श्रोता म्हणे वक्तयासी । कोण कर्ता निश्चयेंसीं । सलळ सृष्टि ब्रह्मांडासी । कोणें केलें ॥ १ ॥

The listener asks the speaker, 'Who, with certainty, is the Doer? Who created this entire creation, this universe?'

तव बोलिला सभानायेक । जे बोलिके येकाहून येक । या बोलण्याचे कौतुक । श्रोतीं सादर ऐकावें ॥ २ ॥

Then the eloquent members of the assembly, each more talkative than the last, began to speak; listeners should attend respectfully to the entertaining exchange that follows.

येक म्हणती कर्ता देव । येक म्हणती कोण देव । आपुलाला अभिप्राव । बोलते जाले ॥ ३ ॥

Some say God is the Doer, others ask 'which God?'; each one spoke according to his own personal opinion.

उत्तम मध्यम कनिष्ठ । भावर्थें बोलती पष्ट । आपुलाली उपासना श्रेष्ठ । मानिती जनीं ॥ ४ ॥

The high, the middling and the low each speak plainly according to their own conviction; everyone considers his own form of worship supreme.

कोणीयेक ऐसें म्हणती । कर्ता देव मंगळमूर्ती । येक म्हणती सरस्वती । सर्व करी ॥ ५ ॥

Some say the auspicious Ganapati is the Doer, some say Saraswati does everything.

येक म्हणती कर्ता भैरव । येक म्हणती खंडेराव । येक म्हणती बीरेदेव । येक म्हणती भगवती ॥ ६ ॥

Some say Bhairav is the Doer, some say Khanderao; some say Biradev, some say Bhagavati.

येक म्हणती नरहरी । येक म्हणती बनशंकरी । येक म्हणती सर्व करी । नारायेणु ॥ ७ ॥

Some say Narahari does it, some say Banashankari; some say Narayana does everything.

येक म्हणती श्रीराम कर्ता । येक म्हणती श्रीकृष्ण कर्ता । येक म्हणती भगवंत कर्ता । केशवराज ॥ ८ ॥

Some say Shri Ram is the Doer, some say Shri Krishna is the Doer; some say the Lord Keshavraj is the Doer.

येक म्हणती पांडुरंग । येक म्हणती श्रीरंग । येक म्हणती झोटींग । सर्व करी ॥ ९ ॥

Some say Pandurang is the Doer, some say Shrirang; some say the folk-spirit Jhoting does everything.

येक म्हणती मुंज्या कर्ता । येक म्हणती सूर्य कर्ता । येक म्हणती अग्न कर्ता । सकळ कांहीं ॥ १० ॥

Some say the spirit Munjya is the Doer, some say the Sun is the Doer; some say Fire does everything.

येक म्हणती लक्ष्मी करी । येक म्हणती मारुती करी । येक म्हणती धरत्री करी । सर्व कांही ॥ ११ ॥

Some say Lakshmi does it, some say Maruti does it; some say Mother Earth does everything.

येक म्हणती तुकाई । येक म्हणती येमाई । येक म्हणती सटवाई । सर्वकरी ॥ १२॥

Some say the goddess Tukai is the Doer, some say Yamai; some say Satvai does everything.

येक म्हणती भार्गव कर्ता । येक म्हणती वामन कर्ता । येक म्हणती परमात्मा कर्ता । येकचि आहे ॥ १३॥

Some say Bhargav (Parashuram) is the Doer, some say Vaman is the Doer; but some say that the Supreme Self alone is the one true Doer.

येक म्हणती विरणा कर्ता । येक म्हणती बस्वंणा कर्ता । येक म्हणती रेवंणा कर्ता । सर्व कांहीं ॥ १४ ॥

Some say Virana is the Doer, some say Basavana; some say Revana does everything.

येक म्हणती रवळया कर्ता । येक म्हणती स्वामी कार्तिक कर्ता । येक म्हणती वेंकटेश कर्ता । सर्व कांहीं ॥ १५ ॥

Some say Ravalya is the Doer, some say Lord Kartikeya is the Doer; some say Venkatesh does everything.

येक म्हणती गुरु कर्ता । येक म्हणती दत्त कर्ता । येक म्हणती मुख्य कर्ता । वोढ्या जगन्नथ ॥ १६ ॥

Some say the Guru is the Doer, some say Dattatreya; some say the principal Doer is Jagannath of Puri.

येक म्हणती ब्रह्मा कर्ता । येक म्हणती विष्णु कर्ता । येक म्हणती महेश कर्ता । निश्चयेंसीं ॥ १७ ॥

Some say Brahma is the Doer, some say Vishnu is the Doer; some say, with full certainty, that Mahesh (Shiva) is the Doer.

येक म्हणती प्रजन्य कर्ता । येक म्हणती वायो कर्ता । येक म्हणती करून अकर्ता । निर्गुण देव ॥ १८ ॥

Some say Indra (lord of rain) is the Doer, some say the Wind-god is the Doer; some say the attributeless God, though he makes everything, himself remains not a doer.

येक म्हणती माया करी । येक म्हणती जीव करी । येक म्हणती सर्व करी । प्रारब्धयोग ॥ १९ ॥

Some say Maya does it, some say the individual soul does it; some say everything happens only through the working of one's prior destiny.

येक म्हणती प्रेत्नी करी । येक म्हणती स्वभाव करी । येक म्हणती कोण करी । कोण जाणे ॥ २० ॥

Some say effort does it, some say inherent nature does it; some say — who really does it? Who indeed knows?

ऐसा कर्त्याचा विचार । पुसतां भरला बजार । आतां कोणाचें उत्तर । खरें मानावें ॥ २१ ॥

Thus, asking about the Doer, it became like a crowded marketplace of opinions; now whose answer should be accepted as true?

जेहिं जो देव मानिला । कर्ता म्हणती तयाला । ऐसा लोकांचा गल्बला । वोसरेना ॥ २२ ॥

Whichever deity a person has chosen to believe in, that one alone he calls the Doer; such is people's uproar, and it never subsides.

आपुलाल्या साभिमानें निश्चयेचि केला मनें । याचा विचार पाहाणें । घडेचिना ॥ २३ ॥

Out of personal pride each has settled the matter in his own mind; because of this, arriving at the true reasoning on this question never actually happens.

बहु लोकांचा बहु विचार । अवघा राहों द्या बाजार । परंतु याचा विचार । ऐसा आहे ॥ २४ ॥

Many people hold many opinions — let that whole marketplace of views be; but the true reasoning on this matter is as follows.

श्रोतीं व्हावें सावधान । निश्चयें तोडावा अनुमान । प्रत्यये मानावा प्रमाण । जाणते पुरुषीं ॥ २५ ॥

Let listeners be alert and cut through mere inference with certainty; the wise should accept only direct experience as the true proof.

जें जें कर्तयानें केलें । तें तें त्याउपरी जालें । कर्त्यापूर्वीं आडळलें । न पाहिजे कीं ॥ २६ ॥

Whatever the Doer has made came into being only after him; one should not go looking for something that existed even before the Doer.

केलें तें पंचभूतिक । आणि पंचभूतिक ब्रह्मादिक । तरी भूतांशें पंचभूतिक । केलें तें घडेना ॥ २७ ॥

What was created is made of the five elements, and even Brahma and the rest are made of the five elements; so it cannot be that the five elements created the five elements.

पंचभूतांस वेगळें करावें । मग कर्त्यास वोळखावें । पंचभूतिक तें स्वभावें । कर्त्यांस आलें ॥ २८ ॥

One must set the five elements aside, and only then can the true Doer be recognized; being made of the five elements comes to the Doer only incidentally, as an attribute.

पंचभूतांवेगळें निर्गुण । तेथें नाहीं कर्तेपण । निर्विकारास विकार कोण । लाऊं शके ॥ २९ ॥

Beyond the five elements lies the attributeless, where there is no doership at all; who indeed can attach change to that which is changeless?

निर्गुणास कर्तव्य न घडे । सगुण जाल्यांत सांपडे । आतां कर्तव्यता कोणेकडे । बरें पाहा ॥ ३० ॥

Doership cannot apply to the attributeless; it is found only once something has become endowed with qualities; now examine carefully on which side doership truly lies.

लटिक्याचा कर्ता कोण । हें पुसणेंचि अप्रमाण । म्हणोनि हेंचि प्रमाण । जें स्वभावेंचि जालें ॥ ३१ ॥

To ask 'who is the doer of the unreal' is itself an improper question; therefore accept as true only that which has come about by its own nature.

येक सगुण येक निर्गुण । कोठें लाऊं कर्तेपण । या अर्थाचें विवरण । बरें पाहा ॥ ३२ ॥

One is with qualities, another is without qualities — then where exactly should doership be assigned? This question must be carefully resolved.

सगुणें सगुण केलें । तरी तें पूर्वींच आहे जालें । निर्गुणास कर्तव्य लाविलें । नवचे कीं कदा ॥ ३३ ॥

Even if the qualified made the qualified, it must be said that it already existed beforehand; but doership can never, under any circumstance, apply to the unqualified.

येथें कर्ताचि दिसेना । प्रत्यये आणावा अनुमाना । दृश्य सत्यत्वें असेना । म्हणोनियां ॥ ३४ ॥

Here no actual doer is seen at all; because the visible world is not ultimately real, this must be grasped only through inference.

केलें तें अवघेंच लटिकें । तरी कर्ता हें बोलणेंचि फिकें । वक्ता म्हणे रे विवेकें । बरें पाहा ॥ ३५ ॥

If all that is made is itself ultimately unreal, then the very talk of a 'doer' becomes feeble; the speaker says, examine this carefully with discernment.

बरें पाहाता प्रत्यये आला । तरी कां करावा गल्बला । प्रचित आलियां आपणाला । अंतर्यामीं ॥ ३६ ॥

Once one examines it carefully and direct experience dawns, why continue this confusion? Once inner conviction settles, that alone suffices.

आतां असो हें बोलणें । विवेकी तोचि हें जाणे । पूर्वपक्ष लागे उडवणें । येरवीं अनुर्वाच ॥ ३७ ॥

Let this discussion rest here — only the discerning truly grasp it; one must first refute the opposing view, otherwise this is beyond mere words.

तंव श्रोता करी प्रस्न । देहीं सुखदुःखभोक्ता कोण । पुढें हेंचि निरूपण । बोलिलें असे ॥३८ ॥

Then the listener raises a question: 'In the body, who is the one who experiences pleasure and pain?' This very exposition is given next.