Philosophy and Religion / Select works of Sri Sankaracharya

Select works of Sri Sankaracharya

The Ten-versed Hymn

I am neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether, nor sensory organ, nor the conglomeration of all these; for, all these are transient. I am He that alone remains in deep sleep, the secondless, uncontradictable ¹ attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (1)

I am neither castes, nor the rules of caste, society and custom, nor for me are concentration, meditation, Yoga and other practices; for, all this illusion of "I" and "mine" is-rooted in the not-self and is therefore dispellable by the knowledge of the self. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable, attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (2)

I am neither mother, nor father, nor the gods, nor the worlds, nor the Vedas, nor sacrifices, nor any holy place; for, in deep sleep I am [identical with Brahman which however is] not absolute non-existence. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (3)

Neither the Sânkhya doctrine, nor the Ṣaiva, nor the Pâncharâtra, not the Jaina, nor the Mîmâmsaka, nor any other, holds good. For, by special realisation it is revealed that my nature is absolutely pure. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable. attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (4)

I am neither above, nor below, nor inside, nor outside, nor middle, nor across, nor before, nor behind; for I am indivisible and one by nature and am all-pervading like space. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable, attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (5)

I am neither white, nor black, nor red, nor yellow, nor bent, nor stout, nor short, nor tall, nor even formless; for, I am of the nature of self-resplendent consciousness. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable, attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (6)

There is neither teacher, nor science, nor pupil, nor teaching, nor you (the hearer), nor I (the speaker), nor this empirical universe; for, I am the consciousness of the reality, which does not admit of differentiation. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable, attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (7)

For me there is neither waking nor dream nor deep sleep, nor am I the self conditioned by any of these three states (viṣva, taijasa or prâjṇa); for, all these are of the nature of nescience, but I am the fourth beyond these three. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable, attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (8)

All this universe, being other than the Self, is unreal; for, the Self alone is all-inclusive, constitutes the ultimate goal and is self-established and self-dependent. I am therefore the secondless, uncontradictable, attributeless Bliss (Ṣiva). (9)

It cannot even be said that It is One. How then can there be a second, other than That? There is neither absoluteness nor non-absoluteness, neither non-entity nor entity; for It is absolutely non-dual in Its nature. How then can I describe That which is established by all the Vedântas!

Thus ends the ten-versed hymn.

Footnotes

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