अथापश्यत् पुरे तस्मिन् नृपं सबलवाहनम् । देवं चक्रधरं द्रष्टुं मन्दिरान् निर्गतं बहिः
Then, in that city, he saw a king with his army and vehicles, who had come out from his palace to see the god bearing the discus.
तं दृष्ट्वा स्थगिताकाशं बलरेणुपयोधरैः । प्राक्तनीं राजताम् स्मृत्वा स्वाम् उवाचातिविस्मितः
Seeing him, with the sky obscured by clouds of dust raised by the troops, he remembered his former sovereignty and, greatly astonished, spoke to himself.
इमास् ताः कीरकामिन्यः पद्मगर्भोपमत्वचः । कनकद्रववर्णिन्यो लोलनीलोत्पलेक्षणाः
These are the royal courtesans, their skin like the inside of a lotus, golden in hue, with restless blue-lotus eyes.
चामरौघा इमे चन्द्रकरसम्पिण्डपाण्डुराः । स्थिरनिर्झरसङ्काशाः काशपुष्पचया इव
These are clusters of fly-whisks, pale as clumps of moonbeams, steady and resembling streams, like heaps of kāśa flowers.
कान्ताभिर् अवधूयन्ते वालव्यजनराशयः । इमास् ता नववल्लीभिः कुसुमानाम् इवर्द्धयः
These masses of yak-tail fans are being waved by lovely women, just as new creepers bear clusters of flowers.
इमास् ता मत्तमातङ्गघटा घटितमन्दिराः । सकल्पपादपा मेरोर् इव श्र्ङ्गपरम्पराः
These are the intoxicated elephants, their groups like constructed mansions, resembling the rows of peaks on Mount Meru with wish-fulfilling trees.
एते ते यमशर्वेन्द्रकुबेरप्रतिमौजसः । सामन्ता वासवस्येव लोकपाला महीभृतः
These are the vassal kings, whose might equals Yama, Śakra, and Kubera, like the guardians of the worlds for Indra, the lord of the earth.
इमास् तास् सर्वरत्नाढ्यास् सर्वाभिमतदास् तताः । कल्पवृक्षलताकुञ्जसुन्दर्यो गृहपङ्क्तयः
Here are those rows of houses, adorned with every kind of jewel, fulfilling every desire, lovely as bowers of wish-fulfilling trees and creepers.
इदं तत् कीरजनताराज्यं प्राग् भुक्तम् अद्य मे । आत्मजन्मान्तराचार इव प्रत्यक्षतां गतम्
This is that very kingdom of the parrots, once enjoyed by me; now it appears before me as vividly as the experiences of my own past lives.
सत्यस्वप्न इवेदं मे जाग्रतो ऽपि पुरस् स्थितम् । न जाने किं कृतोत्थाना मायेयं प्रविजृम्भते
This stands before me, even while awake, like a true dream; I do not know by what cause this illusion is unfolding.
अहो नु खलु दीर्घेण मनोमोहेन जृम्भता । वैवश्यम् उपनीतो ऽहं जालेनेव शकुन्तकः
Alas, truly, by this long-standing delusion of the mind, I have been led into helplessness, like a bird caught in a net.
हा धिक् कष्टम् अबुद्धं मे मनो वासनया हतम् । पश्यतो भ्रमजालानि वितनोति शिशोर् इव
Alas, how pitiable! My mind, overcome by latent tendencies and ignorance, spreads webs of confusion before my very eyes, just as for a child.
एषा हि माया महती तेन मे चक्रपाणिना । दर्शितेत्य् अधुना साधु मया स्मृतम् अखण्डितम्
Indeed, this great illusion was shown to me by that wielder of the discus; now, at last, I remember it clearly and without break.
तद् इदानीं तथा यत्नं करिष्ये गिरिकन्दरे । यथातिसम्भ्रमस्यास्य जाने मर्म यथास्थितम्
Therefore, now I shall make such effort in the mountain cave as will reveal to me the innermost truth of this overwhelming confusion.
इति सञ्चिन्त्य नगराद् गाधिस् तप्तुं जगाम ह । कन्दरं प्राप्य शैलस्य तस्थौ सुश्रान्तसिंहवत्
Having resolved thus, Gadhi left the city to perform austerity; reaching a cave in the mountain, he remained there like a lion at rest.
तत्र संवत्सरं सार्धं पयश्चुलकभोजनः । तपश् चक्रे महातेजास् तुष्टये शार्ङ्गधन्वनः
There, for a year and a half, subsisting on only a handful of milk, he performed austerities with great energy for the satisfaction of the wielder of the Śārṅga bow.
अथास्य पुण्डरीकाक्षः पयोमूर्तिर् उपाययौ । प्रसादम् उत्पलश्यामश् शरदीव महाह्रदः
Then, the lotus-eyed one, whose form was of milk, approached him, radiant as a dark blue lotus, serene like a great lake in autumn.
तम् आजगाम शैलेन्द्रकन्दरं द्विजमन्दिरम् । पयोधरवद् आत्माच्छच्छविर् व्योमन्य् अथावसत्
He came to the mountain cave, the dwelling of the twice-born, and, shining like a rain cloud, dwelled in the sky with a pure radiance.
गाधे कच्चित् त्वया दृष्टा माया मम गरीयसी । दृष्टं त्वया जगज्जालचेष्टितं वेष्टितात्मकम्
Gādhi, have you seen my mighty illusion? You have witnessed the world’s web of activity, encircling the self.
चित्ताभिमत एतस्मिन् प्राप्ते सम्यग् अनिन्दित । तपो गिरितटे कुर्वन् किम् अन्यद् अभिवाञ्छसि
Now that you have attained what your mind desired, blameless one, performing austerities on the mountain slope, what else do you wish for?
एवं वदन्तम् आलोक्य हरिं गाधिर् द्विजोत्तमः । अर्चाकुसुमपूरेण पादयोः पर्यपूजयत्
Seeing Hari speak thus, Gādhi, the foremost of twice-born, worshipped his feet with a profusion of flowers for offering.
दत्तार्घं कीर्णकुसुमं प्रणम्याशु प्रदक्षिणैः । विष्णुम् आह द्विजो वाक्यम् अम्भोदम् इव चातकः
Having given water for washing and scattered flowers, bowing quickly and circling in reverence, the twice-born addressed Viṣṇu as the cātaka bird speaks to the cloud.
देव यैषा त्वया माया दर्शितातितमोमयी । महीं प्रातर् इवादित्यस् तां मे प्रकटतां नय
O Lord, this illusion you have shown, woven of ancient darkness, reveal it to me clearly, as the sun reveals the earth in the morning.
भ्रमं यत् पश्यति मनो वासनामलमालितम् । स्वप्नवत् स कथं देव जाग्रत्य् अपि हि दृश्यते
When the mind, stained by the impurity of latent impressions, perceives delusion, O Deva, how is it that this is seen even while awake, just like in a dream?
मुहूर्तम् उपलब्धात्मा जलान्तस् स्वप्नविभ्रमः । कथं प्रत्यक्षतां प्राप्तो ममामलपदास्पद
The illusion of a dream within water, which is recognized for a moment as oneself, how has it attained the status of direct experience for me, whose abode is the pure state?
दैर्घ्यादैर्घ्ये च कालस्य शरीरस्य भवाभवौ । कथम् अत्र स्थितानि स्युर् मदीयश्वपचभ्रमे
How could the length or brevity of time, the existence or non-existence of the body, be established here, within my own illusory dream of the horse and the outcaste?
गाधे स्वाधिविधूतस्य रूपम् अस्यैतद् आत्मजम् । चेतसो ऽदृष्टतत्त्वस्य यत् पश्यत्य् उरुविभ्रमम्
This form, born of the self, is seen in the depths by one whose mind is shaken by its own tendencies and who has not realized the truth; it perceives a great delusion.
बहिर् न किञ्चिद् अप्य् अस्ति खाद्रिद्यूर्वीदिगादिकम् । एतत् स्वचित्त एवास्ति पत्त्रपुञ्ज इवाङ्कुरे
There is nothing at all outside—no sky, wind, earth, directions, or anything else; all this exists only within one's own mind, like a cluster of leaves within a sprout.
फलादि स्फारताम् एति यथैव बहिर् अङ्कुरात् । बहिः प्रकटतां याति तथा पृथ्व्यादि चेतसः
Just as fruit and the like manifest outwardly from a sprout, so too do earth and the rest become apparent externally from the mind.
सत्यं पृथ्व्यादि चित्तस्थं न बहिस्स्थं कदाचन । अङ्कुरस्थं फलं वस्तु तस्माद् यस्मात् फलश्रियः
Truly, earth and the rest exist in the mind, never outside; the fruit exists in the sprout, and from that, the glory of the fruit arises.