एवम् उच्चारिते तेन मातङ्गस् तम् उवाच ह
When those words were spoken, Mātaṅga addressed him.
किं पूर्वं भवता कर्म विकृतं कृतम् अञ्जसा येन त्वं दोषजातेन संभूतो ब्रह्मराक्षसः
What wrongful deed did you previously commit, by which you have become a Brahma-rākṣasa, born from the result of sin?
तस्य तद् वाक्यम् आकर्ण्य मातङ्गं ब्रह्मराक्षसः प्रोवाच दुःखसंतप्तः संस्मृत्य स्वकृतं कृतम्
Hearing those words, the Brahma-rākṣasa spoke to Mātaṅga, tormented by suffering, recalling what he himself had done.
श्रूयतां यो ऽहम् आसं वै पूर्वं यच् च मया कृतम् यस्मिन् कृते पापयोनिं गतवान् अस्मि राक्षसीम्
Listen: who I was before, and what I did, for which I entered a sinful birth and became a rākṣasa.
सोमशर्म इति ख्यातः पूर्वम् आसम् अहं द्विजः पुत्रो ऽध्ययनशीलस्य देवशर्मस्य यज्वनः
I was formerly known as Somaśarma, a twice-born, the son of Devaśarma, a devoted student and sacrificer.
कस्यचिद् यजमानस्य सूत्रमन्त्रबहिष्कृतः नृपस्य कर्मसक्तेन यूपकर्मसुनिष्ठितः
For a certain sacrificer, I was excluded from the ritual mantras and formulas, and, attached to the king's rites, I performed the yūpa ritual with improper completion.
आग्नीध्रं चाकरोद् यज्ञे लोभमोहप्रपीडितः तस्मिन् परिसमाप्ते तु मौर्ख्याद् दम्भम् अनुष्ठितः
Driven by greed and delusion, I acted as the fire-attendant in the sacrifice; when it was completed, out of foolishness, I performed deceit.
यष्टुम् आरब्धवान् अस्मि द्वादशाहं महाक्रतुम् प्रवर्तमाने तस्मिंस् तु कुक्षिशूलो ऽभवन् मम
I began to perform a twelve-day great sacrifice; while it was underway, I was afflicted with pain in my abdomen.
संपूर्णे दशरात्रे तु न समाप्ते तथा क्रतौ विरूपाक्षस्य दीयन्त्याम् आहुत्यां राक्षसे क्षणे
When ten nights had passed, but the rite was not yet finished, at the moment when an offering was made to Virūpākṣa, a rākṣasa, I died.
मृतो ऽहं तेन दोषेण संभूतो ब्रह्मराक्षसः मूर्खेण मन्त्रहीनेन सूत्रस्वरविवर्जितम्
Because of that fault, I became a Brahma-rākṣasa, having died as a fool, lacking mantras, and omitting the proper recitation of formulas.
अजानता यज्ञविद्यां यद् इष्टं याजितं च यत् तेन कर्मविपाकेन संभूतो ब्रह्मराक्षसः
Unknowing the science of sacrifice, whatever was performed or caused to be performed by me, by the result of those actions, I became a Brahma-rākṣasa.
तन् मां पापमहाम्भोधौ निमग्नं त्वं समुद्धर प्रजागरे गीतिकैकां पश्चिमां दातुम् अर्हसि
Therefore, lift me up from this great ocean of sin; you ought to grant me a final song during your vigil.
तम् उवाचाथ चाण्डालो यदि प्राणिवधाद् भवान् निवृत्तिं कुरुते दद्यां ततः पश्चिमगीतिकाम्
Then the cāṇḍāla said to him: If you abstain from killing living beings, I will grant you the final song.
बाढम् इत्य् अवदत् सो ऽपि मातङ्गो ऽपि ददौ तदा गीतिकाफलम् आमन्त्र्य मुहूर्तार्धप्रजागरम्
He replied, 'Agreed,' and Mātaṅga then gave him, invoking the fruit of the song, a half-moment's vigil.
तस्मिन् गीतिफले दत्ते मातङ्गं ब्रह्मराक्षसः प्रणम्य प्रययौ हृष्टस् तीर्थवर्यं पृथूदकम्
When the fruit of the song was given, the Brahma-rākṣasa bowed to Mātaṅga and joyfully departed for the excellent holy place, Pṛthūdaka.
तत्रानशनसंकल्पं कृत्वा प्राणाञ् जहौ द्विजाः राक्षसत्वाद् विनिर्मुक्तो गीतिकाफलबृंहितः
There, having resolved to fast, the twice-born relinquished his life; freed from the state of rākṣasa, strengthened by the fruit of the song.
पृथूदकप्रभावाच् च ब्रह्मलोकं च दुर्लभम् दश वर्षसहस्राणि निरातङ्को ऽवसत् ततः
By the power of Pṛthūdaka, he attained Brahma's world, which is difficult to reach, and dwelt there without trouble for ten thousand years.
तस्यान्ते ब्राह्मणो जातो बभूव स्मृतिमान् वशी तस्याहं चरितं भूयः कथयिष्यामि भो द्विजाः
At the end of that, he was born as a brāhmaṇa, endowed with memory and self-control; I will again recount his story, O twice-born ones.
मातङ्गस्य कथाशेषं शृणुध्वं गदतो मम राक्षसे तु गते धीमान् गृहम् एत्य यतात्मवान्
Hear now the remainder of the tale of Matanga as I recount it: when the Rakshasa departed, the wise one, self-controlled, returned home.
तद्विप्रचरितं स्मृत्वा निर्विण्णः शुचिर् अप्य् असौ पुत्रेषु भार्यां निक्षिप्य ददौ भूम्याः प्रदक्षिणाम्
Remembering the actions of that Brahmin, he became despondent, though pure; entrusting his wife to his sons, he circumambulated the earth.
कोकामुखात् समारभ्य यावद् वै स्कन्ददर्शनम् दृष्ट्वा स्कन्दं ययौ धाराचक्रे चापि प्रदक्षिणम्
Beginning from Kokamukha and up to the sight of Skanda, having seen Skanda, he went and circumambulated the Dhara wheel as well.
ततो ऽद्रिवरम् आगम्य विन्ध्यम् उच्चशिलोच्चयम् पापप्रमोचनं तीर्थम् आससाद स तु द्विजाः
Then, coming to the excellent mountain, the lofty Vindhya with its high peaks, he reached the sacred ford called Papapramocana.
स्नानं पापहरं चक्रे स तु चाण्डालवंशजः विमुक्तपापः सस्मार पूर्वजातीर् अनेकशः
There, the son of a Chandala performed a sin-removing bath; freed from sin, he remembered his many former births.
स पूर्वजन्मन्य् अभवद् भिक्षुः संयतवाङ्मनाः यतकायश् च मतिमान् वेदवेदाङ्गपारगः
In a previous birth, he had been a mendicant, restrained in speech and mind, disciplined in body, intelligent, and accomplished in the Vedas and Vedangas.
एकदा गोषु नगराद् ध्रियमाणासु तस्करैः भिक्षावधूता रजसा मुक्ता तेनाथ भिक्षुणा
Once, as cows were being driven from the city by thieves, the dust raised by the mendicant's begging freed him from it.
स तेनाधर्मदोषेण चाण्डालीं योनिम् आगतः पापप्रमोचने स्नातः स मृतो नर्मदातटे
Because of that fault of unrighteousness, he was born in a Chandala womb; having bathed at Papapramocana, he died on the bank of the Narmada.
मूर्खो ऽभूद् ब्राह्मणवरो वाराणस्यां च भो द्विजाः तत्रास्य वसतो ऽब्दैस् तु त्रिंशद्भिः सिद्धपूरुषः
He became a foolish but excellent Brahmin in Varanasi, O twice-born; living there for thirty years, he became a perfected being.
विरूपरूपी बभ्राम योगमालाबलान्वितः तं दृष्ट्वा सोपहासार्थम् अभिवाद्याभ्युवाच ह
He wandered about in various forms, endowed with the power of a garland of yoga; seeing him, someone approached, greeted him, and spoke mockingly.
कुशलं सिद्धपुरुषं कुतस् त्व् आगम्यते त्वया
"O accomplished one, from where have you come to this place?"
एवं संभाषितस् तेन ज्ञातो ऽहम् इति चिन्त्य तु प्रत्युवाचाथ वन्द्यस् तं स्वर्गलोकाद् उपागतः
Thus addressed by him, thinking, 'He knows me,' the venerable one replied, 'I have come from the world of the gods.'