वीतहव्यमुनेस् संवित् सा पुर्यष्टकरूपिणी । रविं वातमयी पूज्यं प्रणनामाशु चेतसा
The consciousness of sage Vītahavya, in the form of the subtle body, quickly bowed with devotion to the venerable Sun, who is composed of wind.
भानुनाथाभ्यनुज्ञातो मानपूर्वकम् अग्रगम् । विवेश पिङ्गलाकारं विन्ध्यकन्दरगामिनम्
Having been respectfully permitted by the lord Sun, the foremost attendant entered the piṅgalā channel, which leads into the Vindhya cave.
पिङ्गलो ऽसौ नभस् त्यक्त्वा कुञ्जकुञ्जरसुन्दरम् । प्राप विन्ध्यवनं प्रावृण्मत्ताभ्राम्बरभासुरम्
That tawny one, leaving the sky, beautiful as a young elephant, reached the Vindhya forest, resplendent with clouds intoxicated by the rains.
उद्दधार धराकोशान् नखनिष्कृष्टभूधरः । कलेवरं मुनेः पङ्कान् मृणालम् इव सारसः
He lifted up the masses of earth, drawing out the mountain with his nails, just as a swan extracts a lotus stalk from the mud.
मौनं पुर्यष्टकम् अथ स्वं विवेश कलेवरम् । नभस्तलपरिश्रान्तो विहङ्गम इवालयम्
Then the subtle body entered its own physical form, weary from wandering the sky, like a bird returning to its nest.
प्रणम्याशु मिथो मूर्ती वीतहव्यनभश्चरौ । बभूवतुस् स्वकार्यैकतत्परौ तेजसां निधी
Having quickly bowed to each other, the two forms—moving through the sky like Vītahavya—became wholly intent on their own tasks, repositories of brilliance.
जगाम पिङ्गलो व्योम मुनिश् च विमलं सरः । तारकाकारकुमुदं सूर्यांशुकचदाकृति
Piṅgala went to the sky, and the sage to the pure lake, which resembled a sky full of stars, with lotuses like stars and rays like the sun's.
वीतहव्यो ममज्जाशु सरस्य् उत्फुल्लपङ्कजे । पङ्कपल्वललीलान्ते वने कलभको यथा
Vītahavya quickly plunged into the lake with blooming lotuses, like a young elephant at play at the edge of a muddy pond in the forest.
तत्र स्नात्वा जपं कृत्वा पूजयित्वा दिवाकरम् । तपोभूषितया तन्वा पूर्ववत् पुनर् आबभौ
There, after bathing, reciting mantras, and worshipping the sun, he appeared again as before, his body adorned with the splendor of austerity.
मैत्र्या तया समतया परया च शान्त्या सत्प्रज्ञया मुदितया कृपया श्रिया च । युक्तो मुनिस् सकलसङ्गविमुक्तचेता विन्ध्ये सरित्तटगतो दिनम् एव रेमे
Endowed with friendship, equanimity, supreme peace, true wisdom, joy, compassion, and prosperity, the sage—his mind free from all attachments—delighted on the riverbank in the Vindhya, just for that day.
दिनान्ते स समाधातुं पुनर् एव मनो मुनिः । विवेश काञ्चिद् विततां विजनां विन्ध्यकन्दराम्
At the end of the day, that sage again entered into deep meditation, withdrawing his mind into a remote and spacious cave in the Vindhya mountains.
तद् एवाथानुसन्धानम् अत्यजत् समम् इन्द्रियैः । चेतसा कथयाम् आस दृष्टलोकपरावरः
Then, having withdrawn his inquiry along with his senses, he began to reflect with a mind that had seen the true nature of the world, both its surface and its depths.
पूर्वम् एवेन्द्रियगणो मया परिहृतस् स्फुटम् । इदानीं चिन्तया नार्थः पुनर् विततया मम
Previously, I had clearly restrained the group of senses; now, there is no purpose for further extended thought.
अस्ति नास्तीति कलनां भङ्क्त्वा मृद्वीं लताम् इव । शेषे तु बद्धसंस्थानं तिष्ठाम्य् अचलशृङ्गवत्
Having broken the gentle vine of speculation—'is' and 'is not'—I remain firmly established, like the peak of a mountain.
उदितो ऽस्तङ्गत इव स्वस्तङ्गत इवोदितः । समस् समरसाभासस् तिष्ठामि स्वस्थतां गतः
I stand as one who has arisen yet set, as one who has set yet arisen; I remain in equanimity, appearing the same in all states, having attained inner peace.
प्रबुद्धो ऽपि सुषुप्तस्थस् सुषुप्तस्थः प्रबुद्धवान् । तुर्यम् आलम्ब्य कार्यान्तं तिष्ठामि स्तम्भितस्थितिः
Awake, yet abiding in deep sleep; in deep sleep, yet awake—resting in the fourth state, beyond, I remain unmoving until all activity ceases.
स्थिरस् स्थाणुर् इवैकान्ते स्वान्तान्ते सर्वतस् स्थिते । सत्त्वसामान्यसाम्ये हि तिष्ठाम्य् अपगतामयः
Steady, like a motionless pillar in solitude, with my inner self established everywhere, I remain in the equality of pure being, free from all affliction.
इति सञ्चिन्त्य स ध्याने पुनस् तस्थौ दिनानि षट् । ततः प्रबोधम् आपन्नः क्षणसुप्त इवाध्वगः
Thus reflecting, he remained absorbed in meditation for six days; then, like a traveler waking from a brief sleep, he came to full awareness.
एवंसिद्धस् स भगवान् वीतहव्यो महातपाः । विजहार चिरं कालं जीवन्मुक्ततया तया
Thus accomplished, the venerable Vītahavya, great in austerity, lived for a long time in the state of liberation while still alive.
वस्तु नाभिननन्दासौ न निनिन्द कदाचन । न जगाम तथोद्वेगं न च हर्षम् अवाप ह
He neither rejoiced in nor condemned any object at any time; he did not experience agitation, nor did he attain delight.
गच्छतस् तिष्ठतश् चैव तस्येयम् अभवद् धृदि । विनोदाय स्वचित्तस्य कथा स्वमनसा सह
Whether going or standing still, this was his disposition: to entertain his own mind with stories, together with his own thoughts.
अव्ययेन्द्रियवर्गेश मनश् शमवता त्वया । पश्यानन्दसुखं कीदृग् इदम् आसादितं ततम्
O master of the undiminished senses, with a mind established in tranquility, see what kind of blissful happiness has been attained, pervading all.
एषैवानारतं तस्मान् नीरागैव दशा त्वया । अवलम्ब्या परित्याज्यं चापलं चलतां वर
Therefore, this very state—free from passion and ever undisturbed—must be upheld by you; fickleness, O best of the steadfast, is to be abandoned.
भो भो इन्द्रियचौरा हे हताशा हतनामकाः । युष्माकं नायम् आत्मास्ति न भवन्तस् तथात्मनि
Ho there, you thieves of the senses, you whose hopes and names are destroyed! This self does not belong to you, nor do you exist in the self in that way.
व्रजताशु विनाशान्तम् आशा वो विफलीकृताः । न समर्थास् समाक्रान्तौ भवन्तो भङ्गुराश्रयाः
As you swiftly proceed toward your end in destruction, your hopes are rendered fruitless; you are not capable of seizing, for you rest upon what is fragile.
वयम् आत्मेति यैषा वो बभूव किल वासना । तत्त्वविस्मृतिजा सा हि दृष्टरज्जुभुजङ्गवत्
That notion, 'I am the self,' which once arose among you, is born of forgetting the truth—just as a snake is imagined upon seeing a rope.
अनात्मन्य् आत्मता सैषा सैषा वस्तुन्य् अवस्तुता । अविचाराद् बभूवेह विचारेण क्षयं गता
The sense of self in what is not the self, and the sense of reality in what is unreal—these arise here from lack of inquiry, but are destroyed through investigation.
भवन्तो ऽन्ये वयं चान्ये ब्रह्मान्यत् कर्तृता परा । अन्यो भोक्तान्य आदत्ते को दोषः कस्य कीदृशः
Some are called 'others,' and we are called 'others'; Brahman is said to be different, supreme is said to be the doer; another is the enjoyer, another takes—whose fault is it, and of what kind?
वनेभ्यो दारु सञ्जातं रज्जवो वेणुचर्मणी । वासी चायःफलान्य् एवं तक्षा ग्रासार्थम् उद्यतः
Wood comes from the forests, ropes from bamboo, hides from animals, and axes from iron ore; thus, the carpenter is set to work for the sake of his livelihood.
इत्थं यथेह सामग्र्या स्वशक्तिस्थपदार्थया । सम्पन्नः काकतालीयाद् रथो गृहवराकृतिः
In this way, when all the materials are present, each with its own inherent power, a cart or a house is completed, sometimes merely by coincidence, like a crow alighting on a palm tree.