Adhyaya 3

Verse 1

इति श्रीब्रह्माण्डे महापुराणे वायुप्रोक्ते उत्तरभागे चतुर्थ उपसंहारपादे शिवपुरवर्णनं नाम द्वितीयो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच प्रत्याहारं प्रवक्ष्यामि परस्यान्ते स्वयंभुवः / ब्रह्मणः स्थितिकाले तु क्षीणे तस्मिंस्तदा प्रभोः

Thus, in the holy Brahmāṇḍa Mahāpurāṇa, in the latter portion spoken by Vāyu, in the fourth pāda of conclusion, is the second chapter called “The Description of Śivapura.” Sūta said: I shall expound the pratyāhāra, at the supreme end of Svayambhū Brahmā, when the Lord’s time of sustaining has been spent.

Verse 2

यथेदं कुरुते व्यक्तं सुसूक्ष्मं विश्वमीश्वरः / अव्यक्तं ग्रसते व्यक्तं प्रत्याहारे च कृत्स्नशः

Just as the Lord makes this exceedingly subtle universe manifest, so too, in pratyāhāra, the unmanifest wholly engulfs the manifest.

Verse 3

पुरान्तद्व्यणुकाद्यानां संपूर्णे कल्पसंक्षये / उपस्थिते महाघोरे ह्यप्रत्यक्षे तु कस्यचित्

When the kalpa’s dissolution is complete and the most dreadful pralaya has arrived, even the dvyāṇuka and other subtle principles are absorbed; it is not manifest to anyone.

Verse 4

अन्ते द्रुमस्य संप्राप्ते पश्चिमास्य मनोस्तदा / अन्ते कलियुगे तस्मिन्क्षीणे संहार उच्यते

Then, in Manu’s ‘western’ (final) phase, when the end of the druma has arrived, and when that waning Kali Yuga reaches its close—this is called saṃhāra, the cosmic reabsorption.

Verse 5

संप्रक्षाले तदा वृ-त्ते प्रत्याहारे ह्युपस्थिते / प्रत्याहारे तदा तस्मिन्भूततन्मात्रसंक्षये

When saṃprakṣāla—the thorough cleansing—takes place and pratyāhāra arises, then in that pratyāhāra the tanmātras of the elements (bhūtas) also pass into dissolution.

Verse 6

महदादिविकारस्य विशेषान्तस्य संक्षये / स्वभावकारिते तस्मिन्प्रवृत्ते प्रतिसंचरे

When the evolutes beginning with mahat, extending to the final stage of viśeṣa (the gross), are dissolved, then pratisaṃcāra—the reverse reabsorption wrought by inherent nature—proceeds.

Verse 7

आपो ग्रसंति वै पूर्वं भूमेर्गन्धात्मकं गुमम् / आत्तगन्धा ततो भूमिः प्रलयत्वाय कल्पते

First the waters swallow the earth’s own quality of fragrance (gandha). Deprived of scent, the earth then becomes fit for pralaya, the state of dissolution.

Verse 8

प्रणष्टे गन्धतन्मात्रे तोयावस्था धरा भवेत् / आपस्तदा प्रविष्टास्तु वेगवत्यो महास्वनाः

When the subtle essence of scent perishes, the earth becomes a state of water. Then the waters enter it, swift in force and resounding mightily.

Verse 9

सर्वमापूरयित्वेदं तिष्ठन्ति विचरन्ति च / अपामपि गणो यस्तु ज्योतिःष्वालीयते रसः

Having filled this entire world, the waters both abide and move about. And their collective essence—taste (rasa)—merges into the lights.

Verse 10

नश्यन्त्यापस्तदा तत्र रसतन्मात्रसंक्षयात् / तीव्रतेजोहृतरसाज्योतिष्ट्वं प्राप्नुवन्त्युत

There, as the subtle essence of taste is exhausted, the waters perish. When fierce fire seizes away their savor, they attain the state of light.

Verse 11

ग्रस्ते च सलिले तेजः सर्वतोमुखमीक्षते / अथाग्निः सर्वतो व्याप्त आदत्ते तज्जलं तदा

When the waters are swallowed up, the fiery radiance turns its face in every direction. Then fire, spread everywhere, takes that water unto itself.

Verse 12

सर्वमापूर्यते ऽर्चिर्भिस्तदा जगदिदं शनैः / अर्चिर्भिः संतते तस्मिंस्तर्यगूर्ध्वमधस्ततः

Then, little by little, this whole world is filled with flames. In that unbroken spread of fire, they extend across, above, and below.

Verse 13

ज्योतिषो ऽपि गुणं रूपं वायुरत्ति प्रकाशकम् / प्रलीयते तदा तस्मिन्दीपार्चिरिव मारुते

Even the illuminating quality and form of light are consumed by Vāyu; then they dissolve into him, like a lamp-flame in the wind.

Verse 14

प्रनष्टे रूपतन्मात्रे हृतरूपो विभावसुः / उपशाम्यति तेजो हिवायुराधूयते महान्

When the tanmātra of form is destroyed, Vibhāvasu (Fire) is bereft of form; its heat subsides, and the great Vāyu blows mightily.

Verse 15

निरालोके तदा लोके वायुभूते च तेजसि / ततस्तु मूलमासाद्य वायुः संबन्धमात्मनः

Then the world is without light, and tejas itself becomes wind; thereafter Vāyu, reaching its root, establishes its own inner connection.

Verse 16

ऊर्ध्वञ्चाधश्च तिर्यक्च दोधवीति दिशो दश / वायोरपि गुणं स्पर्शमाकाशं ग्रसते च तत्

Upward, downward, and across, the ten directions tremble; and Ākāśa also consumes the quality of Vāyu—touch.

Verse 17

प्रशाम्यति तदा वायुः खन्तु तिष्ठत्यनावृतम् / अरूपमरसस्पर्शमगन्धं न च मूर्तिमत्

Then Vāyu grows still; but Kham (Ākāśa) remains uncovered—without form, without taste, without touch, without scent, and without corporeality.

Verse 18

सर्वमापूरयच्छब्दैः सुमहत्तत्प्रकाशते / तस्मिंल्लीने तदा शिष्टमाकाशं शब्दलक्षणम्

Filling all things with sound, the supremely great Mahatattva shines forth. When it is dissolved therein, only ākāśa remains, whose mark is sound.

Verse 19

शब्दमात्रं तदाकाशं सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति / तत्र शब्दं गुमं तस्य भूतदिर्ग्रसते पुनः

That ākāśa stands, enveloping all, as sound alone. There, its hidden sound is again swallowed by the tamasic Bhūtādi.

Verse 20

भूतेन्द्रियेषु युगपद्भूतादौ संस्थितेषु वै / अभिमानात्मको ह्येष भूतादिस्तामसः स्मृतः

When the elements and the senses are simultaneously established in Bhūtādi, this Bhūtādi—whose nature is egoic self-appropriation—is remembered as tamasic.

Verse 21

भूतादिर्ग्रसते चापि महान्वै बुद्धिलक्षणः / महानात्मा तु विज्ञेयः संकल्पो व्यवसायकः

Bhūtādi also swallows Mahān, whose mark is buddhi (intellect). That Great Self is to be known as saṅkalpa (intent) and as decisive determination.

Verse 22

बुद्धिर्मनश्च लिङ्गं च महानक्षर एव च / पर्यायवाचकैः शब्दैस्तमाहुस्तत्त्व चिन्तकाः

Buddhi, manas, liṅga, Mahān, and Akṣara—by such synonymous names the contemplators of tattva speak of That.

Verse 23

संप्रलीनेषु भूतेषु गुणसाम्ये ततो महान् / लीयन्ते गुणसाम्यं तु स्वात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते

When all beings are dissolved in pralaya and the guṇas come to equilibrium, then the Mahat too is reabsorbed; yet that equilibrium of the guṇas abides firmly in the very Self.

Verse 24

लीयन्ते सर्वभूतानां कारणानि प्रसंगमे / इत्येष संयमश्चैव तत्त्वानां कारणैः सह

The causes of all beings are likewise dissolved in due succession; this is called saṃyama—the restraint and reabsorption of the tattvas together with their causes.

Verse 25

तत्त्वप्रसंयमो ह्येष स्मृतो ह्यावर्तको द्विजाः / धर्माधर्मौं तपो ज्ञानं शुभं सत्यानृते तथा

O dvijas, this reabsorption of the tattvas is remembered as the ‘āvartaka’, the returner: dharma and adharma, tapas, jñāna, the auspicious, and likewise truth and untruth.

Verse 26

ऊर्ध्वभावो ह्यधोभावः सुखदुःखे प्रियाप्रिये / सर्वमेतत्प्रपञ्चस्थं गुणमात्रात्मकं स्मृतम्

Rising and falling, pleasure and pain, the dear and the undesired—all this belongs to the manifested world and is remembered as consisting of the guṇas alone.

Verse 27

निरिन्द्रियाणां च तदा ज्ञानिनां यच्छुभाशुभम् / प्रकृत्यां चैव तत्सर्वं पुण्यं पापं प्रतिष्ठति

Then whatever is auspicious or inauspicious for the knowers who are free of the senses—all of it, merit and sin—rests established in Prakṛti alone.

Verse 28

यात्यवस्था तु साचैव देहिनां तु निरुच्यते / जन्तूनां पापपुण्यं तु प्रकृतौ यत्प्रतिष्ठितम्

Here is declared the ‘state of passage’ of embodied beings; and the sin and merit of creatures are established in Prakṛti (primordial Nature).

Verse 29

अवस्थास्थानि तान्येव पुण्यपापानि जन्तवः / योजयन्ते पुनर्देहान्परत्वेन तथैव च

Those very merits and sins, abiding in their respective states, bind creatures again and again to bodies; and likewise bestow their fruits in the hereafter.

Verse 30

धर्माधर्मौं तु जन्तूनां गुणमात्रात्मकावुभौ / कारणैः स्वैः प्रचीयेते कायत्वेनेह जन्तुभिः

Dharma and adharma of creatures are both nothing but forms of the guṇas; by their own causes, beings here accumulate them as embodied existence.

Verse 31

सचेतनाः प्रलीयन्ते क्षेत्रज्ञाधिष्ठिता गुणाः / सर्गे च प्रतिसर्गे च संसारे चैव जन्तवः

The guṇas, endowed with awareness and upheld by the Kṣetrajña (Knower of the Field), dissolve at pralaya; yet beings revolve through creation, re-creation, and saṃsāra.

Verse 32

संयुज्यन्ते वियुज्यन्ते कारणैः संचरन्ति च / राजसी तामसी चैव सात्त्विकी चैव वृत्तयः

By causes they unite, by causes they part, and by causes they wander; such are the dispositions—rājasic, tāmasic, and sāttvic.

Verse 33

गुणमात्राः प्रवर्तन्ते पुरुषाधिष्ठता स्त्रिधा / उर्द्ध्वदेशात्मकं सत्त्वमधोभागात्मकं तमः

Only the guṇas move into activity; the sustaining power resting in Puruṣa is said to be threefold. Sattva is upward-natured, while Tamas is downward-natured.

Verse 34

तयोः प्रवर्त्तकं मध्ये इहैवावर्त्तकं रजः / इत्येवं परिवर्तन्तेत्रयश्चेतोगुणात्मकाः

Between those two, Rajas here is the instigator and the turning force. Thus the three mind-born guṇas continually revolve and change.

Verse 35

लोकेषु सर्वभूतानां तन्न कार्यं विजानता / अविद्याप्रत्ययारंभा आरभ्यन्ते हि मानवैः

In the worlds, though one may know the true nature of action for all beings, humans still begin their undertakings from notions born of avidyā—ignorance.

Verse 36

एतास्तु गतयस्तिस्रः शुभात्पापात्मिकाः स्मृताः / तमसो ऽभिभवाज्जन्तुर्याथातथ्यं न विन्दति

These three courses are remembered as ranging from the auspicious to the sinful. Overpowered by Tamas, a being does not find reality as it truly is.

Verse 37

अतत्त्वदर्शनात्सो ऽथ विविधं वध्यते ततः / प्राकृतेन च बन्धेन तथ्यावैकारिकेण च

Not seeing the tattva, he is thereafter bound in many ways—by the bond of prakṛti, and by the bond of modifications that masquerade as truth.

Verse 38

दक्षिणाभिस्ततीयेन बद्धो ऽत्यन्तं विवर्त्तते / इत्येते वै त्रयः प्रोक्ता बन्धा ह्यज्ञानहेतुकाः

Bound by the third fetter—attachment to dakṣiṇā (sacred offering)—the being turns and wanders exceedingly. These three are declared as bonds, born of ignorance alone.

Verse 39

अनित्ये नित्यसंज्ञा च दुःखे च सुखदर्शनम् / अस्वे स्वमिति च ज्ञानमशुचौ शुचिनिश्चयः

To name the impermanent as eternal, to behold happiness in sorrow; to know as “mine” what is not one’s own, and to deem the impure as pure—these are delusions.

Verse 40

येषामेते मनोदोषा ज्ञानदोषा विपर्ययात् / रागद्वेषनिवृत्तिश्च तज्ज्ञानं समुदाहृतम्

In those for whom, through inversion, arise faults of mind and faults of knowing; and when attachment and aversion cease—this is declared to be true knowledge.

Verse 41

अज्ञानं तमसो मूरं कर्मद्वयफलं रजः / कर्म जस्तु पुनर्देहो महादुःखं प्रवर्त्तते

Ignorance is the root of tamas; rajas is the twofold fruit of karma. From karma the body is born again, and great suffering is set in motion.

Verse 42

श्रोत्रजा नेत्रजा चैव त्वग्जिह्वाघ्राणजा तथा / पुनर्भवकरी दुःखात्कर्मणा जायते तृषा

Craving for sense-objects—born of ear and eye, of skin, tongue, and nose—arises from suffering through karma, and it brings about rebirth.

Verse 43

सतृष्णो ऽभिहितो बालः स्वकृतैः कर्मणः फलैः / तैलवीडकवज्जीवस्तत्रैव परिवर्त्तते

The child, said to be thirsting with craving, is bound by the fruits of deeds done by himself; like an oil-press, the living being turns round and round in that very place.

Verse 44

तस्मान्मूलमनर्थानामज्ञान मुपदिश्यते / तं शत्रुमवधार्यैकं ज्ञाने यत्नं समाचरेत्

Therefore it is taught that the root of all misfortune is ignorance; having discerned that single enemy, one should strive earnestly for true knowledge.

Verse 45

ज्ञानाद्धि त्यजते सर्वं त्यागाद्बुद्धिर्विरज्यते / वैराग्याच्छुध्यते चापि शुद्धः सत्त्वेन मुच्यते

Through knowledge one abandons all attachments; through abandonment the intellect becomes free of passion; through dispassion it is purified, and the purified one is released by the power of sattva.

Verse 46

अत ऊर्द्ध्वं प्रवक्ष्यामि रागं भूतापहारिणम् / अभिष्वङ्गाय योगः स्याद्विषयेष्ववशात्मनः

Now I shall speak of that craving which steals away living beings; for the self made helpless among sense-objects, clinging itself becomes a kind of ‘yoga’—a binding union.

Verse 47

अनिष्टमिष्टमप्रीतिप्रीतितापविषादनम् / दुःखलाभे न तापश्च सुखानुस्मरणं तथा

Toward what is unwelcome and what is welcome arise displeasure and pleasure, bringing fevered agitation and dejection; even when pain is obtained there is no burning anguish, and likewise there is the recalling of past happiness—such are the marks.

Verse 48

इत्येष वैषयो रागः संभूत्याः कारणं स्मृतः / ब्रह्मादौ स्थावरान्ते वै संसारेह्यादिभौतिके

Thus, attachment to sense-objects (vaiṣaya rāga) is remembered as the cause of arising; from Brahmā down to the immobile beings, in this primordial, material saṃsāra.

Verse 49

अज्ञानपूर्वकं तस्मादज्ञानं तु विवर्जयेत् / यस्य चार्षे न प्रमाणं शिष्टाचारं तथैव च

Therefore one should cast off ignorance that is born of ignorance—what has no authority of the ṛṣis and likewise no accord with the conduct of the righteous (śiṣṭācāra).

Verse 50

वर्णाश्रमविरुद्धो यः शिष्टशास्त्रविरोधकः / एष मार्गो हि निरये तिर्य्यग्योनौ च कारणम्

Whoever acts against varṇāśrama and opposes the śāstras upheld by the righteous—this path indeed becomes the cause of hell and of birth among the animal wombs (tiryak-yoni).

Verse 51

तिर्य्यग्यो निगतं चैव कारणं तत्त्ररुच्यते / त्रिविधो यातनास्थाने तिर्य्यग्योनौ च षड्विधे

There too the cause of entering the tiryak-yoni is declared: in the realm of torment it is threefold, and in the animal wombs it is sixfold.

Verse 52

कारणे विषये चैव प्रतिघातस्तु सर्वशः / अनैश्वर्यं तु तत्सर्वं प्रतिघातात्मकं स्मृतम्

In both cause and object there is obstruction (pratighāta) on every side; all such lack of lordship (anaiśvarya) is remembered as being of the very nature of obstruction.

Verse 53

इत्येषा तामसी वृत्तिर्भूतादीनां चतुर्विधा / सत्त्वस्थमात्रकं चित्तं यथासत्त्वं प्रदर्शनात्

Thus is declared the fourfold tamasic tendency of beings and the rest. The mind established in sattva manifests according to the measure of sattva.

Verse 54

तत्त्वानां च यथातत्त्वं दृष्ट्वा वै तत्त्वदर्शनात् / सत्त्वक्षेत्रज्ञनानात्वमेतन्नानार्थदर्शनम्

By the vision of tattva, seeing the principles as they truly are, one discerns the diversity of sattva and the kṣetrajña; this is the seeing of manifold meanings.

Verse 55

नानात्वदर्शनं ज्ञानं ज्ञानाद्वै योग उच्यते / तेन बद्धस्य वै बन्धो मोक्षो मुक्तस्य तेन च

The seeing of diversity is knowledge, and from knowledge it is called yoga. By that, the bound one has bondage, and by that the मुक्त attains mokṣa.

Verse 56

संसारे विनिवृत्ते तु मुक्तो लिङ्गेन मुच्यते / निःसंबन्धो ह्यचैतन्यः स्वात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते

When withdrawal from saṃsāra is complete, the liberated one is freed even from the liṅga (subtle body). Unconnected, as though stilled, he abides in his own Ātman alone.

Verse 57

स्वात्मन्यवस्थितश्चापि विरूपाख्येन लिख्यते / इत्येतल्लक्षणं प्रोक्तं समासाज्ज्ञान मोक्षयोः

Though abiding in his own Ātman, he is described by the name “Virūpa” (formless). Thus, in brief, the marks of knowledge and liberation have been stated.

Verse 58

स चापि त्रिविधः प्रोक्तो मोक्षो वै तत्त्वदर्शिभिः / पूर्वं वियोगो ज्ञानेन द्वितीये रागसंक्षयात्

The seers of Truth declare liberation (moksha) to be threefold: first, separation through knowledge; second, through the waning of attachment (rāga).

Verse 59

तृष्णाक्ष यात्तृतीयस्तु व्याख्यातं मोक्षकारणम् / लिङ्गाभावात्तु कैवल्यं कैवल्यात्तु निरञ्जनम्

The third cause of liberation is taught to be the extinction of craving (tṛṣṇā). When all marks of ego (liṅga) are absent, there is kaivalya; from kaivalya arises the stainless state, nirañjana.

Verse 60

निरञ्जनत्वाच्छुद्धस्तु नितान्यो नैव विद्यते / अत ऊर्द्ध्वं प्रवक्ष्यामि वैराग्यं दोषदर्शनात्

Because of stainlessness (nirañjana) he is pure; no other eternal reality is equal to him. Now I shall speak of dispassion (vairāgya) born from seeing the faults.

Verse 61

दिव्ये च मानुषे चैव विषये पञ्चलक्षणे / अप्रद्वेषो ऽनभिष्वङ्गः कर्त्तव्यो दोषदर्शनात्

In objects of experience—divine and human—marked by five traits, on seeing their defects one should be without hatred and without clinging; this is the discipline.

Verse 62

तपप्रीतिविषादानां कार्यं तु परिवर्जनम् / एवं वैराग्यमास्थाय शरीरी निर्ममो भवेत्

One should abandon tapas, delight (prīti), and dejection (viṣāda). Thus established in dispassion (vairāgya), the embodied being becomes free of possessiveness.

Verse 63

अनित्यमशिवं दुःखमिति वुद्ध्यानुचिन्त्य च / विशुद्धं कार्यकरणं सत्त्वस्यातिनिषैवया

Reflecting with discernment that all is impermanent, inauspicious, and sorrowful, by intense practice the instruments of action of sattva become purified.

Verse 64

परिपक्वकषायो हि कृत्स्नान्दोषान्प्रपश्यति / ततः प्रयाणकाले हि दोषैर्नैमित्तिकैस्तथा

One whose kashayas have ripened perceives all faults in their entirety; then, at the time of departure, he likewise perceives the incidental, circumstance-born faults.

Verse 65

ऊष्मा प्रकुपितः काये तीव्रवायुसमीरितः / स शरीरमुपाश्रित्य कृत्स्नान्दोषान्रुणद्धि वै

Heat, inflamed within the body and driven by fierce winds, taking refuge in that very frame, truly restrains all the doshas.

Verse 66

प्राणक्थानानि भिन्दन्हि छिन्दन्मर्माण्यतीत्य च / शैत्यात्प्रकुपितो वायुरूर्द्ध्वं तूत्क्रमते ततः

Breaking through the seats of prāṇa and cutting past the vital marmans, it passes beyond; stirred by cold, the vāyu then rises upward and departs.

Verse 67

स चायं सर्वभूतानां प्राणस्थानेष्ववस्थितः / समासात्संवृते ज्ञाने संचृत्तेषु च कर्मसु

And this vāyu abides in the seats of prāṇa within all beings; when, swiftly, knowledge becomes veiled and actions (karma) draw inward.

Verse 68

स जीवो नाभ्यधिष्ठानः कर्मभिः स्वैः पुराकृतैः / अष्टाङ्गप्रणवृत्तिं वै स विच्यावयते पुनः

That jīva, abiding at the navel-support, by its own deeds done long ago, again sets the eightfold movement of prāṇa into disturbance.

Verse 69

शरीरं प्रजहन्सोंऽते निरुच्छ्वासस्ततो भवेत् / एवं प्राणैः परित्यक्तो मृत इत्यभिधीयते

In the end, when one abandons the body, the breath then ceases; thus, one forsaken by the prāṇas is called ‘dead’.

Verse 70

यथेह लोके स्वप्ने तं नीयमानमितस्ततः / रञ्जनं तद्विधेयस्य ते तान्यो न च विद्यते

As in this world, in a dream, one is carried from here to there, so for the karma-driven there is only that very enchantment of experience; nothing else exists.

Verse 71

नृष्णाक्षयस्तृतीयस्तु व्याख्यातं मोक्षलक्षणम् / शब्दाद्ये विषये दोषदृष्टिर्वै पञ्चलक्षणे

The third is the ‘waning of craving’; it is taught as a mark of mokṣa. Seeing fault in objects such as sound and the rest belongs to the fivefold marks.

Verse 72

अप्रद्वेषो ऽनभिष्वङ्गः प्रीतितापविवर्जनम् / वैराग्यकारणं ह्येते प्रकृतीनां लयस्य च

Freedom from hatred, non-attachment, and the casting off of both fond delight and burning anguish—these are the causes of vairāgya, and also of the dissolution of the prakṛtis.

Verse 73

अष्टौ प्रकृतयो ज्ञेयाः पूर्वोक्ता वै यथाक्रमम् / अव्यक्ताद्यास्तु विज्ञेया भूतान्ताः प्रकृतेर्भवाः

In the order taught before, eight Prakṛtis are to be known. Beginning with the Unmanifest (Avyakta) and ending with the elements (bhūtas), they arise from Prakṛti.

Verse 74

वर्णाश्रमाचारयुक्तः शिष्टः शास्त्राविरोधनः / वर्णाश्रमाणां धर्मो ऽयं देवस्थानेषु कारणम्

Established in the conduct of varṇa and āśrama, refined, and not opposed to the Śāstras—this is the dharma of the varṇa-āśramas, the sustaining cause within the temples of the Devas.

Verse 75

ब्रह्मादीनि पिशाचान्तान्यष्टौ स्थानानि देवता / ऐश्वर्यमाणिमाद्यं हि कारणं ह्यष्टलक्षणम्

From Brahmā down to the Piśācas, the deities have eight stations (orders). Sovereignty (aiśvarya), aṇimā, and the rest—this causal principle bears eight marks.

Verse 76

निमित्तमप्रतीघाते दृष्टे शब्दादिलक्षणे / अष्टावेतानि रूपाणि प्राकृतानि यथाक्रमम्

Where there is no obstruction, there is the instrumental cause (nimitta); and in marks such as sound and the rest, there is what is directly perceived. These are the eight natural (prākṛta) forms, in due order.

Verse 77

क्षेत्रज्ञेष्वनुसज्जन्ते गुणमात्रत्मकानि तु / प्रावृट्काले पृथग्मेघं पश्यन्तीव सचक्षुषः

Those that are nothing but the guṇas become attached to the kṣetrajñas; as, in the rainy season, the seeing behold distinct clouds, each apart from the other.

Verse 78

पश्यन्त्येवं विधाः सिद्धा जीवं दिव्येन चक्षुषा / खादतश्चान्नपानानि योनीः प्रविशतस्तथा

Such siddhas behold the jīva with divine sight—seeing it partake of food and drink, and likewise enter into the various yonis, the wombs of birth.

Verse 79

तिर्यगूर्ध्वमधस्ताच्च धावतो ऽपि यथाक्रमम् / जीवः प्राणस्तथा लिङ्गं करणं च चतुष्टयम्

Though it runs in due order—sideways, upward, and downward—it is spoken of by four names: jīva, prāṇa, liṅga, and karaṇa.

Verse 80

पर्यायवाचकैः शब्दैरेकार्थैः सो ऽभिलष्यते / व्यक्ताव्यक्तप्रमाणो ऽयं स वै भुङ्क्ते तु कृत्स्नशः

By synonymous words of one meaning, it is he who is intended; this jīva has measure in the manifest and the unmanifest, and truly partakes of all in full.

Verse 81

अव्यक्तानुग्रहान्तं च क्षेत्रज्ञाधिष्ठितं च यत् / एवं ज्ञात्वा शुचिर्भूत्वा ज्ञानाद्वै विप्रमुच्यते

That which reaches to the limit of the Unmanifest’s grace and is presided over by the kṣetrajña—knowing thus, becoming pure, one is truly released by knowledge.

Verse 82

नष्टं चैव यथा तत्त्वं तत्त्वानां तत्त्वदर्शने / यथेष्टं परिनिर्याति भिन्ने देहे सुनिर्वृते

As, in the true seeing of the tattvas, the very notion of tattva is dissolved, so too—when the body is sundered, in serene nirvṛti—one departs according to one’s wish.

Verse 83

भिद्यते करणं चापि ह्यव्यक्तज्ञानिनस्ततः / मुक्तो गुणशरीरेण प्रणाद्येन तु सर्वशः

Then even the inner instrument of the knower of the Unmanifest is broken asunder; freed from the body of the guṇas, he merges everywhere in pranāda, the resonance of prāṇa.

Verse 84

नान्यच्छरीरमादत्ते दग्धे वीजे यथाङ्कुरः / ज्ञानी च सर्वसंसाराविज्ञशारीरमानसः

As a sprout does not arise from a seed that has been burnt, so the wise take no other body; their body and mind are free from the ignorance of saṃsāra.

Verse 85

ज्ञानाच्चतुर्द्दशाबुद्धः प्रकृतिस्थो निवर्तते / प्रकृतिं सत्यमित्याहुर्विकारो ऽनृतमुच्यते

By knowledge of the fourteen stages, one who abides in Prakṛti turns back and ceases; Prakṛti is called “truth”, while its modifications are said to be “untruth”.

Verse 86

असद्भावो ऽनृतं ज्ञेयं सद्भावः सत्य मुच्यते / अनामरूपं क्षेत्रज्ञनामरूपं प्रचक्षते

Know that non-being is called “untruth”, while true being is said to be “truth”; the Kṣetrajña is declared to be without name and form, whereas (the kṣetra) is spoken of as having name and form.

Verse 87

यस्मात्क्षेत्रं विजानाति तत्मात्क्षेत्रज्ञ उच्यते / क्षेत्रं प्रत्ययते यस्मात्क्षेत्रज्ञः शुभ उच्यते

Because he knows the kṣetra, he is therefore called Kṣetrajña; and because through him arises pratyaya—direct certitude—of the kṣetra, that Kṣetrajña is called śubha, the auspicious.

Verse 88

क्षेत्रज्ञः स्मर्यते तस्मात्क्षेत्रं तज्ज्ञैर्विभाष्यते / क्षेत्रं त्वत्प्रत्ययं दृष्टं क्षेत्रज्ञः प्रत्ययः सदा

Therefore He is remembered as the Kṣetrajña, and the wise expound what is called the Kṣetra. O Witness! the field is seen as resting upon your cognition, while the Knower of the field is ever that very cognition.

Verse 89

क्षपणात्कारणाच्चैव क्षतत्राणात्तथैव च / भोज्यत्वविषयत्वाच्च क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रविदो विदुः

Because it brings about dissolution, because it is a cause, and because it protects from injury; and because it is to be enjoyed and is an object of experience—the knowers of the field call it Kṣetra.

Verse 90

महदाद्यं विशेषान्तं सर्वैरूप्यं विलक्षणम् / विकारलक्षणं तद्वै सो ऽक्षरः क्षरमेति च

From Mahat down to the end of the viśeṣas (the gross elements), that which takes on all forms yet appears distinct bears the mark of modification; even what is called ‘akṣara’ comes to the state of ‘kṣara’.

Verse 91

तमेवानुविकारं तु यस्माद्वै क्षरते पुनः / तस्माच्च कारणाच्चैव ज्ञरमित्यभिधीयते

And that very thing, because it follows after modifications and again and again decays, is for that reason called jñara.

Verse 92

संसारे नरकेभ्यश्च त्रायते पुरुषं च यत् / दुःखत्राणात्पुनश्चापि क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते

That which protects a person from saṃsāra and from the hells, and again grants deliverance from suffering, is also called Kṣetra.

Verse 93

सुखदुःखमहंभावाद्भोज्यमित्यभिधीयते / अचेतनत्वाद्विषयस्तद्विधर्मा विभुः स्मृतः

Because it is bound up with pleasure, pain, and the sense of “I,” it is called the enjoy-able (bhogya). Being insentient, it is the object; but the all-pervading Lord (Vibhu) is remembered as of a contrary nature.

Verse 94

न क्षीयते न क्षरति विकारप्रसृतं तु तत् / अक्षरं तेन वाप्युक्तम क्षीणत्वात्तथैव च

It neither dwindles nor wastes away, though it seems to spread through transformations. Therefore it is called Akṣara, the Imperishable, for it never becomes diminished.

Verse 95

यस्मात्पूर्यनुशेते च तस्मात्पुरुष उच्यते / पुरप्रत्ययिको यस्मात्पुरुषेत्यभिधीयते

Because he dwells within the purī—the city of the body—he is called Puruṣa. And because he is the very ground of the notion of pura (the city), he too is named Puruṣa.

Verse 96

पुरुषं कथयस्वाथ कथितो ऽज्ञैर्विभाष्यते / शुद्धो निरञ्जनाभासो ज्ञाता ज्ञानविवर्जितः

When one says, “Speak of the Puruṣa,” the ignorant describe him in many ways. He is pure, a stainless radiance; the Knower, yet free from object-bound knowledge.

Verse 97

अस्तिनास्तीति सो ऽन्यो वा बद्धो मुक्तो गतःस्थितः / नैर्हेतुकात्त्वनिर्देश्यादहस्तस्मिन्न विद्यते

Of That one cannot say, “It is” or “it is not,” “it is other”; nor “bound” or “liberated,” “gone” or “abiding.” For it is causeless and beyond indication—there is no ‘handhold’ (hasta) in it.

Verse 98

शुद्धत्वान्न तु दृश्यो वै द्रष्टृत्वात्समदर्शनः / आत्मप्रत्ययकारित्वादन्यूनं वाप्यहेतुकम्

By purity He is not an object of sight; as the Seer, He beholds all equally. Since He brings forth the certainty of the Self, He is neither deficient nor without cause.

Verse 99

भावग्राह्यमनुमानाच्चिन्तयन्न प्रमुह्यते / यदा पश्यति ज्ञातारं शान्तार्थं दर्शनात्मकम्

One who reflects, through inference, on the reality grasped as inner states does not fall into delusion—when he beholds the Knower, whose meaning is peace and whose very nature is vision.

Verse 100

दृश्यादृश्येषु निर्देश्यं तदा तद्दुर्द्धरं वरम् / विज्ञाता न च दृश्येत वृथक्त्वेनेह सर्वशः

When He is indicated amid the seen and the unseen, that supreme truth becomes exceedingly hard to grasp. The Knower is not beheld here as something wholly separate in every way.

Verse 101

स्वेनात्मना तथात्मानं कारणात्मा नियच्छति / प्रकृतौ कारणे तत्र स्वात्मन्येवोपतिष्ठति

The Atman as the Causal Self restrains the self by His own Self. There, in Prakriti as the cause, He abides established in His very own nature.

Verse 102

अस्तिनास्तीति सो ऽन्यो वा इहामुत्रेति वा पुनः / एकत्वं वा पृथक्वं वा क्षेत्रज्ञः पुरुषो ऽपि वा

“It is” or “it is not”, “it is other”, “here or hereafter”—again, “oneness or separateness”: amid such alternatives even the Purusha, the Kshetrajna, the Knower of the Field, is spoken of.

Verse 103

आत्मा वा स निरात्मा वा चेतनो ऽचेतनो ऽपि वा / कर्त्ता वा सो ऽप्यकर्त्ता वा भोक्ता वा भोज्यमेव च

He is the Self, or again the non-self; conscious, or even unconscious. He is the doer, or also the non-doer; the enjoyer, and likewise the enjoyed.

Verse 104

यद्गत्वा न निवर्त्तन्ते क्षेत्रज्ञं तु निरञ्जनम् / अवाच्यं तदनाख्यानादग्राह्यं वादहेतुभिः

That, having reached which one does not return—this is the stainless Knower of the Field (Kṣetrajña). It is unspeakable, for it cannot be described; nor is it grasped by the causes of disputation.

Verse 105

अप्रतर्क्यमचिन्त्यत्वादवा येत्वाच्च सर्वशः / नालप्य वचसा तत्त्वमप्राप्य मनसा सह

That Reality is beyond reasoning, beyond thought, and wholly unknowable. It cannot be spoken by words; nor can it be reached, even together with the mind.

Verse 106

क्षेत्रज्ञे निर्गुणे शुद्धे शान्ते क्षीणे निरञ्जने / व्यपेतसुखदुःखे च निरुद्धे शान्तिमागते

When the Knower of the Field (Kṣetrajña) is without qualities, pure, tranquil, spent (of ego) and stainless; when joy and sorrow have fallen away, and he is restrained, having attained peace—

Verse 107

निरात्मके पुनस्तस्मिन्वाच्यावाच्यं न विद्यते / एतौ संहारविस्तारौ व्यक्ताव्यक्तौ ततः पुनः

But in that state without self (nirātmaka), there is no distinction of the speakable and the unspeakable. From that again arise dissolution and expansion—manifest and unmanifest—both.

Verse 108

सृज्यते ग्रसते चैव व्यक्तौ पर्यवतिष्ठते / क्षेत्रज्ञाधिष्ठितं सर्वं पुनः सर्गे प्रवर्त्तते

All this universe is created and also swallowed up; in the manifest state it abides. Everything, presided over by the Knower of the Field (Kṣetrajña), again proceeds in a new creation (sarga).

Verse 109

अधिष्ठानं प्रपद्येत तस्यान्ते बुद्धिपूर्वकम् / साधर्म्यवैधर्म्यकृतः संयोगो विदितस्तयोः / अनादिमांश्च संयोगो महापुरुषजः स्मृतः

At its end, with deliberate understanding, it resorts to the supporting ground (adhiṣṭhāna). The conjunction of the two, wrought by similarity and dissimilarity, is well known. That conjunction is beginningless and is remembered as born of the Mahāpuruṣa.

Verse 110

यावच्च सर्गप्रति सर्गकालस्तावज्जगत्तिष्ठति संनिरुध्य / पूर्वं हि तस्यैव च बुद्धिपूर्वं प्रवर्त्तते तत्पुरुषार्थंमेव

So long as the time of creation and re-creation endures, the world remains held in restraint. For from the outset, with deliberate understanding, that very puruṣārtha alone comes into operation.

Verse 111

एषा निसर्गप्रतिसर्गपूर्वा प्राधानिकी चेश्वरकारिता वा / अनाद्यनन्ता ह्यभिमानपूर्वकं वित्रासयन्ती जगदभ्युपैति

This power precedes natural creation and re-creation—whether arising from Pradhāna or wrought by the Lord. Beginningless and endless, it comes forth with ego-sense, casting the world into dread.

Verse 112

इत्येष प्राकृतः सर्गस्तृतीयो हेतुलक्षणः / उक्तो ह्यस्मिंस्तदात्यन्तं कालं ज्ञात्वा प्रमुच्यते

Thus has been declared this third, prākṛta creation, marked by the character of causality. By knowing herein that ultimate Time, one is set free.

Verse 113

इत्येष प्रतिसर्गो वस्त्रिविदः कीर्त्तितो मया / विस्तरेणानुपूर्व्याच भूयः किं वर्त्तयाम्यहम्

Thus, O Sūta, I have recounted this Pratisarga. If I were to speak again in full detail and in due order, what more could I say?