इत्थं पृष्टस्त्वया यः सकलहितकरः प्रश्नराशिर्गरिष्ठो
वेद्यः सर्वश्रुतीनां जगति सुरसुरानन्द सद्यो मया सः।
प्राचीनाचार्यवर्यान् यतिपतिसहितान् सादरं सम्प्रणम्य
सम्यक् शास्त्रानुसारं गुरुनिरत समाधीयते श्रूयतां तत्॥५॥
Surasurānanda, the weighty group of questions you have asked benefits every being and concerns what all revelation makes known in this world. Having reverently bowed to the great teachers of old together with the lord of ascetics, I shall answer it now in faithful accord with scripture. Devoted disciple, listen.
पृष्टानामेकमाद्यं त्रिकमपि शृणु तद्भेदतो नामभेदै-
र्नित्या ज्ञाऽचेतना सा प्रकृतिरविकृतिर्विश्वयोनिः शुभैका।
नानावर्णात्मिकाऽजा त्रिगुणसुनिलयाऽव्यक्तशब्दाभिधेया
निर्व्यापारा परार्था महदहमितिसूरुच्यते तत्त्वविद्धिः॥६॥
Hear first the answer to the first question: reality is one ordered whole but is named threefold according to its distinctions. Prakṛti is eternal yet insentient, knowable, the material source of the universe, unborn and not itself a product. Manifold in colour, the seat of the three qualities, called the unmanifest, inactive for its own sake and existing for another, it unfolds as the great principle and the sense of “I.” This is the discernment of reality.
नित्यो ज्ञश्चेतनोऽजः सततपरवशः सूक्ष्मतोऽत्यन्तसूक्ष्मो
भिन्नो बद्धादिभेदैः प्रतिकणमसौ नैकधा सूरिवर्यैः।
श्रीशाक्रान्तालयस्थो निजकृतिफलभुक्तत्सहायोऽभिमानी
जीवः सम्प्रोच्यते श्रीरघुपतिसुमते तत्त्वजिज्ञासुवेद्यः॥७॥
The jīva is declared to be eternal, knowing, conscious, unborn, always dependent, and subtler than the subtle. Distinct in every individual, it appears in the conditions of bondage, freedom, and eternity described by the great seers. It inhabits a body pervaded by the Lord of Śrī, experiences the fruit of its own acts with him as its helper, and identifies with what is not itself. Wise devotee of Raghupati, this is what the seeker of reality must know.
विश्वं जातं यतोऽद्धा यदवितमखिलं लीयते यत्र चान्ते
सूर्यो यत्तेजसेन्दुः सकलमविरतं भासयत्येतदेषः।
यद्भीत्या वाति वायुरवनिरपि सुतलं याति नैवेश्वरो ज्ञः
साक्षी कूटस्थ एको बहुशुभगुणवानव्ययो विश्वभर्ता॥८॥
The Lord is he from whom the universe truly arises, by whom all of it is protected, and into whom it dissolves at the end. By his radiance the sun and moon ceaselessly illumine all this; in awe of him the wind blows and the earth does not fall away. He is the knower, the witness, unchanging and one, possessed of countless auspicious qualities, undecaying, and sustainer of the universe.
श्रीमान् ज्येष्ठः शरण्यो बहुविधविबुधैर्योगिगम्याङ्घ्रिपद्मो-
ऽस्पृश्यः क्लेशादिभिः सत्समुदितसुयशाः सूरिमान्यो वदान्यः।
शश्वच्छ्रीरामचन्द्रः सुमहितमहिमा साधुवेदैरशेषै-
र्निर्मृत्युः सर्वशक्तिर्विकलुषविजरो गीर्मनोभ्यामगम्यः॥९॥
Śrī Rāmacandra is eternally joined with Śrī, the eldest and highest, the refuge of all. Gods of many orders honour him; yogins reach his lotus feet. Affliction and its train cannot touch him. The good proclaim his fair fame; eternal attendants honour him; he gives freely. All true Vedas celebrate his exalted greatness. Deathless, all-powerful, stainless, and ageless, he lies beyond speech and mind.