सोढव्यः सुमहान्भारः कतमो नृप ते मया
Which great burden among these, O king, have I not borne?
भवतो मे ऽखिलस्यास्य समत्वेनोपबृंहितः
By you, the entirety of this has been equally increased for me.
सो ऽपि राजावतीर्योर्व्यां तत्पादौ जगृहे त्वरन्
Then the king quickly descended to the earth and grasped his feet.
कथ्यतां को भवानत्र जाल्मरुपधरः स्थितः
Tell me, who are you here, standing in the guise of a servant?
तत्सर्वं कथ्यतां विद्वन्मह्यं शुश्रूषवे त्वया
Tell me all of this, O wise one, for I am eager to hear from you.
उपयोगनिमित्तं च सर्वत्रागमनक्रिया
The reason for coming and acting everywhere is for the sake of utility.
धर्माधर्मोद्भवौ भोक्तुं जन्तुर्देहादिमृच्छति
A being desires to obtain body and so on, to experience the results of virtue and vice.
धर्माधर्मौं यतस्तस्मात्कारणं पृच्छ्यते कुतः
Since virtue and vice arise from that, the cause is asked: from where?
उपभोगनिमित्तं च देहाद्देहान्तरागमः
The transmigration from one body to another is for the purpose of enjoyment.
वक्तुं न शक्यते श्रोतुं तन्ममेच्चा प्रवर्तते
It cannot be spoken or heard; yet my desire to know arises.
आत्मन्येव न दोषाय शब्दो ऽहमिति यो द्विजा
The word 'I am' does not bring fault when applied to oneself, O twice-born.
अनात्मन्यात्मविज्ञानं शब्दो वा श्रुतिलक्षणः
Knowledge of the self in what is not the self, or the word as defined by scripture, is not proper.
एतेनाहं यतः सर्वे वाङ्निष्पादनहेतवः
By this, I am the cause of all speech production.
तथापि वागहमेद्वक्तुमित्थं न युज्यते
Still, to say 'I am speech' or 'I am the speaker' is not appropriate.
ततो ऽहमिति कुत्रैनां संज्ञां राजन्करोम्यहम्
Therefore, where do I, the king, assign this designation 'I am'?
न देहो ऽहमयं चान्ये वक्तुमेवमपीष्यते
This body is not 'I', nor are others; even so, it is desired to speak thus.
तददा हि को भवान्को ऽहमित्येतद्विफलं वचः
Then, who are you and who am I? Such speech is fruitless.
अयं च भवतो लोको न सदेतन्नृपोच्यते
And this world of yours, O king, is not real; so it is said.
क्व वृक्षसंज्ञा वै तस्या दारुसंज्ञाथवा नृप
Where is the designation 'tree' for it, or the designation 'wood', O king?
न च दारुणि सर्वस्त्वां ब्रवीति शिबिकागतम्
And in the wood, no one calls you the one who has entered the palanquin.
अन्विष्यतां नृपश्रेष्ठानन्ददाशिबिका त्वया
Let the palanquin that gives joy be sought by you, O best of kings.
क्व जातं छत्रमित्येष न्यायस्त्वयि तथा मयि
Where was the umbrella born? This reasoning applies to you and to me likewise.
देहेषु लोकसंज्ञेयं विज्ञेया कर्महेतुषु
This worldly designation is to be understood in bodies, which are causes of action.
शरीराकृतिभेदास्तु भूपैते कर्मयोनयः
The differences in bodily forms, O king, are the sources of actions.
तथान्यश्च नृपेत्थं तन्न सत्यं कल्पनामयम्
Likewise, another, O king, is thus; that is not true, it is made of imagination.
परिणामादिसंभूतं तद्वस्तु नृप तञ्च किम्
That object, O king, which arises from transformation and so on—what is that?
पत्न्याः पतिः पिता सूनोः कस्त्वं भूप वदाम्यहम्
Who are you—the husband of the wife, the father of the son? I ask you, O king.
किमु पादादिकं त्वेतन्नैव किं ते महीपते
Is it your foot and so on? This is not so—what is yours, O king?
को ऽहमित्यत्र निपुणं भूत्वा चिन्तय पार्थिव
O King, become skilled in pondering deeply: 'Who am I?'
पृथकूचरणनिष्पाद्यं शक्यं तु नृपते कथम्
How, O ruler, is it possible to accomplish what must be done by one who acts separately?