षट्पदो विजहाराथ वने वनलतास्व् असौ । पद्मिनीषु च फुल्लासु तरुणीष्व् इव वल्लभः
That bee then wandered in the forest among the forest vines, just as a lover among blooming lotuses and youthful maidens.
बिम्बाधरं विदलयन् स्वादयन् कौसुमं मधु । स्वपन् कुसुमशय्यासु भुक्त्वा वल्लीविलासिनीः
Tasting the honey of flowers, delighting in the lips of blossoms, he slept on beds of petals, having enjoyed the pleasures of the vine-maidens.
स बभूव सरोजिन्यां व्यसनी बिसनालवत् । क्वचिद् एव रतिं याति चेतो जडमतेर् अपि
He became infatuated with a lotus, like a fiber within its stalk; even the mind of the dull-witted sometimes finds delight somewhere.
ताम् आजगाम नलिनीं परिलोडयितुं गजः । रम्यवस्तुक्षयायैव मूढानां जृम्भते मनः
Then an elephant came to trample that lotus; for the destruction of delightful things, the mind of the deluded always stirs.
नलिनीमथनेनैव समं तेन स षट्पदः । गुणवत्तान्तरे रूढिर् इव चूर्णत्वम् आययौ
Just as the bee is crushed along with the lotus by the churning, so too, when qualities change, the body is reduced to powder like blood dries into dust.
भ्रमरो वारणालोकाद् वारणालोकभावनात् । ददर्शात्मानम् आलोलमत्तहस्तितयोदितम्
The bee, from seeing the elephant or from imagining the sight of the elephant, perceived itself as agitated, as if it had become a drunken elephant.
शुष्कसागरगम्भीरे गजः खाते पपात ह । तमोघनघने शून्ये संसार इव जीवकः
The elephant fell into a deep, dry pit—like a living being falls into the void of dense darkness, which is the emptiness of worldly existence.
बभूव वल्लभो राज्ञो महान् परबलान्तकः । सदा मदबलक्षीवो घूर्णन्न् इव निशाचरः
He became the beloved of the king, a great destroyer of enemies, always intoxicated by strength, reeling like a demon.
कदाचिद् अरिनिस्त्रिंशच्छिन्नस् सो ऽस्तम् उपाययौ । विवेकासिलतालूनरूपो जीव इवात्मनि
Once, struck down by the enemy’s sword, he met his end—just as the soul, when deprived of the rock of discernment, loses its form in the Self.
पश्यन् गजघटाकुम्भमणीन् प्रोच्छलितान् अलीन् । उत्क्रामन् स गजाज् जीवो भूयो द्रागित्य् अभूद् अलिः
Seeing the pearls scattered from the elephant’s headgear and jars, the soul departed from the elephant and quickly became a bee again.
सेवमानो वनलताः पुनर् आयात् स पद्मिनीम् । दुस्तरो हि चिराभ्यासो वासनानाम् अबोधतः
Wandering among the forest creepers, he returned again to the lotus pond—for the long-standing habit of impressions is hard to overcome in ignorance.
तत्र हस्तिखुराक्रान्त्या पुनर् आचूर्णतां ययौ । पार्श्वस्थहंससंवित्त्या बभूव कलहंसकः
There, being trampled again by the elephant’s hoof, he was once more reduced to powder; by the awareness of the swan nearby, he became a young swan.
स हंसः फुल्लपद्मासु सरसीषु चिरं चरन् । कदाचिद् बहुभिर् हंसैस् सङ्गतो विरराज ह
That swan, wandering for a long time among blooming lotuses in the lakes, at times shone forth in the company of many other swans.
ब्रह्महंसात्मिका संविद् अशब्दार्थवती मनाक् । तत्र पुस्फोर तस्यान्तः प्राग्जाण्डरसबर्हिवत्
There, the consciousness whose nature is the Supreme Swan, bearing the meaning beyond words, suddenly blossomed within, like the down in the egg of a swan.
स तां विभावयन् दूराद् दृढं दाशेषुणा हतः । तत्संवित्त्यनुसन्धानाज् जातः पद्मजसारसः
Perceiving that from afar, he was struck down by a strong hunter’s arrow; through the recollection of that consciousness, he was born as a lotus-dwelling swan.
तत्रातिसन्ततविवेकवचोविलासैर् आबोधितो ऽधिगतपावनवस्तुदृष्टिः । मुक्तस् स्थितो ननु युगान्तविधौ विदेहमुक्तेन तेन किल भाव्यम् अवश्यम् एव
There, awakened by the ever-present play of discrimination and non-discrimination, he attained the vision of the pure Reality; liberated, he remained, and at the end of the age, he must certainly become one who is liberated without a body.
स कदाचिद् ददर्शाथ रुद्रं रुद्रपुरे खगः । वैरिञ्चनलिनीनाललीलालानेभलीलया
Once, that bird saw Rudra in Rudra’s city, engaged in the sport of delighting in the lotus-lake of Brahma.
तत्र बुद्धिर् अभूत् तस्य रुद्रो ऽहम् इति निश्चिता । प्रतिबिम्बं वरादर्शे झगित्य् एव हि बिम्बति
There, a definite thought arose in him: 'I am Rudra,' just as an image instantly appears in a flawless mirror.
रुद्रीभूतवपुस् तत्र तनुं तत्याज ताम् असौ । गन्धः पवनतां गच्छन् कुसुमस्तबकं यथा
Assuming the form of Rudra there, he abandoned that body, just as fragrance becomes air, or a cluster of flowers disperses.
रुद्रो ऽथ रुद्रभवने विजहार यदृच्छया । तैस् तैश् शिवपुराचारैर् गणगोष्ठीगरिष्ठया
Then Rudra, in the abode of Rudra, wandered freely, following the various customs of Shiva’s city, in the distinguished company of the hosts of Shiva’s attendants.
रुद्रस् त्व् अनुत्तरज्ञानविलासैकतया तया । स्वम् अशेषम् उदन्तं तम् अपश्यत् प्राक्तनं धिया
Rudra, through the unity with the play of unsurpassed knowledge, beheld his entire prior existence with his former mind.
निरावरणविज्ञानवपुस् स भगवान् हरः । उवाच स्वयम् एकान्ते स्वस्वप्नशतविस्मितः
That blessed Hara, whose form is unobstructed consciousness, spoke by himself in solitude, astonished by his own hundreds of dreams.
अहो नु चित्रा मायेयं बत विश्वविमोहिनी । असत्य् एवापि सद्रूपा सुरूढा मरुवारिवत्
Ah, truly wondrous is this Māyā, indeed, the deluder of the universe—though unreal, she appears as real, firm as a mirage in the desert.
इदम्प्रथमम् आक्रान्तचेत्यो ऽहं चित्ततां गतः । पूर्वसम्पन्नसर्गस्थगगनादिविभावनात्
At first, I, whose mind was seized by this, attained the state of pure consciousness, perceiving the sky and other elements as established in the prior creation.
यदृच्छास्थितजीवत्वो भूततन्मात्ररञ्जितः । कस्मिंश्चिद् अभवं सर्गे भिक्षुर् अक्षुभितो ऽभितः
With a life established by mere chance, colored by the subtle elements, I became a mendicant in some creation, undisturbed in every way.
तेनालयनिबद्धेन बहिस् स्वैरविहारिता । लीलाविलुलिताकारा यदा रम्येति भाविता
With a dwelling thus fixed, I roamed freely outside; when the form, tossed about by play, was considered delightful.
सर्वभावोपमर्देन तदभ्यासवशात् तदा । ताम् एव सो ऽन्वभूद् भिक्षुस् त्यक्त्वान्यं मननोदयम्
By the destruction of all states, due to the force of that practice, that mendicant became just that, abandoning the arising of other thoughts.
चमत्कृतिश् चेतसि या रूढा सैव विजृम्भते । वल्ली त्यजति नैदाघी पीतम् अप्य् अम्बु माधवम्
That marvel which has become established in the mind alone unfolds; just as the summer creeper does not let go, even after drinking the spring water.
स भिक्षुर् जीवटो भूत्वा जन्तुर् जरढवासनः । तेषु देशेषु बभ्राम रन्ध्रेष्व् इव पिपीलकः
That mendicant, having become alive, was a creature with aged tendencies; he wandered in those places as an ant moves through holes.
आत्मनि द्विजभक्तत्वात् सो ऽपश्यद् द्विजताम् अथ । भावो भावविपर्यासे बलवान् एव वर्धते
Because of devotion to twice-borns within himself, he then perceived the state of a twice-born; indeed, when a disposition is reversed, it grows ever stronger.