आकाश जैसें निराकार । तैसा ब्रह्माचा विचार । तेथें वायोचा विकार । तैसी मूळमाया ॥ १ ॥

Just as space is formless, so too is Brahman formless in nature; and just as a disturbance of wind arises within space, so does the primal maya (Mulamaya) arise within Brahman.

हें दासबोधीं असे बोलिलें । ज्ञानदशकीं प्रांजळ केलें । मूळमायेंत दाखविलें । पंचभूतिक ॥ २ ॥

This has already been explained in the Dasbodh, and made clear in the Dashak on Knowledge; there it has been shown that the five elements have their origin within this primal maya itself.

तेथें जाणीव तो सत्वगुण । मध्य तो रजोगुण । नेणीव तमोगुण । जाणिजे श्रोतीं ॥ ३ ॥

Within that primal maya, awareness (jaaneev) is the quality of sattva, the intermediate state is rajas, and unawareness (neneev) is tamas — let the listeners understand this.

म्हणाल तेथें कैंची जाणीव । तरी ऐका याचा अभिप्राव । पिंडीं माहाकारण देहीं सर्व । साक्षिणी अवस्था ॥ ४ ॥

You may ask, how can awareness be present there at all? Then hear the reasoning: in the individual, within the supra-causal body, there exists the witnessing state — and it is this same witnessing that is the root of awareness here.

तैसी मूळप्रकृती ब्रह्मांडींचें । देह माहाकारण साचें । म्हणोन तेथेंजाणीवेचें । अधिष्ठान आलें ॥ ५ ॥

Likewise, the primal nature (Mulaprakriti) is itself the true supra-causal body of the cosmos; and therefore it too is held to be the very seat and foundation of awareness.

असो मूळमायेभीतरीं । गुप्त त्रिगुण वास करी । पष्ट होती संधी चतुरीं । जाणावी गुणक्षोभिणी ॥ ६ ॥

In any case, within the primal maya, the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas — dwell hidden. When the right moment arrives they become manifest; the wise should understand this as the state called 'Gunakshobhini,' the stirring of the qualities.

जैस तृणाचा पोटराकळा । पुढें उकलोन होये मोकळा । तैसी मूळमाया अवलीळा । गुण प्रसवली ॥ ७ ॥

Just as a tightly furled shoot of grass later unfurls and opens out freely, so did the primal maya, quite effortlessly, give birth to the three gunas.

मूळमाया वायोस्वरूप । ऐक गुणक्षोभिणीचें रूप । गुणविकार होतांचि अल्प । गुणक्षोभिणी बोलिजे ॥ ८ ॥

The primal maya is of the nature of wind itself; now hear the form of Gunakshobhini: the moment even a slight disturbance stirs among the gunas, that state is called Gunakshobhini.

पुढें जाणीव मध्यस्त नेणीव । मिश्रित चालिला स्वभाव । तेथें मातृकास ठाव । शब्द जाला ॥ ९ ॥

Further on, this process continues in a mixed manner — awareness, the middle state, and unawareness together; and from within this, the matrikas (the primal letters) found their place, and sound itself came into being.

तो शब्दगुण आकाशींचा । ऐसा अभिप्राव येथीचा । शब्देंचि वेदशास्त्रांचा । आकार जाला ॥ १० ॥

This quality of sound belongs to space itself — such is the meaning here; and it is from this very sound that the whole form of the Vedas and scriptures came into being.

पंचभूतें त्रिगुणाकार । अवघा वायोचा विकार । जाणीवनेणीवेचा विचार । वायोचि करितां ॥ ११ ॥

The five elements themselves take the shape of the three gunas, and all this is but a modification of wind (vayu); it is wind alone that carries out the entire working of awareness and unawareness.

वायो नस्तां कैंची जाणीव । जाणीव नस्तां कैंची नेणीव । जाणीवनेणीवेस ठाव । वायोगुणें ॥ १२ ॥

Without wind, how could there be any awareness at all? And without awareness, how could there be unawareness? Both awareness and unawareness find their place only within the quality of wind.

जेथें मुळीच नाही चळण । तेथें कैंचें जाणीवलक्षण । म्हणोनि वायोचा गुण । नेमस्त जाणावा ॥ १३ ॥

Where there is no movement at all, how can the mark of awareness be present? Therefore one should understand with certainty that this is, definitively, the quality of wind.

येकापासून येक जालें । हें येक उगेंचि दिसोन आलें । स्वरूप मुळीच भासलें । त्रिगुणभूतांचें ॥ १४ ॥

It merely appears, from the outside, that one thing came from another in sequence; but the essential nature of the three gunas and the elements actually manifested together, from the very beginning.

ऐसा हा मुळींचा कर्दमु । पुढें पष्टतेचा अनुक्रमु । सांगतां येकापासून येक उगमु । हें हि खरें ॥ १५ ॥

Thus all this was originally one mingled mass, which then gradually became distinct and manifest, in this order; and to describe it as one thing arising from another is, in this sense, also true.

वायोच कर्दम बोलिला । तयापासून अग्नि जाला । तोहि पाहातां देखिला । कर्दमुचि ॥ १६ ॥

Wind itself is spoken of as this original mixture; from it, fire is said to have arisen, but looking closely, even that fire is seen to be part of that same original mixture.

अग्निपासून जालें आप । तेंहि कर्दमस्वरूप । आपापासून पृथ्वीचें रूप । तेंहि कर्दमरूपी ॥ १७ ॥

From fire, water arose, and that too shares the nature of this same original mixture; from water, the form of earth arose, and that too is of the same original nature.

येथें आशंका उठिली । भूतांस जाणीव कोठें देखिली । तरी भूतांत जाणीव हे ऐकिली । नाहीं वार्ता ॥ १८ ॥

Here a doubt arises: where has awareness ever been seen present in the mere elements? Such a thing — that the elements possess awareness — has never even been heard of before.

जाणीव म्हणिजे जाणतें चळण । तेंचि वायोचें लक्षण । वायोआंगीं सकळ गुण । मागां निरोपिलें ॥ १९ ॥

Awareness means a movement infused with knowing, and this itself is the defining mark of wind. That all the gunas reside within wind has already been explained earlier.

म्हणोन जाणीवनेणीवमिश्रीत । अवघें चालिलें पंचभूत । म्हणोनियां भूतांत । जाणीव असे ॥ २० ॥

Therefore all five elements function through a mixture of awareness and unawareness; and it is precisely for this reason that awareness can be said to exist within the elements.

कोठें दिसे कोठें न दिसे । परी तें भूतीं व्यापून असे । तिक्षण बुद्धी करितां भासे । स्थूळ सुक्ष्म ॥ २१ ॥

That awareness is visible in some places and not in others, yet it pervades the elements everywhere; examined with a sharp intellect, it appears at times gross and at times subtle.

पंचभूतें आकारली । भूतीं भूतें कालवलीं । तरी पाहातं भासलीं । येक स्थूळ येक सूक्ष्म ॥ २२ ॥

The five elements took on their forms and became intermingled with one another; yet on examination, some appear gross and others appear subtle.

निरोधवायो न भासे । तैसी जणीव न दिसे । न दिसे परी ते असे । भूतरूपें ॥ २३ ॥

Just as pent-up, still air is not visibly seen, so too awareness is not outwardly visible; though unseen, it nevertheless exists within the very form of the elements.

काष्ठीं अग्नी दिसेना । निरोधवायो भासेना । जणीव तैसी लक्षेना । येकायेकीं ॥ २४ ॥

Fire is not seen within wood, pent-up air is not perceived, and in just the same way, awareness cannot be suddenly detected at a mere glance.

भूतें वेगळालीं दिसती । पाहातां येकचि भासती । बहुत धूर्तपणें प्रचिती । वोळखावी ॥ २५ ॥

The elements appear distinct from one another when seen superficially, but on closer look, they are found to be essentially one; this truth can be recognized only through great sharpness and subtlety of intellect.

ब्रह्मापासुन मूळमाया । मूळमायेपासून गुणमाया । गुणमायेपासून तया । गुणास जन्म ॥ २६ ॥

From Brahman arose the primal maya; from the primal maya arose the maya of qualities; and from that maya of qualities the three gunas themselves were born.

गुणापासूनियां भूतें पावली । पष्ट दशेतें । ऐसीयांचीं रूपें समस्तें । निरोपिलीं ॥ २७ ॥

From the gunas, the five elements attained their fully manifest state; in this way, the forms of all these have now been explained in due order.

आकाश गुणापासून जालें । हें कदापी नाही घडलें । शब्दगुणास कल्पिलें । आकाश वायां ॥ २८ ॥

That space arose from the gunas is something that has, in truth, never actually happened; space has merely been imagined, in vain, as a support for the quality of sound.

येक सांगतां येकचि भावी । उगीच करी गथागोवी । तया वेड्याची उगवी । कोणें करावी ॥ २९ ॥

When one thing is explained, the listener takes it as the whole truth and needlessly creates confusion; who, then, is to untangle such a foolish person's confusion?

सिकविल्यां हि कळेना । उमजविल्यां हि उमजेना । दृष्टांतेंहि तर्केना । मंदरूप ॥ ३० ॥

Taught, he still does not understand; explained to, he still does not grasp it; and even given examples, he still cannot reason it out — such is a dull-witted person.

भूतांहून भूत थोर । हा हि दाविला विचार । परी भूतांवडिल स्वतंत्र । कोण आहे ॥ ३१ ॥

It has also been shown that among the elements, some are superior to others; but who is truly senior to and independent of all the elements themselves?

जेथें मूळमाया पंचभूतिक । तेथें काये राहिला विवेक । मूळमायेपरतें येक । निर्गुणब्रह्म ॥ ३२ ॥

Where the primal maya itself is made up of the five elements, what further distinction remains to be drawn? Beyond the primal maya there exists only the one — the attributeless Brahman.

ब्रह्मीं मूळमाया जाली । तिची लीळा परीक्षिली । तंव ने निखळ वोतली । भूतेंत्रिगुणांची ॥ ३३ ॥

The primal maya arose within Brahman; examining her play closely, she is found to be wholly composed of nothing but the five elements and the three gunas.

भूतें विकारवंत चत्वार । आकाश पाहातां निर्विकार । आकाश भूत हा विचार । उपाधीकरितां ॥ ३४ ॥

The four elements — earth, water, fire, and wind — are subject to change, but space, on examination, remains changeless; calling space an 'element' is done only for the sake of a limiting attribute, for practical convenience.

पिंडीं व्यापक म्हणोन जीव । ब्रह्मांडीं व्यापक म्हणोन शिव । तैसाच हाहि अभिप्राव । आकाशाचा ॥ ३५ ॥

Because it pervades the individual body, it is called the jiva (individual soul); because it pervades the cosmos, it is called Shiva; the same reasoning applies to space as well.

उपाधीमचें सापडलें । सूक्ष्म पाहातां भासलें । इतुक्यासाठीं आकाश जालें । भूतरूप ॥ ३६ ॥

This distinction was found only because of the limiting attribute, and on subtle examination it merely appeared so; it is for this reason alone that space has come to be counted among the elements.

आकाश अवकाश तो भकास । परब्रह्म तें निराभास । उपाधीं नस्ता जें आकाश । तेंचि ब्रह्म ॥ ३७ ॥

Space, as such, is merely an empty void; the Supreme Brahman, however, is utterly without appearance. That which remains as 'space' when every limiting attribute is removed — that alone is Brahman itself.

जाणीव नेणीव मध्यमान । हेंचि गुणाचें प्रमाण । येथें निरोपिलें त्रिगुण । रूपेंसहित ॥ ३८ ॥

Awareness, unawareness, and the intermediate state — this is the true measure of the gunas; here, the nature of the three gunas has been fully explained along with their respective forms.

प्रकृती पावली विस्तारातें । पुढे येकाचें येकचि होतें । विकारवंतचि तयातें । नेम कैंचा ॥ ३९ ॥

Prakriti (nature) expanded further and further, and from each thing another arose in turn; since it is inherently subject to change, no fixed rule can ever be applied to it.

काळें पांढरें मेळवितां । पारवें होतें तत्वता । काळें पिवळें मेळवितां । हिरवें होये ॥ ४० ॥

When black and white are mixed together, gray results in truth; when black and yellow are mixed, green is produced.

ऐसें रंग नानापरी । मेळवितां पालट धरी । तैसें दृश्य हें विकारी । विकारवंत ॥ ४१ ॥

In this way, various colors, when mixed together, keep changing into new shades; likewise, this visible world too is inherently changeable, ever subject to alteration.

येका जीवनें नाना रंग । उमटों लागती तरंग । पालटाचा लागवेग । किती म्हणोन पाहावा ॥ ४२ ॥

From one and the same water, waves of many different colors begin to rise; how much, then, can one even measure the sheer speed of such constant change?

येका उदकाचे विकार । पाहातां दिसती अपार । पांचा भूतांचे विस्तार । चौयासी लक्ष योनी ॥ ४३ ॥

The transformations of just one substance, water, appear boundless when examined; in the same way, from the expansion of the five elements have come the eighty-four lakh species of living beings.

नाना देहाचें बीज उदक । उदकापसून सकळ लोक । किडा मुंगी स्वापदादिक । उदकेंचि होयें ॥ ४४ ॥

Water is the very seed of all kinds of bodies; from water arise all living beings — insects, ants, wild animals — all of them come into being from water itself.

शुक्लीत शोणीत म्हणिजे नीर । त्या नीराचें हें शरीर । नखें दंत अस्तिमात्र । उदकाच्या होती ॥ ४५ ॥

Semen and blood, too, are ultimately nothing but water; from that water this body is formed, and even the nails, teeth, and bones come into being from water.

मुळ्यांचे बारीक पागोरे । तेणें पंथें उदक भरे । त्या उदकेंचि विस्तारे । वृक्षमात्र ॥ ४६ ॥

Trees have fine, hair-like root fibers, through which water is drawn up into them; and it is by that very water alone that the whole tree grows and expands.

अंबवृक्ष मोहरा आले । अवघे उदकाकरितां जाले । फळीं फुलीं लगडले । सावकास ॥ ४७ ॥

The mango tree comes into blossom, and all of this happens because of water alone; and gradually it becomes laden with fruits and flowers.

खोड फोडुन अंबे पाहातां । तेथें दिसेना सर्वथा । खांद्या फोडुन फळें पाहातां । वोलीं सालें ॥ ४८ ॥

If one splits open the trunk of the tree looking for the mangoes, they are nowhere to be found at all; splitting open a branch too, one finds only moist bark and sap.

मुळापासून सेवटवरी । फळ नाहीं तदनंतरीं । जळरूप फळ चतुरीं । विवेकें जाणावें ॥ ४९ ॥

From the root all the way to the tip, the fruit is nowhere to be found beforehand; the wise, through careful discernment, should understand that the fruit is, in essence, made of water itself.

तेंचि जळ सेंड्या चढे । तेव्हां वृक्षमात्र लगडे । येकाचें येकचि घडे । येणें प्रकारें ॥ ५० ॥

When that same water rises up to the very tips of the branches, the whole tree becomes laden with fruit and blossom; in just this way, one thing continues to give rise to another.

पत्रें पुष्पें फळें भेद । किती करावा अनुवाद । सूक्ष्म दृष्टीनें विशद । होत आहे ॥ ५१ ॥

How much can one describe the differences among leaves, flowers, and fruits? Only through a subtle, penetrating vision does this become truly clear.

भूतांचे विकार सांगों किती । क्षणक्षणा पालटती । येकाचे येकचि होती ॥ नाना वर्ण ॥ ५२ ॥

How many of the elements' transformations can be described? They change from moment to moment; from one thing arises another, in ever new colors and forms.

त्रिगुणभूतांची लटपट । पाहों जातां हे खटपट । बहुरूप बहु पालट । किती म्हणोन सांगावा ॥ ५३ ॥

Looking closely at the ceaseless activity and restlessness of the three gunas and the five elements, it appears endless; how much can one describe their manifold forms and constant transformations?

ये प्रकृतीचा निरास । विवेकें वारावा सावकास । मग परमात्मा परेश । अनन्यभावें भजावा ॥ ५४ ॥

One should gradually set aside this entire realm of Prakriti through discernment; and then worship the Supreme Self, the Lord beyond all, with complete and undivided devotion.