विप्रत्वे च कृतं तेन यद्भूयःसुमहात्मना । भरतेन मुनिश्वेष्ठ! तत् सर्व्वं वक्तुमर्हसि
And what did he do in his next birth as a brāhmaṇa, that great soul Bharata? O best of sages, please tell me all of this.
पराशार अवाच । शालग्रामे महाभागो भगवन्नयस्तमानसः । स उवास चिरं कालं मैत्रेय! पृथिवीपतिः
Paraśara said: In Śālagrāma, that blessed king, whose mind was devoted to the Lord, dwelled for a long time, O Maitreya.
अहिंसादिष्वशेषेषु गुणेषु गुणिनां वरः । अवाप परमां काष्ठां मनसश्चापि संयमे
Excelling in virtues like nonviolence and others, he attained the highest state of self-control over his mind.
यज्ञेशाच्युत गोविन्द माधवानन्त केशव ! कृष्णा विष्णो ह्टषीकेशेत्याह राजा स केवलम्
He would utter only the names Yajñeśa, Acyuta, Govinda, Mādhava, Ananta, Keśava, Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, and Hṛṣīkeśa—nothing else did the king say.
नान्यज्जागाद मैत्रेय! किञ्चित् स्वप्नान्तरेऽपि च । एततूपरं तदर्थञ्च विना नान्यदचिन्तयत्
He spoke nothing else, O Maitreya, not even in dreams; apart from this, he thought of nothing else.
समित्-पुष्प-कुशादानं चक्र देवक्रियाकृते । नान्यानि चक्र कर्म्माणि निः सङ्गो योगतापसः
He performed the offering of fuel, flowers, and sacred grass for divine rites; but, detached and absorbed in yoga, he did no other actions.
जगाम सोऽबिषेकार्थमेकदा तु महानदीम् । सस्नौ तत्र तदा चक्र स्नानस्यनन्तरक्रियाः
Once, for the purpose of consecration, he went to a great river; there he bathed, and then performed the rituals that follow bathing.
अथातजगाम तत्तीर्थं जलं पात् पिपासिता । आसन्नप्रसवा ब्रह्मन्नेकैव हरिणी वनात्
Then, O Brahman, a thirsty pregnant doe came alone from the forest to that holy riverbank to drink water.
ततः समभवत्तत्र पीतप्राय जले तया । सिंहस्य नादः सुमहान् सर्व्वप्राणिभयङ्करः
Thereupon, as she was about to drink, a mighty roar of a lion arose, terrifying all living creatures.
ततः सा सहसा त्रासादाप्लुता निम्नगातटम् । अत्युज्वारोहणेनास्या नद्यां गर्भः पपात सः
Frightened, she suddenly leapt toward the riverbank; due to her excessive jump, her unborn young fell into the river.
तमुह्ममानं वेगेन वीचिमालापरिप्लुतम् । तजग्राह स नृपो गर्भात् पतितं मृगपोतकम्
The king seized the fawn, which had fallen from the womb and was swept away by the swift waves.
गर्भप्रव्युतिदोषेण प्रोत्तुङ्गाक्रमणोन च । मैत्रेय! सापि हरिणी पपात च ममार च
Due to the trauma of miscarriage and the strenuous leap, O Maitreya, the doe fell and died.
हरिणीं तां विलोक्याथ विपन्नां नृपतापसः । मृगपोतं समादाय निजमाश्वममागतः
Seeing the doe perished, the royal ascetic took the fawn and returned to his own hermitage.
चकारानुदिनञ्चासौ मृगपोतस्यवै नृपः । पोषण पुष्यमाणश्य स तेन वबृधे मुने
Day by day, the king cared for and nourished the fawn, and thus it grew, O sage.
चचाराश्रमपर्य्यन्तं तृणानि गहनेषु सः । दूरं गत्वा च शाद्दूलत्रासादभ्याययौ पुनः
He wandered around the hermitage, gathering grass in the thickets; when the fawn went far, it would return again out of fear of wild beasts.
प्रातर्गत्वातिदूरञ्च सायमायाद यथाश्वमम् । पुनश्च भरतस्याभूदाश्वमस्योटजाजिरे
In the morning it would go far, and in the evening return to the hermitage, just as a horse does; again, it became attached to Bharata’s hermitage.
तस्य तस्मिन्मृगे दूर-समीपपरिवर्त्तिनि । आसीच्चेतः समायुक्तं न ययावन्यतो द्रिज
The king’s mind became wholly absorbed in the fawn, whether it wandered near or far; he did not turn his attention elsewhere, O twice-born.
विमुक्तराज्यतनयः प्रोज्झिताशेषबान्धवः । ममत्वं स चकारोच्चैस्तस्मिन् हरिणबालके
Having renounced kingdom, sons, and all relatives, he developed intense affection for that young deer.
किं वृकैक्भक्षितो व्याघूः किं सिंहेन निपातितः । चिरायमाणे निष्कान्ते तस्यासीदिति मानसम्
He wondered anxiously, 'Has it been eaten by wolves? Has it been struck down by a tiger or lion? It has been gone a long time and has not returned.'
एषा वसुमती तस्य खुराग्रक्षतकर्बुरा । प्रीतये मम जातोऽसौ क्व ममैणकबालकः
'This earth is marked by the scratches of its hooves; it brings me joy. Where is my fawn?'
विषाणाग्रण मदूबाहुकण्डूयनपरो हि सः । क्षेमेणाभ्यागतोऽरण्यादिपि मां सुखयिष्यति
'He will come back safely from the forest, delighting me, scratching his neck with the tip of his horn.'
एते लूनशिखास्तस्य दशनैरचिरोदूगतैः । कुशाः कासा विराजन्ते वटवः सामगा इव
'These blades of grass, their tops bitten off by his teeth, shine beautifully like singers in a choir.'
इत्थं चिरगते तस्मिन् स चक्र मानसं मुनिः । प्रीतिप्रसन्नवदनः पार्श्वस्थे चाभवन्मृगे
Thus, when the fawn was gone for a long time, the sage’s mind was occupied with it, and when it was nearby, his face was joyful and pleased.
समाधिभङ्गस्तासीत् तन्ममत्वादृतात्मनः । सन्त्यक्तराज्यभोगर्द्धिखजनस्यापि भूपतेः
Due to his attachment, his meditation was disturbed, even though he was a king who had abandoned royal pleasures and prosperity.
चपलं चपले तस्मिन् दूरगं दूरगामिनि । मृगपतोऽभवज्वित्तं स्थैर्य्यवत्तस्य भूपतेः
The wealth of that king, who was steadfast, became as unsteady as a deer, and as distant as a creature that wanders far.
कालेन गच्छता सोऽथ कालञ्चक्र महीपतिः । पितेव सास्त्रं पुत्रेण मृगपोतेन वीक्षितः
As time passed, O king, the king was watched by the young deer as a son observes his father's conduct.
मृगमेव तदाद्राक्षीत् त्यजन् प्राणानसावपि । तन्मयत्वेन मैत्रय! नान्यत् किञ्चिदचिन्तयत्
Then, O Maitraya, even as he was giving up his life, he saw only the deer; absorbed in it, he thought of nothing else.
ततश्व तत्कालकृतां भावनां प्राप्य तादृशीम् । जम्बूमार्गे महारण्ये जातो जातिस्मरो मृगः
Thereafter, having attained such a state of mind at the time of death, he was born as a deer with memory of his past birth, in the great forest along the Jambu path.
जातिस्मरत्वादुद्रिग्नः संसारस्य द्रिजोत्तम! विहाय मातरं भूयः शालग्राममुपाययौ
Because of his remembrance of his previous birth, O best of twice-born, he became distressed by worldly existence, and, leaving his mother, he again went to Shalagrama.
शुष्कैस्तृणैस्तथा पर्णौः स कुर्व्वन्नात्मपोषणम् । मृगत्वहतुभूतस्य कर्म्मणो निष्कृतिं ययौ
There, sustaining himself on dry grass and leaves, he atoned for the karma that had caused his birth as a deer.