कासि कस्यासि कल्याणि किमर्थं चापि रोदिषि नैतदल्पमहं मन्ये कारणं लोकसुन्दरि
Who are you, whose daughter are you, O blessed one? Why do you weep? I do not think this reason is small, O beauty of the world.
सा तस्य वचनं श्रुत्वा उवाच मधुना सह रुदती शोकजननं श्वसती दैन्यवर्धनम्
Hearing his words, she replied, together with tears, breathing in sorrow that increased her misery.
कामस्य दयितां भार्यां रतिं मां विद्धि सुव्रत गिरावस्मिन्महाभाग गिरिशस्तपसि स्थितः
Know me, O noble one, as Rati, the beloved wife of Kāma; the lord of the mountains is engaged in austerity.
तेन प्रत्यूहरुष्टेन विस्फार्यालोक्य लोचनम् दग्धो ऽसौ झषकेतुस्तु मम कान्तो ऽतिवल्लभः
By his wrath, with his eyes blazing, my beloved, the fish-bannered god, was burned; he was most dear to me.
अहं तु शरणं याता तं देवं भयविह्वला स्तुतवत्यथ संस्तुत्या ततो मां गिरिशो ऽब्रवीत्
Stricken with fear, I sought refuge in that god, praised him, and after my supplication, the lord of the mountains spoke to me.
तुष्टो ऽहं कामदयिते कामो ऽयं ते भविष्यति त्वत्स्तुतिं चाप्यधीयानो नरो भक्त्या मदाश्रयः लप्स्यते काङ्क्षितं कामं निवर्त्य मरणादितः
I am pleased, O beloved of Kāma; Kāma will return to you. Whoever recites your praise with devotion, taking refuge in me, will obtain the desired object, turning away from death and its causes.
प्रतीक्षन्ती च तद्वाक्यम् आशावेशादिभिर्ह्यहम् शरीरं परिरक्षिष्ये कंचित्कालं महाद्युते
Awaiting those words, filled with hope and longing, I will preserve my body for some time, O illustrious one.
इत्युक्तस्तु तदा रत्या शैलः संभ्रमभीषितः पाणावादाय हि सुतां गन्तुमैच्छत्स्वकं पुरम्
Thus addressed by Rati, the mountain, anxious and fearful, took his daughter by the hand, wishing to return to his own city.
भाविनो ऽवश्यभावित्वाद् भवित्री भूतभाविनी लज्जमाना सखिमुखैर् उवाच पितरं गिरिम्
Because of the certainty of what is destined, she who was to be, the future and the past, bashful, spoke to her father, the mountain, through her companions.
दुर्भाग्येण शरीरेण किं ममानेन कारणम् कथं च तादृशं प्राप्तं सुखं मे स पतिर्भवेत्
With this unfortunate body, what is the cause for me? How did I attain such happiness, that my husband would be?
तपोभिः प्राप्यते ऽभीष्टं नासाध्यं हि तपस्यतः दुर्भगत्वं वृथा लोको वहते सति साधने
What is desired is attained by austerity; nothing is unattainable for one who practices austerity. The world bears misfortune in vain when the means exist.
जीविताद्दुर्भगाच्छ्रेयो मरणं ह्यतपस्यतः भविष्यामि न संदेहो नियमैः शोषये तनुम्
For one without austerity, death is better than life; I will surely, without doubt, consume my body through discipline.
तपसि भ्रष्टसंदेह उद्यमो ऽर्थजिगीषया साहं तपः करिष्यामि यदहं प्राप्य दुर्लभा
With my doubts dispelled by austerity, I shall undertake ascetic practice with the desire to attain wealth; I will perform this austerity so that I may obtain what is difficult to achieve.
इत्युक्तः शैलराजस्तु दुहित्रा स्नेहविक्लवः उवाच वाचा शैलेन्द्रः स्नेहगद्गदवर्णया
Having been addressed thus, the king of the mountains, overwhelmed by affection for his daughter, spoke with words faltering from emotion.
उमेति चपले पुत्रि न क्षमं तावकं वपुः सोढुं क्लेशस्वरूपस्य तपसः सौम्यदर्शने
O capricious daughter, Uma, your gentle form cannot endure the hardships of ascetic practice, O one of pleasant appearance.
भावीन्यभिविचार्याणि पदार्थानि सदैव तु भाविनो ऽर्था भवन्त्येव हठेनानिच्छतो ऽपि वा
Future outcomes must always be considered; destined things come to pass, even forcibly, whether one desires them or not.
तस्मान्न तपसा ते ऽस्ति बाले किंचित्प्रयोजनम् भवनायैव गच्छामश् चिन्तयिष्यामि तत्र वै
Therefore, child, there is no purpose for you in austerity; let us return home, and I will reflect upon this matter there.
इत्युक्ता तु यदा नैव गुहायाभ्येति शैलजा ततः स चिन्तयाविष्टो दुहितां प्रशशंस च
When she, addressed thus, did not return from the cave, the mountain-born girl, then he, absorbed in thought, praised his daughter.
ततो ऽन्तरिक्षे दिव्या वाग् अभूद्भुवनभूतले उमेति चपले पुत्रि त्वयोक्ता तनया ततः
Then, in the sky, a divine voice arose over the earth: 'Uma, O capricious daughter, you have been called thus by your father.'
उमेति नाम तेनास्या भुवनेषु भविष्यति सिद्धिं च मूर्तिमत्येषा साधयिष्यति चिन्तिताम्
By this name, Uma, she will be known in the worlds; she will accomplish the desired goal in embodied form.
इति श्रुत्वा तु वचनम् आकाशात्काशपाण्डुरः अनुज्ञाय सुतां शैलो जगामाशु स्वमन्दिरम्
Hearing this utterance from the sky, the mountain lord, pale as the sky, permitted his daughter and quickly returned to his mansion.
शैलजापि ययौ शैलम् अगम्यमपि दैवतैः सखीभ्यामनुयाता तु नियता नगराजजा
And the mountain-born girl went to the mountain, inaccessible even to the gods, accompanied by her friends, steadfast daughter of the king of the city.
शृङ्गं हिमवतः पुण्यं नानाधातुविभूषितम् दिव्यपुष्पलताकीर्णं सिद्धगन्धर्वसेवितम्
She reached the sacred peak of Himavat, adorned with various minerals, strewn with divine flowering vines, attended by perfected beings and gandharvas.
नानामृगगणाकीर्णं भ्रमरोद्घुष्टपादपम् दिव्यप्रस्रवणोपेतं दीर्घिकाभिरलंकृतम्
Filled with groups of various animals, its trees resounded with bees, endowed with divine springs, decorated with pools.
नानापक्षिगणाकीर्णं चक्रवाकोपशोभितम् जलजस्थलजैः पुष्पैः प्रोत्फुल्लैरुपशोभितम्
Filled with flocks of various birds, beautified by chakravaka ducks, adorned with blooming flowers from water and land.
चित्रकन्दरसंस्थानं गुहागृहमनोहरम् विहङ्गसंघसंजुष्टं कल्पपादपसंकटम्
With picturesque caves, delightful as dwellings, crowded with flocks of birds, dense with wish-fulfilling trees.
तत्रापश्यन्महाशाखं शाखिनं हरितच्छदम् सर्वर्तुकुसुमोपेतं मनोरथशतोज्ज्वलम्
There she saw a great tree with vast branches, covered in green leaves, adorned with flowers of all seasons, shining with hundreds of dreams.
नानापुष्पसमाकीर्णं नानाविधफलान्वितम् नतं सूर्यस्य रुचिभिर् भिन्नसंहृतपल्लवम्
Covered with various flowers, bearing many kinds of fruits, its bowed leaves mixed and gathered by the rays of the sun.
तत्राम्बराणि संत्यज्य भूषणानि च शैलजा संवीता वल्कलैर्दिव्यैर् दर्भनिर्मितमेखला
There, the mountain-born girl set aside her garments and ornaments, clothed herself in divine bark garments, and fastened a belt made of sacred grass.
त्रिःस्नाता पाटलाहारा बभूव शरदां शतम् शतमेकेन शीर्णेन पर्णेनावर्तयत्तदा
Having bathed three times, subsisting on pale food, she lived for a hundred autumns, sustaining herself with a single fallen leaf each time.