nirvāṇa daśakaṃ

I am neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor space, nor the sense organs, nor the combination of these. Because these are all transient and only established in deep sleep, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

I am not the castes, nor the duties of the stages of life, nor rituals, nor the concepts of concentration, meditation, or yoga. By abandoning the false identification of the 'I' and 'mine' with the non-self, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

Neither mother, nor father, nor gods, nor worlds, nor Vedas, nor sacrifices, nor holy places can define me. Because in the state of deep sleep all such concepts are negated into the void, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

I am neither the Sankhya, nor the Shaiva, nor the Pancharatra doctrines, nor the Jain, nor the Mimamsa, nor any other philosophical systems. By experiencing the distinct and pure essence of my own nature, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

I am neither above, nor below, nor inside, nor outside, nor in the middle, nor transverse, nor in any direction—east or west. Because I am all-pervading like space and of an indivisible, uniform nature, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

I am not white, nor black, nor red, nor yellow; I am not bent, nor stout, nor short, nor tall. Because I am formless and of the nature of pure light, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

There is no teacher, no scripture, no student, no instruction; there is neither you, nor I, nor this manifest universe. As the consciousness of my own nature, which cannot tolerate the duality of imagination, I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

I am neither the waking state, nor the dream state, nor deep sleep; I am neither the Vishwa, nor the Taijasa, nor the Prajna states of consciousness. Because these three are products of ignorance and I am the Turiya (the fourth), I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

Because I am all-pervading, the cause of all well-being, self-established, and independent of any other support, this entire universe is trivial and separate from me. I alone remain—the auspicious, the absolute, I am Shiva.

It is not one, so how could there be a second? It is neither absolute, nor non-absolute; it is neither void, nor non-void. Being beyond duality, how can I express that which is the conclusion of all the Vedas?