ततो मुरारिं पुनर् उक्तवान् अहं भूयो ऽर्थधर्मार्थजिगीषितैव यत् माया तवेमाम् इह वेत्तुम् इच्छे ममाद्य तां दर्शय पुष्कराक्ष
Then I spoke again to Murāri: 'I desire only to know your Māyā here, which strives for wealth and dharma. Show her to me today, O lotus-eyed one.'
पूर्वं सुरर्षिर् द्विज नारदाख्यो ब्रह्मात्मजो ऽभून् मम भक्तियुक्तः तेनापि पूर्वं भवता यथैव संतोषितो भक्तिमता हि तद्वत्
Previously, O twice-born, the divine sage named Nārada, son of Brahmā, was devoted to me. By him also, as by you, I was pleased through devotion, just as you have pleased me.
वरं च दत्तं गतवान् अहं च स चापि वव्रे वरम् एतद् एव निवारितो माम् अतिमूढभावाद् भवान् यथैवं वृतवान् वरं च
A boon was granted, and he departed; and he too chose this very boon. He was restrained by me, for his excessive delusion, just as you have chosen, and a boon was granted.
ततो मयोक्तो ऽम्भसि नारद त्वं मायां हि मे वेत्स्यसि संनिमग्नः ततो निमग्नो ऽम्भसि नारदो ऽसौ कन्या बभौ काशिपतेः सुशीला
Then I said: 'Nārada, you will know my Māyā, immersed in water.' Then Nārada, immersed in water, appeared as the beautiful daughter of the king of Kāśī.
तां यौवनाढ्याम् अथ चारुधर्मिणे विदर्भराज्ञस् तनयाय वै ददौ स्वधर्मणे सो ऽपि तया समेतः सिषेव कामान् अतुलान् महर्षिः
That youthful maiden, endowed with noble qualities, was given to the son of the king of Vidarbha, who followed his own duty. United with her, the great sage enjoyed incomparable pleasures.
स्वर्गे गते ऽसौ पितरि प्रतापवान् राज्यं क्रमायातम् अवाप्य हृष्टः विदर्भराष्ट्रं परिपालयानः पुत्रैः सपौत्रैर् बहुभिर् वृतो ऽभूत्
When his father went to heaven, the valiant one obtained the kingdom in due course, rejoicing. Governing the land of Vidarbha, surrounded by many sons and grandsons, he was content.
अथाभवद् भूमिपतेः सुधर्मणः काशीश्वरेणाथ समं सुयुद्धम् तत्र क्षयं प्राप्य सपुत्रपौत्रं विदर्भराट् काशिपतिश् च युद्धे
Then there was a great and righteous battle between the king of the earth and the lord of Kāśī; in that fight, both the king of Vidarbha and the king of Kāśī, along with their sons and grandsons, met their destruction.
ततः सुशीला पितरं सपुत्रं ज्ञात्वा पतिं चापि सपुत्रपौत्रम् पुराद् विनिःसृत्य रणावनिं गता दृष्ट्वा सुशीला कदनं महान्तम्
Thereafter, Suśīlā, realizing that her father and his sons, as well as her husband with his sons and grandsons, had perished, left the city and went to the battlefield; seeing the great carnage, Suśīlā was overwhelmed.
भर्तुर् बले तत्र पितुर् बले च दुःखान्विता सा सुचिरं विलप्य जगाम सा मातरम् आर्तरूपा भ्रातॄन् सुतान् भ्रातृसुतान् सपौत्रान्
Amidst the armies of her husband and father, she was filled with grief; after lamenting for a long time, she, distressed in appearance, went to her mother, to her brothers, sons, nephews, and grandsons.
भर्तारम् एषा पितरं च गृह्य महाश्मशाने च महाचितिं सा कृत्वा हुताशं प्रददौ स्वयं च यदा समिद्धो हुतभुग् बभूव
Taking her husband and father, she built a great funeral pyre in the vast cremation ground, and offered them to the blazing fire; when the sacrificial fire was kindled, she herself entered it.
तदा सुशीला प्रविवेश वेगाद् धा पुत्र हा पुत्र इति ब्रुवाणा तदा पुनः सा मुनिर् नारदो ऽभूत् स चापि वह्निः स्फटिकामलाभः
Then Suśīlā, crying out 'O son! O son!' rushed swiftly into the fire; at that moment, the sage Nārada appeared, and the fire took on the appearance of pure crystal.
कस् ते तु पुत्रो वद मे महर्षे मृतं च कं शोचसि नष्टबुद्धिः व्रीडान्वितो ऽभूद् अथ नारदो ऽसौ ततो ऽहम् एनं पुनर् एव चाह
Tell me, O great sage, who is your son? For whom do you grieve, your mind bewildered by loss? Nārada became embarrassed, and then I questioned him again.
इतीदृशा नारद कष्टरूपा माया मदीया कमलासनाद्यैः शक्या न वेत्तुं समहेन्द्ररुद्रैः कथं भवान् वेत्स्यति दुर्विभाव्याम्
O Nārada, such is my difficult and wondrous illusion; it cannot be known even by Kamalāsana and others, nor by Indra or Rudra together—how then could you comprehend this, which is so hard to grasp?
स वाक्यम् आकर्ण्य महामहर्षिर् उवाच भक्तिं मम देहि विष्णो प्राप्ते ऽथ काले स्मरणं तथैव सदा च संदर्शनम् ईश ते ऽस्तु
Hearing these words, the great sage replied: 'O Viṣṇu, grant me devotion; at the time of death, may I remember you, and always have your vision, O Lord.'
यत्राहम् आर्तश् चितिम् अद्य रूढस् तत् तीर्थम् अस्त्व् अच्युतपापहन्त्रा अधिष्ठितं केशव नित्यम् एव त्वया सहासं कमलोद्भवेन
Where today I, afflicted, have mounted the funeral pyre, let that place become a holy site, ever presided over by you, Keśava, destroyer of sin, together with Kamalodbhava.
ततो मयोक्तो द्विज नारदो ऽसौ तीर्थं सितोदे हि चितिस् तवास्तु स्थास्याम्य् अहं चात्र सदैव विष्णुर् महेश्वरः स्थास्यति चोत्तरेण
Then I said to the sage Nārada: 'Let this place, called Sitodā, be your sacred site; I shall always remain here, and Viṣṇu and Maheśvara will also abide to the north.'
यदा विरञ्चेर् वदनं त्रिनेत्रः स च्छेत्स्यतेयं च ममोग्रवाचम् तदा कपालस्य तु मोचनाय समेष्यते तीर्थम् इदं त्वदीयम्
When the three-eyed one severs the head of Virañci, and my fierce words are fulfilled, then, for the release of the skull, this very holy place of yours will become manifest.
स्नातस्य तीर्थे त्रिपुरान्तकस्य पतिष्यते भूमितले कपालम् ततस् तु तीर्थेति कपालमोचनं ख्यातं पृथिव्यां च भविष्यते तत्
When one bathes at the holy site of Tripurāntaka, the skull will fall to the earth; therefore, this place will be known throughout the world as Kapālamocana, the releaser of the skull.
तदा प्रभृत्य् अम्बुदवाहनो ऽसौ न मोक्ष्यते तीर्थवरं सुपुण्यम् न चैव तस्मिन् द्विज संप्रचक्षते तत् क्षेत्रम् उग्रं त्व् अथ ब्रह्मवध्या
From that time, the bearer of the waters will not abandon this supremely holy site; nor, O twice-born, will anyone call that place dreadful, for it is the field where Brahmanicide is absolved.
यदा न मोक्षत्य् अमरारिहन्ता तत् क्षेत्रमुख्यं महद् आप्तपुण्यम् तदा विमुक्तेति सुरै रहस्यं तीर्थं स्तुतं पुण्यदम् अव्ययाख्यम्
When the slayer of the foe of the gods is not released, that chief of holy fields, of great and acquired merit, will then be called Vimukta by the gods—a secret, praiseworthy, and imperishable holy place.
कृत्वा तु पापानि नरो महान्ति तस्मिन् प्रविष्टः शुचिर् अप्रमादी यदा तु मां चिन्तयते स शुद्धः प्रयाति मोक्षं भगवत्प्रसादात्
Even if a man has committed great sins, if he enters there pure and attentive, and remembers me, he becomes purified and, by the grace of the Lord, attains liberation.
भूत्वा तस्मिन् रुद्रपिशाचसंज्ञो योन्यन्तरे दुःखम् उपाश्नुते ऽसौ विमुक्तपापो बहुवर्षपूगैर् उत्पत्तिम् आयास्यति विप्रगेहे
If, after becoming known as a Rudra-piśāca there, he is born in another womb and suffers misery, yet, freed from sin after many thousands of years, he will be born in the house of a Brāhmaṇa.
शुचिर् यतात्मास्य ततो ऽन्तकाले रुद्रो हितं तारकम् अस्य कीर्तयेत् इत्य् एवम् उक्त्वा द्विजवर्य नारदं गतो ऽस्मि दुग्धार्णवम् आत्मगेहम्
If he is pure and self-controlled at the end, Rudra will recite for him the auspicious Tāraka mantra; thus, having spoken to the excellent sage Nārada, I went to my own abode, the ocean of milk.
स चापि विप्रस् त्रिदिवं चचार गन्धर्वराजेन समर्च्यमानः एतत् तवोक्तं ननु बोधनाय माया मदीया नहि शक्यते सा
And that sage, honored by the king of the Gandharvas, went to heaven; thus I have told you, for your understanding, but my illusion cannot be comprehended.
ज्ञातुं भवान् इच्छति चेत् ततो ऽद्य एवं विशस्वाप्सु च वेत्सि येन एवं द्विजातिर् हरिणा प्रबोधितो भाव्यर्थयोगान् निममज्ज तोये
If you wish to know, then today itself, enter the waters and you will understand by what means the twice-born was awakened by Hari and immersed in the water through the union of future purposes.
कोकामुखे तात ततो हि कन्या चाण्डालवेश्मन्य् अभवद् द्विजः सः रूपान्विता शीलगुणोपपन्ना अवाप सा यौवनम् आससाद
Then, O dear one, at the mouth of the Kokā river, a maiden was born in the house of a cāṇḍāla; that twice-born, endowed with beauty and possessing virtues of character, attained youth.
चाण्डालपुत्रेण सुबाहुनापि विवाहिता रूपविवर्जितेन पतिर् न तस्या हि मतो बभूव सा तस्य चैवाभिमता बभूव
She was married to the cāṇḍāla's son, who was lacking in beauty, though he was strong; her husband was not pleasing to her, but she became pleasing to him.
पुत्रद्वयं नेत्रहीनं बभूव कन्या च पश्चाद् बधिरा तथान्या पतिर् दरिद्रस् त्व् अथ सापि मुग्धा नदीगता रोदिति तत्र नित्यम्
She bore two sons who were blind, and later a daughter who was deaf; her husband was poor, and she, innocent, went to the river and wept there constantly.
गता कदाचित् कलशं गृहीत्वा सान्तर् जलं स्नातुम् अथ प्रविष्टा यावद् द्विजो ऽसौ पुनर् एव तावज् जातः क्रियायोगरतः सुशीलः
Once, taking a pot filled with water, she entered to bathe; meanwhile, that twice-born was reborn, devoted to ritual practice and of good character.
तस्याः स भर्ताथ चिरंगतेति द्रष्टुं जगामाथ नदीं सुपुण्याम् ददर्श कुम्भं न च तां तटस्थां ततो ऽतिदुःखात् प्ररुरोद नादयन्
Her husband, after a long time, went to see her at the auspicious river; he saw the pot but not her on the bank, and out of great sorrow, he cried aloud.