निहत्य सर्वान्राजेन्द्रान्द्वारकायां विराजते । यस्य लोमसु विश्वानि तस्य वासः सदीश्वरः
Having slain all the kings, He shines in Dvārakā; in whose hair reside all worlds, whose abode is with the Lord.
वासुदेव इति ख्यातः कथ्यते तेन कोविदैः । धातुर्विधाता भगवांश्चक्रपाणिः स्वयं भुवि
He is known as Vāsudeva, so called by the wise; the Lord, creator of beings, wielder of the discus, Himself on earth.
ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवादीनामीश्वरः प्रकृतेः परः । निर्गुणश्च निरीहश्च भक्तानुग्रहविग्रहः
He is the Lord of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, transcending nature; without qualities, without desire, and the embodiment of grace to devotees.
परं ब्रह्म परं धाम परमात्मा च देहिनः । यस्मिन्गते शवो जीवो संग्रामस्तेन संभवेत्
He is the supreme Brahman, the highest abode, the supreme Self of embodied beings; when the soul departs, the body becomes lifeless, and conflict arises with Him.
शस्त्रविद्धो महाकाशो यथा मूढ दिशस्तथा । तथाऽऽत्मा च निराकारो देही च ध्यानहेतुना
When pierced by weapons, the vast sky remains unchanged, O deluded one, just as directions do; so too the Self, formless, abides in the body as the cause of meditation.
तस्य पुत्रोऽनिरुद्धश्च महाबलपराक्रमः । त्रैलोक्यमपि संहर्तुं क्षणेन च क्षमः स्वयम्
His son Aniruddha is mighty and valiant; he is capable of destroying the three worlds in an instant by his own power.
सर्वे वेवाश्च दैत्याश्च बलवन्तो महारथाः । ते सर्वे चानिरुद्धस्य कलां नार्हन्ति षोडशीम्
All the gods and demons, powerful and great chariot-warriors, none of them equal even a sixteenth part of Aniruddha's strength.
ययोरेव समं वित्तं ययोरेव समं बलम् । तयोर्विवाहो मैत्री च न तु पुष्टविपुष्टयोः
Marriage and friendship are proper only between those equal in wealth and strength, not between the nourished and the undernourished.
बलिः पिता ते दैत्यानां सारभूतो महारथः । क्षणेन येन नीतश्च सुतलं स हरेः कला
Bali, your father, chief of the demons and a great chariot-warrior, was taken to Sutala in an instant by just a fraction of Hari's power.
सर्वे चांशकलाः पुंसः परिपूर्णतमस्य च । वृन्दावनेश्वरस्यापि कृष्णस्य परमात्मनः
All are but portions and fractions of the supreme person, of the Lord of Vṛndāvana, of Kṛṣṇa, the supreme Self.
पार्वत्युवाच ध्यायते ध्याननिष्ठश्च हृत्पद्मे च दिवानिश्म् । ब्रह्मा महेशः मेषश्च भगवन्तं सनातनम्
Pārvatī said: Brahmā, Maheśa, and Meṣa, absorbed in meditation, contemplate day and night upon the eternal Lord in the lotus of the heart.
दिनेशश्च गणेशश्च योगीन्द्राणां गुरोर्गुरुः । ध्यायते परमात्मानं भगवन्तं सनातनम्
The sun, Gaṇeśa, and the guru of the yogis' gurus, all meditate upon the supreme self, the eternal Lord.
सनत्कुमारः कपिलो नरो नारायणस्तथा । ध्यायते हृदयाम्भोजे भगवन्तं सo
Sanatkumāra, Kapila, Nara, and Nārāyaṇa likewise meditate upon the Lord in the lotus of the heart.
मनवश्च मुनीन्द्राश्च सिद्धेन्द्रा योगिनां वराः । ध्यानासाध्यं च ध्यायन्ते भगवन्तं सo
The Manus, the foremost sages, the chief of the siddhas, and the best among yogis, all meditate upon the Lord, attainable through meditation.
सर्वादिं सर्वबीजं च सर्वेशं च परात्परम् । ध्यायन्ते ज्ञानिनः सर्वे भगवन्तं सo
All the wise contemplate the Lord, who is the origin of all, the seed of all, the Lord of all, and higher than the highest.
गणेश उवाच अभाग्यं च बलेश्चापि वैष्णवस्य महात्मनः । मूढोऽयमीदृशः पुत्रः प्रह्लादस्य च धीमतः
Gaṇeśa said: This is the misfortune of Bali and also of the great-souled Vaiṣṇava; this son, though foolish, is the son of the wise Prahlāda.
स्कन्द उवाच अये भ्रातर्न श्रुता च हिरण्यकशिपोः कथा । हिरण्याक्षस्य च मधोः कैटभस्य महात्मनः
Skanda said: O brother, have you not heard the story of Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyākṣa, Madhu, and the great-souled Kaiṭabha?
पूर्वजास्तेऽपि ते दैत्या महाबलपराक्रमाः । क्रमेण विष्णुना नीता लीलया यमसादनम्
Those Daityas, your elders, mighty and valiant, were gradually sent to the abode of Yama by Viṣṇu in sport.
भगवान्यस्य संहर्ता स्वयं नारायणः प्रभुः । तस्य को रक्षिता भ्रातर्निवर्तस्व शुभायच
The Lord Nārāyaṇa himself is the destroyer of that one; O brother, who then can be his protector? Turn back for your own good.
तेषां च वचनं श्रुत्वा तानुवाचासुरेश्वरः । कोपरक्तास्यनयनो धनुष्पाणिर्यथाऽन्तकः
Hearing their words, the lord of the Asuras replied, his mouth and eyes reddened with anger, holding his bow like Death himself.
बाण उवाच शृणु मातः प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणु तात महेश्वर । शृणु भ्रातर्गणपते शृणु भ्रातश्च कार्तिक
Bāṇa said: Listen, Mother, I will speak; listen, Father Maheśvara; listen, brother Gaṇapati; listen, brother Kārtikeya.
शुभशुभं प्राक्तनेन प्राणिनां कर्मिणां तथा । कृतकर्मातिरिक्तं च कार्य केषां च वर्तते
The good and bad that befall living beings arise from their past actions; apart from what has already been done, what remains to be done exists for some.
नाप्राप्तकालो म्रियते विद्धः शरशतैरपि । तृणाग्रेणापि संस्पृष्टः प्राप्तकालो न जीवति
One does not die before the appointed time, even if pierced by hundreds of arrows; but when the time has come, one does not live, even if touched only by a blade of grass.
यस्माच्च यस्य निर्वाणं विधात्रा लिखितं पुरा । तदेव नित्यं सत्यं च निषेकः केन वार्यते
That liberation which has been written by the Creator for each person from the beginning—that alone is always true and eternal; who can prevent what is destined?
संग्रामे कातरो यो हि निष्फलं तस्य जीवनम् । जयी यशस्च लभते मृतः स्वर्गं च गच्छति
In battle, the coward's life is fruitless; the victor gains fame, and the one who dies attains heaven.
प्रविश्य कन्यां गृह्णाति नगरं शिवरक्षितम् । पार्वत्या च गणेशेन युद्धेन बलिना तथा
He enters, seizes the maiden, and the city protected by Śiva, as well as by Pārvatī, Gaṇeśa, and the mighty Kārtikeya, through battle.
को वा गृह्णाति कन्यां च कस्य वा जीवितस्य च । सगर्भा तव कन्येति सभायां रक्षको वदेत्
Who can seize the maiden, or whose is life itself? If your daughter is pregnant, let the protector declare it in the assembly.
इति मे वज्रतुल्यं च श्रुतिकौटं परं वचः । अतोऽनिरुद्वं हत्वा च घातयिष्यामि कन्यकाम् अन्यथा ज्वलदग्नौ च त्यक्ष्यामि च कलेवरम्
Thus, my words are as firm as thunder and difficult to disregard; therefore, after killing Aniruddha, I will slay the maiden, or else I will cast my body into blazing fire.
कोटर्युवाच शृणु वत्स प्रवक्ष्यामि माताऽहं तेऽपि धर्मतः । तुरन्तेनापि पृत्रेण पित्रोर्दुःर्ख पदे पदे
Koṭarī said: Listen, my child, I will tell you—by righteousness, I am also your mother. Even with haste, a father brings suffering to parents at every step.
कन्या परगृहीता साऽप्यन्यस्मै दातुमक्षमा । श्रीकृष्णस्यापि पौत्राय प्रद्युम्नस्य सुताय च
A maiden who has been accepted by another cannot be given to someone else; even to the grandson of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or to the son of Pradyumna.