स्मृतिमात्रपथंगतोपि यस्त्रिविध तापमपाकरोत्यलम्
Even by passing through the path of remembrance, he completely removes the threefold suffering.
अपि काशि समागतोऽनिलो यदि गात्राणि परिष्वजेन्मम
O Kāśī, even if the wind that has come to you were to embrace my limbs,
अगमिष्यदहोकथं सतापो ननु दक्षांगजयाय एधितः
How could the burning pain not come, since it was kindled for the sake of Dakṣa's daughter?
न तथोज्झितदेहयातया मम दक्षोद्भवयामनोऽदुनोत्
Not even the torment of abandoning the body afflicted me as much as the pain born from Dakṣa's daughter.
अयि काशि मुदा कदा पुनस्तव लप्स्ये सुखमंगसंगजम्
O Kāśī, when will I again joyfully obtain the happiness that comes from union with your body?
अयि काशि विनाशिताघसंघे तवविश्लेषजआशुशुक्षणिः
O Kāśī, with the destruction of the multitude of sins, I am scorched by the fire of separation from you.
अगमन्मम दक्षजा वियोगजो दवथुः प्राग्घिमवत्सुतौषधेन
The fever born from separation from Dakṣa's daughter came upon me, for which there was no remedy like the Himalayan herbs for the prince.
मनसेति गृणंस्तदा शिवः सुतरां संवृततापवैकृतः 4.1.44.
Then Śiva, whose mind was thus afflicted, became entirely enveloped in the distortion of grief.
प्रियया वपुषोर्धयानयाप्यपरिज्ञात वियोगकारणः
Even with the presence of his beloved's body, the cause of separation was not recognized.
तव भूतिरहो विभूतिदात्री सकलापत्कलिकापि भूतधात्री
Ah, your glory, O giver of prosperity, is the very support of all beings, even as it is the destroyer of all calamities.
त्वदनीक्षणतः क्षणाद्विभो प्रलयं यांति जगंति शोच्यवत्
O Lord, the worlds perish in an instant, like something to be mourned, when deprived of your gaze.
भवतः परितापहेतवो न भवंतींदु दिवाकराग्नयः
The moon, the sun, and fire do not cause you any distress.
भुजगाभुजगाः सदैव तेऽमी न विषं संक्रमते च नीलकंठ
O Blue-throated One, these serpents always remain near you, yet their venom does not affect you.
इति संसृतिसंबीजजनन्याभिहिते हिते
Thus spoke the mother, the origin of the seeds of transmigration, with words of benefit.
सत्वरं शिवयाज्ञायि ध्रुवं काश्याहृतोहरः
Then, Shiva, the Lord, was quickly brought from Kashi for the yajna.
अथबालसखी भूत तत्तत्काननवीरुधम्
Or, accompanied by her childhood friends, she went to the various forest plants.
कृतपुंडरीकशोभां स्मरहरकाशीं पुरीं यावः
They reached the city of Smarahara, Kashi, adorned with the beauty of lotuses.
धराधरेंद्रस्य धरातिसुंदरा न मां तथास्यापि धिनोति धूर्जटे 4.1.44.
O Dhurjati, even the earth’s most beautiful peaks do not delight me as much as she does.
न यत्र काश्यां कलिकालजं भयं न यत्र काश्यां मरणात्पुनर्भवः
In Kashi, there is no fear arising from the age of Kali, nor is there rebirth after death.
किमत्र नो संति पुरः सहस्रशः पदेपदे सर्वसमृद्धिभूमयः
What is not found here? At every step, there are thousands of places filled with all prosperity.
त्रिविष्टपे संति न किं पुरः शतं समस्तकौतूहलजन्मभूमयः
Are there not a hundred such places in heaven, the sources of all kinds of wonders?
न केवलं काशिवियोगजो ज्वरः प्रबाधते त्वां तु तथा यथात्र माम्
It is not only the fever of separation from Kashi that afflicts you, but here it torments me as well.
मया न मेने ममजन्मभूमिका वियोगजन्मा परिदाघईशितः
I did not consider the pain of separation from my birthplace, which burns me intensely.
न मोक्षलक्ष्म्योत्र समक्षमीक्षितास्तनूभृता केनचिदेव कुत्रचित्
Here, the goddess of liberation has never been directly seen by any embodied being, anywhere.
न मुक्तिरस्तीह तथा समाधिना स्थिरेंद्रियत्वोज्झित तत्समाधिना
Liberation is not attained here by the kind of samadhi that is devoid of steady control of the senses.
न नाकलोके सुखमस्ति तादृशं कुतस्तु पातालतलेऽतिसुंदरे
Such happiness is not found even in heaven; how then could it exist in the beautiful depths of the underworld?
क्षेत्रे त्रिशूलिन्भवतोऽविमुक्ते विमुक्तिलक्ष्म्या न कदापि मुक्ते
In your field, O Trident-bearer, called Avimukta, the fortune of liberation is never absent for the liberated.
षडंगयोगान्नहि तादृशी नृभिः शरीरसिद्धिः सहसात्र लभ्यते 4.1.44.
Through the six-limbed yoga, such perfection of the body is not easily attained by men here.
वरं हि तिर्यक्त्वमबुद्धिवैभवं न मानवत्वं बहुबुद्धिभाजनम्
It is better indeed to be born as an animal, lacking the brilliance of intellect, than to be a human, the vessel of many thoughts.
दृशौ कृतार्थे कृतकाशिदर्शने तनुःकृतार्था शिवकाशिवासिनी
Eyes fulfill their purpose when they behold Kāśī; the body fulfills its purpose when it dwells in the auspicious Kāśī.