रं भावनाद् भवति क्षणात्
Consciousness, which has not yet attained the essence of name and form, shines forth as living existence; that very consciousness, through the notion of touch, becomes the subtle element of touch in an instant.
पवनस्कन्धविस्तारं बीजं स्पर्शैकशाखिनः । सर्वभूतक्रियास्पन्दस् तस्मात् सम्प्रसरिष्यति
The expansion of the wind principle is the seed of the tree whose sole branch is touch; from this, the pulse of all beings' activities will spread forth.
तत्र यश् चिद्विलासेन प्रकाशो ऽनुभवाद् भवेत् । तेजस्तन्मात्रकं तत्तद्भविष्यदभिधार्थदम्
Wherever consciousness, by its play, manifests as illumination through experience, that becomes the subtle element of fire, which gives rise to the meaning of names yet to be.