manaḥ pṛthivyāṁ tām adbhis
tejasāpo ’nilena tat
khe vāyuṁ dhārayaṁs tac ca
bhūtādau taṁ mahātmani
Synonyms
manaḥ — the mind (full of material desires for eating, sleeping, mating and defending); pṛthivyām — in the earth; tām — that; adbhiḥ — with water; tejasā — and with fire; apaḥ — the water; anilena — in the fire; tat — that; khe — in the sky; vāyum — the air; dhārayan — amalgamating; tat — that; ca — also; bhūta-ādau — in the false ego, the origin of material existence; tam — that (false ego); mahā-ātmani — in the mahat-tattva, the total material energy; tasmin — in the total material energy; jñāna-kalām — spiritual knowledge and its different branches; dhyātvā — by meditating; tayā — by this process; ajñānam — ignorance; vinirdahan — specifically subdued; hitvā — giving up; tām — material ambition; svena — by self-realization; bhāvena — in devotional service; nirvāṇa-sukha-saṁvidā — by transcendental bliss, putting an end to material existence; anirdeśya — imperceptible; apratarkyeṇa — inconceivable; tasthau — remained; vidhvasta — completely freed from; bandhanaḥ — material bondage.
Translation
Mahārāja Hariścandra first purified his mind, which was full of material enjoyment, by amalgamating it with the earth. Then he amalgamated the earth with water, the water with fire, the fire with the air, and the air with the sky. Thereafter, he amalgamated the sky with the total material energy, and the total material energy with spiritual knowledge. This spiritual knowledge is realization of one’s self as part of the Supreme Lord. When the self-realized spiritual soul is engaged in service to the Lord, he is eternally imperceptible and inconceivable. Thus established in spiritual knowledge, he is completely freed from material bondage.
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