अनपेक्ष्यैव च प्रश्नम् उवाचाथ मुनीश्वरः । बोधयन्ति बलाद् एव सानुकम्पा हि साधवः
Without waiting for a question, the eminent sage spoke; for the virtuous, out of compassion, instruct others forcibly.
राजन् रघुकुलाकाशशशाङ्क रघुनन्दन । ह्यो मया ध्याननेत्रेण स भिक्षुः प्रेक्षितश् चिरम्
O king, moon of the Raghu lineage, delight of the Raghus, yesterday with the eye of meditation I observed that mendicant for a long time.
ध्यानेनाहं चिरं भ्रान्तस् तादृग्भिक्षुदिदृक्षया । द्वीपानि सप्त विपुलांस् तथैव कुलपर्वतान्
Through meditation, I wandered for long, desiring to see such a mendicant; I traversed the seven vast continents and likewise the principal mountains.
यावत् कुतश्चिद् अप्य् एव भिक्षुर् लब्धो न तादृशः । कथं किल मनोराज्यं बहिर् अप्य् उपलभ्यते
Yet, nowhere did I find such a mendicant; how indeed can the kingdom of the mind be found externally?
ततस् त्रिभागशेषायां रात्रौ पुनर् अहं धिया । उत्तराशान्तरं यातो वेलावात इवार्णवम्
Then, in the night with only a third remaining, again with my mind I went toward the northern direction, like the shore wind toward the ocean.
चीननामाथ तत्रास्ति श्रीमाञ् जनपदो महान् । वल्मीकोपरि तत्रास्ति विहारो जिनसंश्रयः
There, in a great and prosperous land called China, upon an anthill stands a monastery dedicated to the Jina.
तस्मिन् विहारे स्वकुटीकोशे कपिलमूर्धजः । भिक्षुर् दीर्घशया नाम स्थित एवंपरोदयः
In that dwelling, within his own hut, the ascetic with tawny hair, a mendicant named Dīrghaśayā, remained established in such a state.
एकविंशतिरात्रं च तस्यैवंस्थितिशालिनः । दृढार्गडं गृहं ध्यानभङ्गभीता विशन्ति नो
For twenty-one nights, while he maintained this state, even the sturdy house, fearing disturbance of his meditation, was not entered.
भृत्याः प्रायः किल तथा स तिष्ठति सुभिक्षुकः । अद्यैवं तस्य सम्पन्नं नियतेर् ईदृशी स्थितिः
His attendants, it is said, generally left him thus; he, the fortunate mendicant, today attained such a state by the decree of fate.
रात्रयो ध्याननिष्ठस्य गतास् तस्यैकविंशतिः । स तु वर्षसहस्राणि तथा चित्ते ऽनुभूतवान्
For him, absorbed in meditation, twenty-one nights passed; yet in his mind, he experienced it as a thousand years.
कस्मिंश्चित् प्राक्तने कल्पे भिक्षुर् एवं पुराभवत् । अद्य त्व् इह द्वितीयो ऽस्ति तृतीयो नोपलभ्यते
In some previous age, the mendicant was thus before; but now, here, there is a second—no third is found.
मया तु पुनर् अन्विष्टश् चेतसा चतुरात्मना । तादृग् भिक्षुस् तृतीयो ऽन्यो जगत्पद्मोदरालिना
But I, searching again with my fourfold mind, found another, a third such mendicant, in the world-lotus’s womb.
अस्मात् सर्गात् तु नो लब्धस् तृतीयस् तादृगाशयः । अथान्ये लीलया सर्गा मया सम्प्रेक्षितास् ततः
From this creation, no third with such a disposition was found; then, for sport, I surveyed other creations.
यावत् कस्मिंश्चिद् आकाशकोशशायिनि सर्गके । तृतीयो विद्यते भिक्षुर् ब्राह्मणश् चेदृशक्रमः
Until, in some creation, lying within the space of the etheric womb, a third mendicant, a brāhmaṇa, was found in this sequence.
एवं तेनैव तेनैव सन्निवेशेन भूरिशः । भविष्यन्त्य् अभवन् सन्ति पदार्थास् सर्गसन्ततौ
In this very manner, with this very arrangement, countless entities have come to be, have ceased, and exist in the succession of creation.
अस्यां सभायाम् अपि ये मुनयो ब्राह्मणा नृपाः । भाव्यम् एवंसमाचारैस् तैर् अन्यैर् अप्य् अनेकशः
Even in this assembly, the sages, brahmins, and kings—many others as well—will act in just such ways, repeatedly, as is destined.
नारदेनामुना भाव्यं पुनर् अन्येन चानघ । एवम् एवात्रिणा भाव्यं पुनर् अन्येन चाधुना
O sinless one, it is destined to be so with this very Nārada, and again with another; likewise, it is destined to be so with Atri, and now again with another.
एवं कलत्रकर्मभ्यां युक्तेनानेन भूरिशः । एवंजन्मादिना भाव्यं व्यासेन च शुकेन च
Thus, through union with spouse and action, and through such births and beginnings, it is destined to be so with Vyāsa and with Śuka, many times over.
जनकेन पुनर् भाव्यं क्रतुना पुलहेन च । अगस्त्येन पुलस्त्येन भृगुणाङ्गिरसापि च
Again, it is destined to be so with Janaka, with Kratu, with Pulaha, with Agastya, with Pulastya, with Bhṛgu, and also with Aṅgiras.
एत एव तथान्ये च एवंरूपक्रियास्पदम् । चिराच् चिराद् भविष्यन्ति मायेयं वितता यतः
These very ones, and others as well, will become the seat of such forms and actions, again and again over long ages, for this illusion is widespread.
सदृशाचारजन्मानस् त एवान्ये च भूरिशः । भूयो भूयो विवर्तन्ते सर्गेष्व् अप्स्व् इव वीचयः
Those with similar conduct and birth, and many others as well, arise again and again in the cycles of creation, like waves in water.
अत्यन्तसदृशाः केचित् केचिद् अर्धसमक्रमाः । केचिद् ईषत्समाः केचिन् न कदाचित् पुनस् तथा
Some are entirely similar, some are partially alike, some are slightly so, and some never become so again.
एवम् एषातिवितता माया मनसि मोहिनी । क्षणो नेहास्ति नो कल्पः प्रतिपत्तिर् हि जृम्भते
In this way, this vast illusion, the enchantress, spreads in the mind; here, neither a moment nor an age exists, for only realization unfolds.
क्वैकविंशत्यहोरात्रा अनन्ताः क्व कुयोनयः । क्व तासाम् उपलम्भो ऽलम् अहो भीमा मनोगतिः
Where are the twenty-one days and nights, where is the infinite, where are the wrong paths? Where is their attainment? Alas, how dreadful is the course of the mind!
प्रतिभामात्रम् एवेदम् इत्थं विकसितं सितम् । नानाकलहकल्लोलचलं प्रातर् इवाम्बुजम्
All this appears only as a flash of consciousness, blossoming thus, pure and bright, yet tossed by the waves of various disputes, like a lotus at dawn.
जातं संवेदनाद् एव शुद्धाद् इदम् अशुद्धवत् । संसारजालम् अखिलं वह्निर् वह्निकणाद् इव
This entire web of worldly existence arises from pure awareness alone, though it seems impure—just as fire arises from a spark of fire.
प्रत्येकम् एवम् उदितः प्रतिभासषण्डष् षण्डान्तरेष्व् अपि च तत्र विचित्रषण्डाः । सर्वे स्वयं ननु च ते च मिथो न मिथ्या सर्वात्मनि स्फुरति कारणकारणे ऽस्मिन्
In each one, thus, a multitude of appearances arises; even within each multitude, there are wondrous varieties. All these exist in themselves, and yet, though they appear to interact, they are not false, for in this Self of all, the cause and the caused shine forth.
मुनिनायक तं भिक्षुं गत्वा सम्बोधयन्त्व् अमी । नरा मत्प्रहिताश् शीघ्रं चीनबुद्धकुटीगतम्
O leader of sages, let these men whom I have sent quickly go and awaken that monk who dwells in the Chinese monastery.
राजंस् तस्य महाभिक्षोस् स देहः प्राणवर्जितः । क्लेदं वैवर्ण्यम् आयातो नासौ जीवितभाजनम्
O King, the body of that great monk is now devoid of life; it has become moist and discolored, and is no longer a vessel of life.
तस्य भिक्षोश् च जीवो ऽसौ भूत्वा पद्मजसारसः । जीवन्मुक्तस् स्थितो भूयो नासौ संसृतिभाजनम्
The life of that monk, having become the essence of the lotus-born, remains established as a liberated being; he is no longer subject to the cycle of birth and death.