शीतवातातपक्लेशम् एकदेशनिषण्णया । तरुर् वहति यत् तन्वा तत् संसङ्गविजृम्भितम्
Just as a tree, rooted in one spot, endures the torment of cold, wind, and heat with its slender body, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
धराविवरनिर्मग्नो यत् कीटः पीडिताङ्गकः । क्षिणोति विकलः कालं तत् संसङ्गविजृम्भितम्
Just as an insect, trapped in a crevice of the earth, suffers with its body oppressed and helplessly passes the time, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
दूर्वाङ्कुरतृणाहारः किरातशरपीडया । जहाति यन् मृगो देहं तत् संसङ्गविजृम्भितम्
Just as a deer, feeding on blades of grass and shoots, perishes from the pain of a hunter's arrow, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
वीरुत्तृणदशां याता लूयन्ते यत् पुनः पुनः । नानाविगतसञ्चारास् तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as creepers and grasses, repeatedly cut down, continue to grow in various places, so too is the display of bondage.
रसातलरसायोगात् तृणगुल्मलतादयः । जनयन्ति यद् आकारं तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as grasses, bushes, and vines take on forms through contact with the essence of the underworld, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
उत्पत्योत्पत्य लीयन्ते तरङ्गिणि तरङ्गवत् । भूतानि यद् अनन्तानि तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as countless waves arise and subside again and again on the surface of the sea, so too is the manifestation of attachment in beings.
शान्तैवानन्तसङ्काशा पदार्थशतसङ्कुला । यत् संसारनदी मत्ता तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as the river of worldly existence, though appearing tranquil and endless, is crowded with hundreds of objects, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
सक्तिर् हि द्विविधा प्रोक्ता वन्ध्या वन्द्या च राघव । वन्ध्या सर्वत्र मूढानां वन्द्या तत्त्वविदां निजा
Indeed, O Raghava, power is said to be of two kinds: barren and fruitful. Barren is everywhere among the deluded; fruitful is the true power of those who know reality.
आत्मतत्त्वावबोधेन हीना देहादिवस्तुजा । भूयस्संसारदा सक्तिर् दृढा वन्ध्येति कथ्यते
Power that arises from attachment to body and other objects, lacking knowledge of the Self, becomes strong and is called barren, for it gives rise to further worldly existence.
आत्मतत्त्वावबोधेन सत्यभूता विवेकजा । वन्द्या हि कथ्यते सक्तिर् भूयस्संसारवर्जिता
But power that is born of discernment, established through knowledge of the Self, is called fruitful, for it is free from further worldly existence.
शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्तो देहो विविधयेहया । वन्द्यसंसक्तिवशतः परिपाति जगत्त्रयम्
The body, bearing conch, discus, and mace, through the force of fruitful power, protects the three worlds by various means.
अनारतं निरालम्बे व्योमवर्त्मनि पान्थताम् । वन्द्यसंसक्तिवशतः करोति रविर् अन्वहम्
By the force of fruitful power, the sun, ever unsupported, travels daily along the path of the sky.
महाकल्पसमाधानधीरकल्पितकल्पनम् । वन्द्यसंसक्तिवशतो ब्राह्मं स्फुरति वै वपुः
By the force of fruitful power, the divine body shines forth, conceived by the steadfast mind absorbed in the great aeon’s meditation.
लीलया ललनालाननिलीनं भूतिभूषितम् । वन्द्यसंसक्तिवशतश् शरीरं शाङ्करं स्थितम्
By the force of fruitful power, the body of Shiva, adorned with ashes and playfully resting in the face of the goddess, remains established.
विज्ञातगतयस् सिद्धा लोकपालास् तथेतरे । वन्द्यसंसक्तिवशतस् तिष्ठन्ति जगतां गणे
By the force of fruitful power, the perfected beings, the guardians of the worlds, and others who know the course of things, remain among the hosts of the worlds.
धत्ते शरीरयन्त्रौघम् अन्येयं भूतसन्ततिः । वन्ध्यसंसक्तिवशतो जरामृतिविवर्तितम्
This succession of beings assumes the multitude of bodily machines, subject to the barren force of attachment, and is transformed by old age and death.
मनः पतति भोगेषु गृध्रो मांसलवेष्व् इव । वन्ध्यसक्तिवशाद् एव व्यर्थया रस्यशङ्कया
The mind falls upon pleasures like a vulture upon pieces of flesh, solely due to the barren force of attachment, vainly hoping for taste.
संसक्तिवशतो वाति वायुर् भुवनकोटरे । पञ्चभूतानि तिष्ठन्ति वहतीयं जगत्स्थितिः
By the force of attachment, the wind moves within the hollow of the world; the five elements remain, and this existence of the world is carried along.
दिवि देवा भुवि नराः पाताले भोगिनो ऽसुराः । ब्रह्माण्डोदुम्बरफले स्फुरन्मषकवत् स्थिताः
In heaven are the gods, on earth are men, in the netherworld are the enjoyers, the asuras; all are situated, like mosquitoes moving within the fruit of the cosmic fig tree.
जायन्ते च म्रियन्ते च निपतन्त्य् उत्पतन्ति च । भूतान्य् अविरतं भूयो निर्झराम्बुकणा इव
Beings are born and die, fall and rise again, ceaselessly, like drops of water from a waterfall.
परस्परनिगीर्णाङ्गी जनता जाड्यजर्जरा । सम्भ्रान्ता प्रभ्रमत्य् अङ्ग शीर्णं पर्णम् इवाम्बरे
People, their limbs consumed by one another, are dulled and worn by inertia and old age, and, bewildered, they wander about, O dear one, like a withered leaf in the sky.
नक्षत्रचक्रं गगने क्षमामषकसन्ततम् । स्फुरत्य् आवर्तवृत्त्यैव पातालगजलौघवत्
The circle of stars in the sky, and the multitude of gnats on earth, both flicker in their cyclical motion, like the flow of elephants in the netherworld.
पातोत्पातदशाजीर्णं कालबालककन्दुकम् । अद्यापि न जहातीन्दुर् जडिम्ना मलिनं वपुः
The moon, like a ball for the child Time, is worn by phases of waning and waxing, yet even now does not abandon its dull and stained form.
नानायुगपरावर्तदुःखालोकनकर्कशम् । न लुनाति मनष्षण्डं दिवि गीर्वाणमण्डलम्
The celestial circle in the sky does not dispel the mind’s darkness, which is hardened by witnessing the sufferings of countless ages.
वासनामात्रवशतः परे व्योमनि केनचित् । इदम् आरचितं चित्रं विचित्रं पश्य राघव
See, O Raghava, this marvelous and varied spectacle has been arranged in the supreme sky by the force of mere latent impressions.
मनस्सङ्गैकरङ्गेण शून्ये व्योम्नि जगन्मयम् । यद् इदं रचितं चित्रं न तत् सत्यं कदाचन
Whatever wondrous creation appears in the void sky, composed solely of the mind’s attachment, that is never truly real.
संसक्तमनसाम् अस्मिन् संसारे व्यवहारिणाम् । अत्ति तृष्णा शरीराणि तृणान्य् अग्निशिखा यथा
In this world, thirst devours the bodies of those whose minds are attached, just as a tongue of fire consumes blades of grass.
परिसक्तमतेर् देहान् सिकताः पत्युर् अम्भसाम् । कश् शक्तः परिसङ्ख्यातुं परमाणुगणं तथा
Who is able to count the grains of sand on a riverbank, or the multitude of atoms in the body of one whose mind is entangled?
मुक्तालताया गङ्गाया मेरोर् आपादमस्तकम् । तरङ्गमुक्ता गण्यन्ते न देहास् सक्तचेतसः
The waves and pearls of the Ganges, from Mount Meru’s summit to its base, can be counted, but not the bodies of those with attached minds.
संसक्तचित्तम् आयान्ति सर्वा दुःखपरम्पराः । जडकल्लोलवलिता महानद्य इवाम्बुधिम्
All the streams of suffering approach those whose minds are attached, like the surging waves of a great river flowing into the ocean.