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.
रूपालोकमनस्कारान् सत्ताकालक्रियाक्रमान् । कुम्भकारो घटम् इव चेतो हन्ति करोति च
Through forms, perceptions, intentions, existence, time, and sequences of actions, the mind, like a potter with clay, destroys and creates.
आबालम् एतत् पुरुषैस् सर्वैर् एवानुभूयते । स्वप्नभ्रमवद् आवेगरागरोगादिदृष्टिषु
From childhood onward, all people experience this— in perceptions of agitation, passion, disease, and the like— just as in a dream or illusion.
चित्ते वृत्तान्तलक्षाणि संस्थितान्य् आत्तवासने । पादपे फलपुष्पाणि मूलाक्रान्तावनाव् इव
Events and their marks, established in the mind by latent impressions, are like fruits and flowers on a tree rooted in the earth.
त्यक्तावनेर् विटपिनो भूयः पत्त्राणि नो यथा । निर्वासनस्य जीवस्य पुनर् जन्मादि नो तथा
Just as a tree, once uprooted, does not produce leaves again, so too, for a being whose latent impressions are gone, there is no further birth and the like.
यत्रानन्तं जगज्जालं संस्थितं तेन चेतसा । श्वपचत्वं प्रकटितं यदि तद् विस्मयो ऽत्र किम्
When the mind in which this endless web of worlds abides reveals the state of an outcaste, why should there be any wonder in that?
अवबुद्धा श्वपचता प्रतिभासवशात् त्वया । यथैवानल्पसंरम्भा विचित्रापि विकारदा
You have perceived the state of an outcaste due to the force of appearance, just as even a minor disturbance can give rise to various transformations.
तथैवातिथिर् आयातो भुक्तवान् सुप्तवान् द्विजः । कथां कथितवांश् चेति दृष्टवान् असि विभ्रमम्
In the same way, you saw that a guest arrived, ate, slept, and told stories— all of this was an illusion you perceived.
तथैवोत्थाय गच्छामि प्राप्तो ऽहं हूनमण्डलम् । इमे हूना इमे ग्रामा दृष्टवान् इत्य् असि भ्रमम्
Likewise, when you rose and went, you thought, 'I have reached the land of the Hunas; these are the Hunas, these are their villages'— this too was an illusion you perceived.
तथैवेदं कटञ्जस्य प्राक्तनं लुठितं गृहम् । जनैर् उक्तः कटञ्जश् च दृष्टवान् इत्य् असि भ्रमम्
In the same way, you saw the former house of Kaṭañja lying in ruins, heard people say 'This is Kaṭañja,'— all this too was an illusion you perceived.
तथैव कीरनगरं प्राप्तो ऽस्मि कथितं च मे । कीरैश् श्वपचराजत्वं दृष्टवान् इत्य् असि भ्रमम्
In the same way, I arrived at the city of the kīras, and it was told to me, 'You have seen the rule of the outcaste by the kīras'—this is your delusion.