न दृष्टौ पितरावस्यास्त्वया प्राप्ता सरोवरे । काकतालीप्रसङ्गेन यद्भूतं तत्तथा गतम्
Her parents were not seen by you; she was found at the lake. By a chance encounter, what happened has happened.
मा शोकं कुरु राजेन्द्र कालो हि दुरतिक्रमः । कालयोगं समासाद्य भुङ्क्ष्व भोगान् गृहे यथा
Do not grieve, O king; time cannot be overcome. Having met with the destined time, enjoy pleasures at home as before.
यथागता गता सा तु तथैव वरवर्णिनी । यथा पूर्वं तथा तत्र गच्छ कार्यं कुरु प्रभो
She has departed just as she came, that woman of excellent complexion. As before, go there and fulfill your duties, O lord.
रुदितेन तवाद्यैव नागमिष्यति कामिनी । वृथा शोचसि पृध्वीश योगयुक्तो भवाधुना
Your beloved will not return today because of your weeping. You grieve in vain, O lord of the earth; now be united with yoga.
भोगः कालवशादेति तथैव प्रतियाति च । नात्र शोकस्तु कर्तव्यो निष्फले भववर्त्मनि
Pleasure comes and goes according to time; likewise, it departs. There should be no sorrow here on the fruitless path of worldly existence.
नैकत्र सुखसंयोगो दुःखयोगस्तु नैकतः । घटिकायन्त्रवत्कामं भ्रमणं सुखदुःखयोः
Happiness is not always found in one place, nor is sorrow always united. Like the movement of a water-clock, pleasure and pain wander at will.
मनः कृत्वा स्थिरं भूप कुरु राज्यं यथासुखम् । अथवा न्यस्य दायादे वनं सेवय साम्प्रतम्
Make your mind steady, O king, and rule your kingdom as you please; or else, entrust it to your heir and now serve the forest.
दुर्लभो मानुषो देहः प्राणिनां क्षणभङ्गुरः । तस्मिन्प्राप्ते तु कर्तव्यं सर्वथैवात्मसाधनम्
The human body is rare and fleeting for living beings; once attained, one must always strive for self-realization.
जिह्वोपस्थरसो राजन् पशुयोनिषु वर्तते । ज्ञानं मानुषदेहे वै नान्यासु च कुयोनिषु
Taste of tongue and sexual pleasure, O king, exist in animal births; knowledge is found only in the human body, not in other inferior births.
तस्माद्गच्छ गृहं त्यक्त्वा शोकं कान्तासमुद्भवम् । मायेयं भगवत्यास्तु यया सम्मोहितं जगत्
Therefore, go home, abandoning the grief arising from your beloved. This is the illusion of the Goddess, by which the world is deluded.
नारद उवाच इत्युक्तो हरिणा राजा प्रणम्य कमलापतिम् । कृत्वा स्नानविधिं सम्यग्जगाम निजमन्दिरम्
Nārada said: Thus addressed by Hari, the king bowed to the lotus-eyed Lord, performed the proper bathing rites, and went to his own palace.
दत्त्वा राज्यं स्वपौत्राय प्राप्य निर्वेदमद्भुतम् । वनं जगाम भूपालस्तत्त्वज्ञानमवाप च
Having given the kingdom to his grandson and attained wondrous detachment, the king went to the forest and obtained knowledge of the truth.
गते राजन्यहं वीक्ष्य भगवन्तमधोक्षजम् । तमब्रवं जगन्नाथं हसन्तं मां पुनः पुनः
When the king had departed, I beheld the blessed Lord Adhokṣaja. I spoke to the Lord of the universe, who smiled at me again and again.
वञ्चितोऽहं त्वया देव ज्ञातं मायाबलं महत् । स्मरामि चरितं सर्वं स्त्रीदेहे यत्कृतं मया
I have been deceived by you, O God; I have understood the great power of your illusion. I remember all the deeds I performed in the body of a woman.
ब्रूहि मे देवदेवेश प्रविष्टोऽहं सरोवरे । विगतं पूर्वविज्ञानं स्नानादेव कथं हरे
Tell me, O Lord of gods, having entered the lake, how did my previous knowledge vanish merely by bathing, O Hari?
योषिद्देहं समासाद्य मोहितोऽहं जगद्गुरो । पतिं प्राप्य नृपश्रेष्ठं पुलोमी वासवं यथा
Having attained the body of a woman, I was deluded, O teacher of the world; having obtained a husband, the foremost king, just as Pulomī obtained Vāsava.
मनस्तदेव तच्चित्तं देहः स च पुरातनः । लिङ्गं तदेव देवेश स्मृतेर्नाशः कथं हरे
O Lord of the gods, that mind, that awareness, and that ancient body—those remain the same; so how, O Hari, can there be destruction of memory?
विस्मयोऽयं महान्मेऽत्र ज्ञाननाशं प्रति प्रभो । कथयाद्य रमाकान्त कारणं परमं च यत्
O beloved of Lakshmi, I am greatly astonished about this loss of knowledge; tell me today the highest reason for it.
नारीदेहं मया प्राप्य भुक्ता भोगा ह्यनेकशः । सुरापानं कृतं नित्यं विधिहीनं च भोजनम्
Having obtained a female body, I enjoyed many pleasures; I drank liquor constantly and ate food without regard for rules.
मया तदेव न ज्ञातं नारदोऽहमिति स्फुटम् । जानाम्यद्य यथा सर्वं विविक्तं न तथा तदा
Yet I did not know then, clearly, that I was Narada; now I know everything distinctly, but not so at that time.
विष्णुरुवाच पश्य नारद मायावी विलासोऽयं महामते । देहेषु सर्वजन्तूनां दशाभेदा ह्यनेकशः
Viṣṇu said: See, O Narada, this is the wondrous play of Māyā, O wise one; in all embodied beings, there are countless differences of states.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्तिश्च तुरीया देहिनां दशा । तथा देहान्तरे प्राप्ते सन्देहः कीदृशः पुनः
The states of waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and the fourth (turīya) exist for embodied beings; likewise, when another body is attained, what kind of doubt arises again?
सुप्तो नरो न जानाति न शृणोति वदत्यपि । पुनः प्रबुद्धो जानाति सर्वं ज्ञातमशेषतः
When a man is asleep, he does not know, does not hear, nor does he speak; but when he awakens, he knows everything that was previously known, without exception.
निद्रया चाल्यते चित्तं भवन्ति स्वप्नसम्भवाः । नानाविधा मनोभेदा मनोभावा ह्यनेकशः
By sleep, the mind is disturbed, and dreams arise; there are many kinds of mental divisions and countless states of mind.
गजो मां हन्तुमायाति न शक्तोऽस्मि पलायने । किं करोमि न मे स्थानं यत्र गच्छामि सत्वरः
"An elephant comes to kill me, and I am unable to flee; what shall I do? I have no place to go, though I try to escape quickly."
मृतं पितामहं स्वप्ने पश्यति स्वगृहागतम् । संयोगस्तेन वार्ता च भोजनं सह मन्यते
In a dream, one sees a deceased grandfather coming home, converses with him, and even thinks of eating together.
प्रबुद्धः खलु जानाति स्वप्ने दृष्टं सुखासुखम् । स्मृत्वा सर्वं जनेभ्यस्तु विस्तरात्प्रवदत्यपि
But when awakened, one knows the pleasures and pains seen in the dream, remembers everything, and tells others about it in detail.
स्वप्नेकोऽपि न जानाति भ्रमोऽयमिति निश्चयः । तथा तथैव विभवो मायाया दुर्गमः किल
In the dream itself, no one knows that it is a delusion—this is certain; likewise, the power of Māyā is indeed difficult to grasp.
नाहं नारद जानामि पारं परमदुर्घटम् । गुणानां किल मायाया नैव शम्भुर्न पद्मजः
O Narada, I do not know the farthest limit of Māyā's exceedingly difficult qualities; neither Śambhu nor the Lotus-born knows them.
कोऽन्यो ज्ञातुं समर्थोऽभून्मानतो मन्दधीः पुनः । मायागुणपरिज्ञानं न कस्यापि भवेदिह
Who else, being dull-witted or proud, could be capable of knowing them? In this world, no one can fully comprehend the qualities of Māyā.