The Illumination of One’s Own Self
by Ādi Śaṅkarācārya
Adi Shankara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara
Advaita Vedanta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advaita_Vedanta
Below is a technically precise English translation of the Sanskrit text known as “स्वात्मप्रकाशिका (Svātma-prakāśikā),” traditionally attributed to Śrī Śaṅkarabhagavatpāda (Ādi Śaṅkarācārya). This rendering aims to be faithful to the Advaita Vedānta perspective. Any slight variations in phrasing are intended solely to clarify meaning in English. All errors or shortcomings remain the translator’s responsibility.
Svātma-prakāśikā
Invocation
॥श्रीः॥
(Śrīḥ — “Auspiciousness”)
॥स्वात्मप्रकाशिका॥
(Svātma-prakāśikā — “The Illumination of One’s Own Self”)
1. jagat-kāraṇam ajñānam ekam eva cid-anvitam |
eka eva manaḥ sākṣī jānāty evaṃ jagat-trayam ||1||
Ignorance, which is one with Consciousness, is the cause of the universe.
There is but one Mind as the Witness, thus knowing the triad of worlds.
2. viveka-yukta-buddhyāhaṃ jānāmy ātmānam advayam |
tathāpi bandha-mokṣādi-vyavahāraḥ pratīyate ||2||
Through an intellect endowed with discernment, I know myself to be the nondual Self.
Nevertheless, bondage, liberation, and such dealings are still perceived.
3. vivarto ’pi prapañco me satyavad bhāti sarvadā |
iti saṃśaya-pāśena baddho ’haṃ chinddhi saṃśayam ||3||
Even though the universe is a mere appearance, it always shines as though real.
Bound by this net of doubt—“I am thus ensnared”—cut through that doubt!
4. evaṃ śiṣya-vacaḥ śrutvā gurur āho ttaraṃ sphuṭam |
nājñānaṃ na ca buddhiś ca na jagan na ca sākṣitā ||4||
Hearing the disciple’s words, the Guru clearly replies:
“There is no ignorance, no intellect, no universe, nor is there any witnessing faculty.”
5. gandha-mokṣādayaḥ sarve kṛtāḥ satye ’dvaye tvayi |
bhātīty ukte jagat sarvaṃ sad-rūpaṃ brahma tad bhavet ||5||
Fragrances, liberation, and all else are accomplished in You, the nondual Truth.
When you say “it appears,” the entire universe becomes the very form of Brahman, Existence itself.
6. sarp-ādau rajju-sattā eva brahma-sattāiva kevalam |
prapañcādhāra-rūpeṇa vartate taj jagan na hi ||6||
Just as the rope’s existence alone underlies the illusory snake, so only Brahman’s existence remains.
Though it appears as the substrate for the universe, in reality that universe does not exist apart from It.
7. yathā ikṣuṃ abhi-saṃvyāpya śarkarā vartate tathā |
āścarya-brahma-rūpeṇa tvaṃ vyāpto ’si jagat-trayam ||7||
Just as sugar pervades sugarcane, so you, in the wondrous form of Brahman,
pervade the three worlds.
8. maru-bhūmau jalaṃ sarvaṃ maru-bhūmātram eva tat |
jagat-trayam idaṃ sarvaṃ cin-mātraṃ su-vicārataḥ ||8||
All the water in a mirage is indeed just desert.
Likewise, upon proper inquiry, this threefold universe is nothing but pure Consciousness.
9. brahmādi-stamba-paryantāḥ prāṇinas tvayi kalpitāḥ |
budbudādi taraṅgāntā vikārāḥ sāgare yathā ||9||
From Brahmā down to the tiniest insect, all living beings are imagined within You.
Like bubbles and waves in the ocean, they are mere modifications.
10. taraṅgatvaṃ dhruvaṃ sindhur na vāñchati yathā tathā |
viṣayānanda-vāñchā te mahānanda-rūpataḥ ||10||
Just as the ocean does not wish to become a wave,
so you, being of the nature of Supreme Bliss, have no desire for sense-based joys.
11. piṣṭaṃ vyāpya guḍaṃ yadvan mādhuryaṃ na hi vāñchati |
pūrṇānando jagad-vyāpya tadānandaṃ na vāñchati ||11||
As sugar, pervading crushed cane, does not crave sweetness,
so you, pervading the universe as Complete Bliss, do not crave that bliss externally.
12. dāridryāśā yathā nāsti saṃpannasya tathā tava |
brahmānanda-nimagnasya viṣayāśā na sambhavet ||12||
Just as one who is wealthy has no longing for poverty,
so you, immersed in Brahman-bliss, cannot harbor desire for sense-objects.
13. viṣaṃ dṛṣṭvā ’mṛtaṃ dṛṣṭvā viṣaṃ tyajati buddhimān |
ātmānam api dṛṣṭvā tvaṃ tyajānātmānam ādarāt ||13||
Seeing poison and then nectar, the wise person discards the poison.
Likewise, upon beholding your own Self, you reverently abandon the non-Self.
14. ghaṭāvabhāsako bhānur ghaṭa-nāśe na naśyati |
dehāvabhāsakaḥ sākṣī deha-nāśe na naśyati ||14||
The sun that illumines a pot is not destroyed when the pot is destroyed.
Likewise, the Witness that illumines the body is not destroyed when the body perishes.
15. nir-ākāraṃ jagat sarvaṃ nirmalaṃ sac-cid-ātmakam |
dvaitābhāvāt kathaṃ kasmād bhayaṃ pūrṇasya me vada ||15||
The entire universe is formless, pure, and of the nature of Existence-Consciousness.
In the absence of duality, from what and how could I, who am Full, ever fear?
16. brahmādikaṃ jagat sarvaṃ tvayy ānande prakalpitam |
tvayy eva līnaṃ jagat tvaṃ kathaṃ līyase vada ||16||
From Brahmā down to all else, the entire universe is imagined in your bliss.
It merges into you alone—tell me, how could you yourself ever dissolve?
17. na hi prapañco na hi bhūta-jātaṃ
na cendriyaṃ prāṇa-gaṇo na dehaḥ |
na buddhi-cittaṃ na mano na kartā
brahmaiva satyaṃ paramātma-rūpam ||17||
Truly, there is no universe, no collection of elements,
no senses, no group of vital airs, no body;
no intellect, no mind-stuff, no mind, no doer—
Brahman alone is real, of the form of the Supreme Self.
18. sarvaṃ sukhaṃ viddhi su-duḥkha-nāśāt
sarvaṃ ca sad-rūpam asatya-nāśāt |
cid-rūpam eva pratibhāna-yuktaṃ
tasmād akhaṇḍaṃ paramātma-rūpam ||18||
Know all to be happiness, for great sorrow is destroyed;
and know all to be real, for falsehood is dissolved.
Everything is of the form of Consciousness, endowed with inherent luminosity;
therefore it is unbroken, the form of the Supreme Self.
19. chid eva dehas tu chid eva lokāś
chid eva bhūtāni chid indriyāṇi |
kartā chid antaḥ-karaṇaṃ chid eva
chid eva satyaṃ paramārtha-rūpam ||19||
Consciousness alone is the body; Consciousness alone are the worlds;
Consciousness alone are the elements; Consciousness alone the senses.
The doer is Consciousness; the inner faculty is Consciousness;
Consciousness alone is true, the nature of the highest Reality.
20. na me bandho na me muktir na me śāstraṃ na me guruḥ |
māyā-mātra-vilāso hi māyātīto ’ham advayaḥ ||20||
For me there is no bondage, no liberation, no scripture, no teacher.
All is but the play of māyā. I transcend māyā, and I am nondual.
21. rājyaṃ karotu vijñānī bhikṣām aṭatu nirbhayaḥ |
doṣair na lipyate śuddhaḥ padma-patram ivāmbhasā ||21||
The wise one may rule a kingdom or roam fearlessly for alms—
he remains unstained by faults, pure like a lotus leaf in water.
22. puṇyāni pāpa-karmāṇi svapna-gāni na jāgrati |
evaṃ jāgrat-puṇya-pāpa-karmāṇi na hi me prabhoḥ ||22||
Virtuous and sinful acts in a dream do not persist upon waking.
So too, in my awakened state, virtuous or sinful deeds do not affect me, O Lord.
23. kāyaḥ karotu karmāṇi vṛthā vāg ucyatām iha |
rājyaṃ dhyāyatu vā buddhiḥ pūrṇasya mama kā kṣatiḥ ||23||
Let the body perform actions, let speech prattle in vain;
let the intellect imagine ruling a kingdom—what harm befalls me, who am Full?
24. prāṇāś carantu tad-dharmaiḥ kāmair vā hanyatāṃ manaḥ |
ānandāmṛta-pūrṇasya mama duḥkhaṃ kathaṃ bhavet ||24||
Let the vital airs move by their own nature, let the mind be assailed by desires—
how could suffering befall me, who am filled with the nectar of Bliss?
25. ānandāmbudhi-magno ’sau dehī tatra na dṛśyate |
lavaṇaṃ jalam adhyasthaṃ yathā tatra layaṃ gatam ||25||
Immersed in the ocean of Bliss, the embodied sense is no longer visible.
Like salt dissolved in water, it merges there and disappears.
26. indriyāṇi manaḥ prāṇā ahaṃkāraḥ parasparam |
jāḍya-saṃgatim utsṛjya magnā mayi chid-arṇave ||26||
The senses, mind, vital airs, and ego—together discarding their inert association—
become immersed in me, the ocean of Consciousness.
27. ātmānam añjasā vedmi tv ajñānaṃ prapalāyitam |
kartṛtvam adya me naṣṭaṃ kartavyaṃ vāpi na kvacit ||27||
Directly I know the Self, with ignorance having fled.
My sense of doership has now vanished; there remains no duty anywhere.
28. cid-amṛta-sukha-rāśau citta-phenaṃ vilīnam
kṣayam adhigata eva vṛtti-cañcattar-aṅgaḥ |
stimitasukhābdhi-samudro nirviceṣṭaḥ su-pūrṇaḥ
katham iha mama duḥkhaṃ sarvadā eko ’ham asmi ||28||
In the ocean of Consciousness-bliss, the froth of mind is dissolved;
the wave of mental fluctuations is calmed.
Motionless, perfectly full, the ocean of peace remains.
How could suffering exist for me, who am always the One?
29. ānanda-rūpo ’ham akhaṇḍa-bodhaḥ
parāt paro ’haṃ ghana-cit-prakāśaḥ |
meghā yathā vyoma na ca spṛśanti
saṃsāra-duḥkhāni na māṃ spṛśanti ||29||
I am of the nature of Bliss, indivisible Awareness;
I am the Supreme, dense with consciousness and radiance.
Just as clouds do not touch the sky,
so worldly sorrows do not touch me.
30. asthi-māṃsa-purīṣāntra-carma-loma-samanvitaḥ |
annādaḥ sthūla-dehaḥ syād ato ’haṃ śuddha-cid-ghanaḥ ||30||
Bones, flesh, waste, entrails, skin, hair—these define the gross body that subsists on food.
Therefore, I am the pure mass of Consciousness.
31. sthūla-dehāśritā ete sthūlād bhinnasya me na hi |
liṅgaṃ jaḍātmakaṃ nāhaṃ cit-svarūpo ’ham advayaḥ ||31||
All these attributes inhere in the gross body, not in me, who am separate from that grossness.
I am not the subtle (liṅga) body, which is inert. I am the nondual essence of Consciousness.
32. kṣut-pipāsā-andhya-bādhirya-kāma-krodhādayo ’khilāḥ |
liṅga-dehāśritā hy ete naivāliṅgasya me vibhoḥ ||32||
Hunger, thirst, blindness, deafness, desire, anger, and so on—
all reside in the subtle body. They do not pertain to me, the all-pervading One.
33. anādī ajñānam evātra kāraṇaṃ deham ucyate |
nāhaṃ kāraṇa-deho ’pi svaprakāśo nirañjanaḥ ||33||
Beginningless ignorance here is called the “causal body.”
But I am not that causal body; I am self-luminous and stainless.
34. jaḍatva-priyamodatva-dharmāḥ kāraṇa-deha-gāḥ |
na santi mama nityasya nirvikāra-svarūpiṇaḥ ||34||
Inertia, pleasure, and delight belong to the causal body.
They do not apply to me, who am eternal and changeless in nature.
35. jīvād bhinnaḥ pareśo ’sti pareśatvaṃ kutas tava |
ity ajñā-jana-saṃvādo vicāraḥ kriyate ’dhunā ||35||
“There is a supreme Lord separate from the individual soul; how can that be your claim?”
Such is the ignorant argument. Let us now inquire.
36. adhiṣṭhānaṃ cid-ābhāso buddhir etat-trayaṃ yadā |
ajñānād ekavad bhāti jīva ity ucyate tadā ||36||
When the substratum, the reflection of Consciousness, and the intellect—these three—
due to ignorance appear as one, that is then called the “individual soul.”
37. adhiṣṭhānaṃ na jīvaḥ syāt pratyekaṃ nirvikārataḥ |
avastutvāc cid-ābhāso nāsti tasya ca jīvatā ||37||
The substratum by itself cannot be the soul, being changeless.
Nor can the reflection of Consciousness, being unreal, be the soul.
38. pratyekaṃ jīvatā nāsti buddher api jaḍatvataḥ |
jīva ābhāsakūṭa-stha-buddhi-trayam ato bhavet ||38||
Nor does the intellect alone have individuality, for it is inert.
Hence “the soul” is that triad: reflection, Witness, and intellect.
39. māyā-ābhāso viśuddhātmā trayam etan maheśvaraḥ |
māyā-ābhāso ’py avastutvāt pratyekaṃ neśvaro bhavet ||39||
One may call that triad plus the pure Self plus the reflection in māyā “the Supreme Lord.”
But since the reflection in māyā is unreal, none of these individually is the Lord.
40. pūrṇatvān nirvikāratvād viśuddhatvān maheśvaraḥ |
jaḍatva-hetor māyāyām īśvaratvaṃ nu durghaṭam ||40||
Due to fullness, changelessness, and purity, one speaks of “the Supreme Lord.”
But inert māyā cannot truly hold “lordship.”
41. tasmād etat-trayaṃ mithyā tad-artho neśvaro bhavet |
iti jīveśvarau bhātaḥ svājñānān na hi vastutaḥ ||41||
Therefore, this triad is false, and their implied “Lord” is not real.
Thus “soul” and “Lord” appear only from one’s own ignorance, not in ultimate reality.
42. ghaṭākāśa-maṭhākāśau mahākāśe prakalpitau |
evaṃ mayi cidākāśe jīveśau parikalpitau ||42||
Like “pot-space” and “hall-space” imagined in the vast sky,
so “soul” and “Lord” are imagined in me, the sky of Consciousness.
43. māyā-tat-kārya-vilaye neśvaratvaṃ ca jīvatā |
tataḥ śuddha-cid evāhaṃ cid-vyoma nir-upādhitaḥ ||43||
When māyā and its effects dissolve, neither “Lordship” nor “individual soul” remains.
Then I am pure Consciousness alone, the sky of Awareness, free of all limitations.
44. satya-cid-dhanam anantam advayaṃ
sarva-dṛśya-rahitaṃ nirāmayam |
yat-padaṃ vimalam advayaṃ śivam
tat sadāham iti maunam āśraye ||44||
I resort to the silent conviction:
“That pure, nondual, auspicious state—
the treasure of truth and consciousness, infinite,
free from all objects of perception and all affliction—
That I am always.”
45. pūrṇam advayam akhaṇḍa-cetanam
viśva-bheda-kalanādi-varjitam |
advitīya-para-saṃvid-aṃśakaṃ
tat sadāham iti maunam āśraye ||45||
I resort to the silent conviction:
“That perfect, nondual, unbroken Consciousness,
free from any notion of world-diversity,
the matchless supreme Awareness—
That I am always.”
46. janma-mṛtyu-sukha-duḥkha-varjitaṃ
jāti-nīti-kula-gotra-dūragam |
cid-vivarta-jagato ’sya kāraṇaṃ
tat sadāham iti maunam āśraye ||46||
I resort to the silent conviction:
“That which is free from birth and death, joy and sorrow,
beyond all caste, conduct, family, or lineage,
the cause of this universe, which is an appearance of Consciousness—
That I am always.”
47. ulūkasya yathā bhānāv andhakāraḥ pratīyate |
svaprakāśe parānande tamo mūḍhasya bhāsate ||47||
Just as an owl perceives darkness in broad daylight,
so to the deluded mind darkness appears in the self-luminous Supreme Bliss.
48. yathā dṛṣṭi-nirodhārto sūryo nāstīti manyate |
tathā jñānāvṛto dehī brahma nāstīti manyate ||48||
As one with obstructed vision may think, “There is no sun,”
so the embodied being, veiled by ignorance, thinks, “There is no Brahman.”
49. yathā ’mṛtaṃ viṣād bhinnaṃ viṣa-doṣair na lipyate |
na spṛśāmi jaḍād bhinno jaḍa-doṣān prakāśayan ||49||
Just as nectar, distinct from poison, is untouched by poison’s faults,
so I, distinct from inertness, remain untouched by its defects, even as I illumine them.
50. svalpāpi dīpa-kaṇikā bahulaṃ nāśayet tamaḥ |
svalpopī bodho mahatīm avidyāṃ śamayet tathā ||50||
Even a small lamp-flame dispels great darkness;
likewise, even a little knowledge dispels vast ignorance.
51. cid-rūpatvān na me jāḍyaṃ satyatvān nānṛtaṃ mama |
ānandatvān na me duḥkham ajñānād bhāti tat-trayam ||51||
Since I am of the nature of Consciousness, I have no inertness;
since I am real, I have no falsehood; since I am blissful, I have no sorrow.
Those three illusions appear only through ignorance.
52. kālatraye yathā sarpo rajjau nāsti tathā mayi |
ahaṃkārādi dehāntaṃ jagannāsty aham advayaḥ ||52||
In all three times (past, present, future), the snake is never in the rope.
Likewise, there is neither ego nor body nor universe in me—I am nondual.
53. bhānau tamaḥ-prakāśatvān nāṅgīkurvanti sajjanāḥ |
tamas tat-kārya-sākṣīti bhrānta-buddhir aho mayi ||53||
The wise do not accept that darkness can belong to the sun.
Yet how the deluded mind supposes that darkness and its effects exist in me, the Witness!
54. yathā śītaṃ jalaṃ vahni-saṃbandhād uṣṇavad bhavet |
buddhi-tādātmya-saṃbandhāt kartṛtvaṃ vastuto na hi ||54||
As cold water, in contact with fire, becomes hot,
so the intellect, identified with something else, seems to possess doership—yet in truth there is no doership.
55. jala-bindubhir ākāśaṃ na siktaṃ na ca śudhyati |
tathā gaṅgā-jalenāyaṃ na śuddho nitya-śuddhataḥ ||55||
Drops of water do not wet or purify the sky.
Likewise, I am not purified by even Gaṅgā water, for I am eternally pure.
56. vṛkṣotpanna-phalair vṛkṣo yathā tṛptiṃ na gacchati |
mayy adhyastānna-pānādyais tathā tṛptir na vidyate ||56||
A tree does not attain satisfaction from the fruits it produces.
Similarly, though food and drink be superimposed in me, there is no satisfaction from them.
57. sthāṇau prakalpitaś coro ’s ta sthāṇutvaṃ na bādhate |
svasmin kalpita-jīvaś ca svaṃ bādhitum aśakyate ||57||
A thief imagined in a post does not negate the post’s nature.
Likewise, the “individual soul” imagined in me cannot negate my true self.
58. ajñāne buddhi-vilaye nidrā sā bhaṇyate budhaiḥ |
vilīnā-jñāna-tat-kārye mayi nidrā kathaṃ bhavet ||58||
When ignorance and the intellect dissolve, the wise call that “sleep.”
But in me, who has dissolved ignorance and its effects, how could sleep remain?
59. buddheḥ pūrṇa-vikāso ’yaṃ jāgaraḥ parikīrtyate |
vikārādi-vihīnatvāj jāgaro me na vidyate ||59||
When the intellect is fully active, that is called the waking state.
But I am devoid of change; there is no waking state in me.
60. sūkṣma-nāḍīṣu saṃcāro buddheḥ svapno prajāyate |
saṃcāra-dharma-rahite svapno nāsti tathā mayi ||60||
When the intellect roams among subtle channels, dreams arise.
But in me, free of all movement, no dream can exist.
61. paripūrṇasya nityasya śuddhasya jyotiṣo mama |
āgantuka-malābhāvāt kiṃ snānena prayojanam ||61||
I am perpetually complete, eternal, and pure radiance.
With no extraneous impurity, what need have I for ritual bathing?
62. deśābhāvāt kva gantavyaṃ sthānābhāvāt kva vā sthitiḥ |
pūrṇe mayi sthāna-deśau kalpitāv aham advayaḥ ||62||
Without place, where could one go? Without location, where could one stand?
In me, who am Full, place and position are imagined—I am nondual.
63. prāṇa-saṃcāra-saṃśoṣāt pipāsā jāyate khalu |
śoṣaṇān-arha-cidrūpe mayy eṣā jāyate katham ||63||
When the movement of vital airs dries up, thirst arises indeed.
But how can that occur in me, who am Consciousness beyond drying?
64. nāḍīṣu pīḍyamānāsu vāyv-agni-bhyāṃ bhavet kṣudhā |
tayor pīḍana-hetutvāt saṃvid-rūpe kathaṃ mayi ||64||
When the channels are afflicted by wind and fire, hunger arises.
But how could that affliction occur in me, who am pure Awareness?
65. śarīra-sthiti-śaithilyaṃ śveta-loma-samanvitam |
jarā bhavati sā nāsti nir-aṃśe mayi sarva-ge ||65||
The slackening of bodily posture and the whitening of hair define old age.
Such does not exist in me, the indivisible, all-pervading Self.
66. yoṣit-krīḍā sukhasyāntar garvāḍhyaṃ yauvanaṃ kila |
ātmānande pare pūrṇe mayi nāsti hi yauvanam ||66||
Youth is said to be the proud sense of enjoyment in playing with women.
But in me, the Supreme, Complete Bliss, there is no youth at all.
67. mūḍha-buddhi-parivyāptaṃ duḥkhānām ālayaṃ sadā |
bālyaṃ kopana-śīlāntaṃ na me sukha-jalāmbudheḥ ||67||
Childhood, overshadowed by delusion, is perpetually the abode of sorrows, prone to anger.
That does not exist in me, the ocean of happiness.
68. evaṃ tattva-vicārābdhau nimagnānāṃ sadā nṛṇām |
paramādveta-vijñānam aparokṣaṃ na saṃśayaḥ ||68||
Thus, for those who are always immersed in the ocean of inquiry into Truth,
there is no doubt they gain direct realization of the highest nonduality.
Colophon
iti śrīmat-paramahaṃsa-parivrājakācāryasya
śrīgovinda-bhagavat-pūjya-pāda-śiṣyasya
śrīmac-chaṃkara-bhagavataḥ kṛtau
svātma-prakāśikā saṃpūrṇā॥
Thus ends the Svātma-prakāśikā, composed by Śrī Śaṅkara-bhagavatpāda,
the revered disciple of Śrī Govinda-bhagavatpāda, the illustrious
Paramahaṃsa Parivrājakācārya.
Translator’s Note
This text, Svātma-prakāśikā (“The Illumination of One’s Own Self”), presents a concise exposition of Advaita Vedānta. It emphasizes the unreality of the perceived world (prapañcha) in contrast to the ever-present, nondual Self (Brahman). The Sanskrit is dense with philosophical and poetic nuance; this translation strives to convey the meaning as faithfully as possible in English. For deeper study, consultation of traditional commentaries and guidance from a qualified teacher are recommended.