स्थितेषु सर्वदेवेषु निद्रासुप्ते जगत्पतौ । चिन्तामापुः सुराः सर्वे ब्रह्मरुद्रपुरोगमाः
While all the gods were present and the Lord of the world lay asleep, all the gods, led by Brahma and Rudra, became anxious.
तानुवाच ततः शक्रः किं कर्तव्यं सुरोत्तमाः । निद्राभङ्गः कथं कार्यश्चिन्तयन्तु सुरोत्तमाः
Then Indra spoke to them: 'What should be done, O best of gods? Let the best of gods consider how the sleep may be broken.'
तमुवाच तदा शम्भुर्निद्राभङ्गेऽस्ति दूषणम् । कार्यं चैव प्रकर्तव्यं यज्ञस्य सुरसत्तमाः
Then Shambhu said to him: 'There is a fault in breaking the sleep, yet the work of the sacrifice must be accomplished, O best of gods.'
उत्पादिता तदा वम्री ब्रह्मणा परमेष्ठिना । तया भक्षयितुं तत्र धनुषोऽग्रं धरास्थितम्
Then a termite was created by Brahma, the supreme lord; with it, the tip of the bow, which was resting on the ground, was to be eaten there.
भक्षितेऽग्रे तदा निम्नं गमिष्यति शरासनम् । तदा निद्राविमुक्तोऽसौ देवदेवो भविष्यति
When the tip is eaten, the bow will descend; then the Lord of gods will be freed from sleep.
देवकार्यं तदा सर्वं भविष्यति न संशयः । स वम्रीं संदिदेशाथ देवदेवः सनातनः
Then all the work of the gods will be accomplished, without doubt; and the eternal Lord of gods instructed the termite.
तमुवाच तदा वम्री देवदेवस्य मापतेः । निद्राभङ्गः कथं कार्यो देवस्य जगतां गुरोः
Then the termite said to the Lord of gods: 'How should the sleep of the god, the teacher of the worlds, be broken?'
निद्राभङ्गः कथाच्छेदो दम्पत्योः प्रीतिभेदनम् । शिशुमातृविभेदश्च ब्रह्महत्यासमं स्मृतम्
The breaking of sleep, the interruption of a story, the separation of a loving couple, and the division of mother and child are considered equal to the sin of killing a Brahmin.
तत्कथं देवदेवस्य करोमि सुखनाशनम् । किं फलं भक्षणाद्देव येन पापं करोम्यहम्
How, then, can I bring about the loss of happiness for the Lord of gods? What fruit will I gain from eating, for which I would commit sin?
सर्वः स्वार्थवशो लोकः कुरुते पातकं किल । तस्मादहं करिष्यामि स्वार्थमेव प्रभक्षणम्
The whole world, compelled by self-interest, indeed commits sin; therefore, I will do this act for my own sake, and I will eat.
ब्रह्मोवाच तव भागं करिष्यामो मखमध्ये यथा शृणु । तेन त्वं कुरु कार्यं नो विष्णुं बोधय माचिरम्
Brahma said: 'We will give you your share in the sacrifice—listen as I tell you. By that, do our task and quickly awaken Vishnu.'
होमकर्मणि पार्श्वे च हविर्दानात्पतिष्यति । तत्ते भागं विजानीहि कुरु कार्यं त्वरान्विता
At the side of the sacrificial rite, from the offering of oblations, your share will fall; know that as your portion, and perform the task with speed.
सूत उवाच इत्युक्ता ब्रह्मणा वम्री धनुषोऽग्रं त्वरान्विता । चखाद संस्थितं भूमौ विमुक्ता ज्या तदाभवत्
Suta said: Thus addressed by Brahma, the termite quickly ate the tip of the bow that was resting on the ground, and then the bowstring was released.
प्रत्यञ्जायां विमुक्तायां मुक्ता कोटिस्तथोत्तरा । शब्दः समभवद्घोरस्तेन त्रस्ताः सुरास्तदा
As the bowstring was released and the tip sprang upward, a terrible sound arose, and the gods were frightened by it.
ब्रह्माण्डं क्षुभितं सर्वं वसुधा कम्पिता तदा । समुद्राश्च समुद्विग्नास्त्रेसुश्च जलजन्तवः
The entire cosmic egg was shaken, the earth trembled, the oceans were agitated, and the aquatic creatures were terrified.
ववुर्वातास्तथा चोग्राः पर्वताश्च चकम्पिरे । उल्कापाता महोत्पाता बभूवुर्दुःखशंसिनः
Fierce winds blew, mountains shook, meteors fell, and great omens of disaster appeared.
दिशो घोरतराश्चासन्सूर्योऽप्यस्तंगतोऽभवत् । चिन्तामापुः सुराः सर्वे किं भविष्यति दुर्दिने
The directions became even more terrifying, and the sun itself set; all the gods were seized by anxiety, wondering what would happen on this dreadful day.
एवं चिन्तयतां तेषां मूर्धा विष्णोः सकुण्डलः । गतः समुकुटः क्वापि देवदेवस्य तापसाः
As they were thus worrying, the head of Vishnu, adorned with earrings and crown, vanished somewhere, O ascetics, from the Lord of gods.
अन्धकारे तदा घोरे शान्ते ब्रह्महरौ तदा । शिरोहीनं शरीरं तु ददृशाते विलक्षणम्
Then, in that dreadful darkness, while Brahma and Shiva were calm, they saw the body, now headless, of Vishnu, appearing strange.
दृष्ट्वा कबन्धं विष्णोस्ते विस्मिताः सुरसत्तमाः । चिन्तासागरमग्नाश्च रुरुदुः शोककर्शिताः
Seeing Vishnu's trunk, the best of the gods were astonished; plunged into an ocean of worry, they wept, tormented by grief.
हा नाथ किं प्रभो जातमत्यद्भुतममानुषम् । वैशसं सर्वदेवानां देवदेव सनातन
"Alas, Lord! What has happened, O Master? This is most astonishing and inhuman—a calamity for all the gods, O eternal God of gods!"
मायेयं कस्य देवस्य यया तेऽद्य शिरो हृतम् । अच्छेद्यस्त्वमभेद्योऽसि अप्रदाह्योऽसि सर्वदा
"By whose magic, O God, has your head been taken today? You are always uncut, unbroken, and unburnable."
एवं गते त्वयि विभो मरिष्यन्ति च देवताः । कीदृशस्त्वयि नः स्नेहः स्वार्थेनैव रुदामहे
"With you in this state, O Lord, the gods will perish. What kind of affection do we have for you, that we weep only for our own sake?"
नायं विघ्नः कृतो दैत्यैर्न यक्षैर्न च राक्षसैः । देवैरेव कृतः कस्य दूषणं च रमापते
"This obstacle was not caused by demons, nor by yakshas or rakshasas; it was made by the gods themselves. O Lord of Lakshmi, whose fault is this?"
पराधीनाः सुराः सर्वे किं कुर्मः क्व व्रजाम च । शरणं नैव देवेश सुराणां मूढचेतसाम्
"All the gods are powerless—what can we do, and where can we go? O Lord of gods, there is no refuge for the deluded-minded gods."
न चैषा सात्त्विकी माया राजसी न च तामसी । यया छिन्नं शिरस्तेऽद्य मायेशस्य जगद्गुरोः
"Nor is this the sāttvic, nor rājasic, nor tāmasic māyā by which your head, O Lord of Māyā, Teacher of the world, was severed today."
क्रन्दमानांस्तदा दृष्ट्वा देवाञ्छिवपुरोगमान् । बृहस्पतिस्तदोवाच शमयन्वेदवित्तमः
Seeing the gods, led by Shiva, weeping at that time, Brihaspati, the knower of the Vedas, spoke to calm them.
रुदितेन महाभागाः क्रन्दितेन तथापि किम् । उपायश्चात्र कर्तव्यः सर्वथा बुद्धिगोचरः
"O blessed ones, what is the use of crying and wailing? Some means must certainly be devised, within the reach of our understanding."
दैवं पुरुषकारश्च देवेश सदृशावुभौ । उपायश्च विधातव्यो दैवात्फलति सर्वथा
"O Lord of gods, both fate and human effort are equal; a means must be undertaken, for results always arise from destiny."
इन्द्र उवाच दैवमेव परं मन्ये धिक्पौरुषमनर्थकम् । विष्णोरपि शिरश्छिन्नं सुराणां चैव पश्यताम्
Indra said: "I consider fate supreme; shame on human effort, which is useless. Even Vishnu's head was cut off before the very eyes of the gods."