Muktaka Traya

Three Verses on Liberation

एकमक्षरं हृदि निरन्तरम्। 
भासते स्वयम् लिख्यते कथम्॥

ēkamakṣaram hr̥di nirantaram |
bhāsatē svayam likhyatē katham ||

1. The one imperishable (letter) itself shines continually in the Heart. How is it to be written?

हृदयकुहर मध्ये केवलं ब्रह्ममात्रम्।
ह्यमहमिति साक्षद् आत्मरुपेण भाति॥

हृदि विश मनसास्वं चिन्वता मज्जता वा।
पवन चलन रोधाद् आत्मनिष्ठो भव त्वम्॥

hṛdayakuhara madhye kevalaṃ brahmamātram।
hyamahamiti sākṣad ātmarupeṇa bhāti॥

hṛdi viśa manasāsvaṃ cinvatā majjatā vā।
pavana calana rodhād ātmaniṣṭho bhava tvam॥

2. In the center of the heart-cave Brahman alone shines in the form of the Self with immediacy as 'I-I'. Enter into the heart by diving deep, with the mind investigating itself, or with control of the movement of the breath and abide in the Self.

देहं मृन्मय वज्जडात्मकम् अहं बुद्धिर्न तस्यास्त्यतो
   नाहं तत्तदभाव सुप्ति समये सिद्धात्म सद्भावतः।
कोहं भाव युतः कुतो वरधिया दृश्त्वात्म निष्ठात्मनां
   सोहं स्पूर्ति तयाऽरुणाचल शिवः पूर्णो विभाति स्वयम्॥

dehaṃ mṛnmaya vajjaḍātmakam ahaṃ buddhirna tasyāstyato
nāhaṃ tattadabhāva supti samaye siddhātma sadbhāvataḥ।
kohaṃ bhāva yutaḥ kuto varadhiyā dṛśtvātma niṣṭhātmanāṃ
sohaṃ spūrti tayā'ruṇācala śivaḥ pūrṇo vibhāti svayam॥

3. The body, like things made of clay, is insentient in nature and has no 'I'-concept. Also the existence of the Self is admitted at the time of sleep when there is non-existence of the body. Therefore, I am not the body. To those established as the Self and having seen with a sharp intellect adhering to the enquiry 'Who am I?' and 'From whence?', Arunachala-Shiva itself shines full as the manifestation of 'I am that'.

Footnotes

Ekam Aksharam was written in 1937 when Somasundaraswami, went to Bhagavan with a new notebook and requested him to write one letter (aksara) in it. Bhagavan replied with a pun in Tamiḷ verse, which he later translated into Sanskrit.

Hrdaya Kuhara Madhye was written in 1915 at the request of Sri Jagadishwara Śāstṛi and appears in chapter two of Sri Ramana Gita.

Deham mrnmaya..., was composed in 1927, later translated into Tamiḷ and included as verse 10 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham.