धनानि नारीर् विभवान् ऐश्वर्यं चाष्टधोदितम् । सिद्धैर् अप्य् अर्पितं तुष्टैर् मेनाते जर्जरं तृणम्
Even when offered by satisfied siddhas, wealth, women, prosperity, and the eightfold lordship are regarded as mere dry grass.
स्वकर्मणैव देहो ऽयं यावदन्तम् अनिच्छया । धारणीय इति स्वेन कर्मणैवाथ तस्थतुः
This body, produced by one's own actions, must be sustained without desire until its end; thus, by one's own actions, it remains.
अभिननन्दतुर् आगतम् उत्तमौ निजसमाचरणक्रमजं मुनी । सुखम् असौख्यम् अपीप्सितवर्जितौ समसमौ खसमौ शमिनौ स्वतः
Those two noble sages welcomed whatever came, whether happiness or suffering, without desire for either, remaining equal, tranquil, and self-composed like the sky.
अथैकदा पुरश्रेष्ठे कस्मिंश्चिन् मण्डलान्तरे । अनपत्यं नृपं मृत्युर् अहरत् स्वम् इवामिषम्
Then, once, in a certain region within a great city, Death took away a childless king as if seizing his own prey.
तत्र प्रकृतयः खिन्ना नष्टदेशक्रमा नृपम् । अन्विष्यन्ति स्म संयुक्तं गुणलक्ष्म्या विशालया
There, the ministers, distressed and having lost the order of the land, sought a king endowed with great qualities and fortune.
ता भगीरथम् आसाद्य स्थितं भिक्षाशनं पुरे । परिज्ञाय समानीय सैन्यं चक्रुर् महीपतिम्
They, finding Bhagiratha living in the city on alms, recognized him, brought him forth, and made him king with an army.
भगीरथः क्षणेनैव प्रावृषीवाम्बुना सरः । धूलितस् सेनया गुर्व्या झगित्य् आरोपितो गजे
Bhagiratha, in a moment, was covered with the dust of the great army, like a lake by rainwater in the rainy season, and was swiftly mounted on an elephant.
भगीरथो जगन्नाथो जयतीति घनारवैः । नीरन्ध्रताम् उपाजग्मुर् गिरीन्द्राणां महागुहाः
As the shouts of 'Victory to Bhagiratha, Lord of the World!' thundered, the great caves of the mountain lords became completely filled.
तत्र तत् पालयन्तं तं राज्यं राजानम् आदृताः । आजग्मुः प्राक्प्रकृतयः प्राहुर् इत्थं मृताधिपाः
There, as he was ruling that kingdom, the former ministers, honoring the king, approached and spoke thus on behalf of the deceased rulers:
राजन्न् अस्माकम् अधिपो यस् त्वया स पुरा कृतः । मृत्युना विनिगीर्णो ऽसौ मत्स्येनेवामिषं मृदु
O King, the lord who was formerly appointed over us by you has been swallowed by death, just as a fish swallows tender bait.
तत् तत् पालयितुं राज्यं प्रसादं कर्तुम् अर्हसि । अप्रार्थितोपपन्नानां त्यागो ऽर्थानां तु नोचितः
Therefore, you ought to show favor by protecting that kingdom; it is not proper to abandon wealth that has come unasked.
इति सम्प्रार्थितो राजा तद् अङ्गीकृत्य तद्वचः । सर्वसागरचिह्नायास् स बभूव पतिर् भुवः
Thus entreated, the king accepted their words and became the lord of the earth marked by all the oceans.
समश् शान्तमना मौनी वीतरागो विमत्सरः । कार्यकार्यैककरणरतिर् आहितविस्मयः
He was impartial, peaceful in mind, silent, free from passion and envy, devoted only to what should and should not be done, and filled with wonder.
पातालतलनष्टानां सागराकारकारिणाम् । पितामहानां गङ्गाम्बु शुश्रावोत्तारणक्षमम्
He heard that the water of the Ganges was capable of delivering the ancestors who had perished in the netherworld, those who had become like the ocean in form.
तदा किल स्वर्गनदी वहति स्म न भूतले । पितॄणां दुर्लभस् सो ऽभूत् तेन गङ्गाजलाञ्जलिः
At that time, indeed, the heavenly river did not flow upon the earth; thus, an offering of Ganges water was difficult for the ancestors to obtain.
भगीरथेनाथ महीम् अवतारयितुं दिवः । गङ्गां गृहीतो नियमस् तदा प्रभृति भूभृता
Then, Bhagiratha undertook a vow to bring the Ganges down from heaven to earth, and from that time, the kings have followed this observance.
ततो राज्यं परित्यज्य मन्त्रिणां भूपतिश् शमी । तपसे कार्यकार्येहो जगाम गहनं वनम्
Then, having renounced the kingdom at the counsel of his ministers, the king went to the dense forest for the sake of ascetic practice and to discern what should and should not be done.
तत्र वर्षसहस्रैस् स समाराध्य पुनः पुनः । ब्रह्माणं शङ्करं जह्नुं भुवि गङ्गाम् अयोजयत्
There, over thousands of years, he repeatedly worshipped Brahma, Shankara, and Jahnu, and caused the Ganga to descend to earth.
ततः प्रभृत्य् अमलतरङ्गभङ्गिनी जगत्पतेश् शशिविशदाङ्गसङ्गिनी । नभस्तलान् निपतति गां त्रिमार्गगा महात्मनाम् इव बहुपुण्यसन्ततिः
From that time onward, the Ganga—whose waves are pure and whose flow is immaculate, shining like the moon and touching the limbs of the Lord of the universe—descends from the sky to the earth along three paths, like the abundant lineage of merit among the great-souled.
स्फुरत्तरङ्गभङ्गिनी स्वफेनपुञ्जहासिनी प्रसन्नपुण्यमञ्जरी द्रुतेव धर्मसन्ततिः । भगीरथे महीपतौ यशःप्रचारवीथिका तदादि सा त्रिमार्गगा महीतले बभूव ह
With waves that shimmer and break, laughing with clusters of its own foam, a clear and auspicious stream, swift as the flow of righteousness, the threefold Ganga became, from that time, the celebrated path of fame on earth for King Bhagiratha.
एताम् अवष्टभ्य दृशं भगीरथधिया वृताम् । समस् स्वस्थो यथाप्राप्तं कार्यम् आहर शान्तधीः
With this vision, inspired by the resolve of Bhagiratha, remain calm and composed, and, with a tranquil mind, accomplish whatever task comes to you.
इदं पूर्वं परित्यज्य क्रोडीकृत्य ततस् स्वयम् । शान्तम् आत्मनि तिष्ठ त्वं शिखिध्वज इवाचलः
Having abandoned what came before and gathered it within yourself, remain peaceful in your own being, like Shikhidhvaja, unmoving as a mountain.
को ऽसौ शिखिध्वजो नाम कथं वा लब्धवान् पदम् । एतत् कथय मे ब्रह्मन् भूयो बोधाभिवृद्धये
Who is this Shikhidhvaja by name, and how did he attain that state? Tell me this, O Brahman, once again, for the further increase of my understanding.
द्वापरे ऽभवतां पूर्वम् इदानीं च भविष्यतः । तेनैव सन्निवेशेन दम्पती स्निग्धनागरौ
In the Dvapara age, they were before, and now they will be again—those same two, as husband and wife, affectionate and skilled in the ways of love.
यत् पूर्वम् आसीद् भगवंस् तद् इदानीं तथैव हि । भविष्यति किमर्थं वै वद मे वदतां वर
O venerable one, that which was before is exactly the same now; why should it be otherwise in the future? Tell me, best of speakers.
जगन्निर्माणनियतेर् अस्या ब्राह्म्यास् स्वसंविदः । ईदृश्य् एव स्थितिर् नित्यम् अनिवार्या स्वभावजा
This is the unchanging order of creation of the universe, arising from the divine self-awareness; such is its perpetual, inevitable, and natural state.
यद् अन्यद् बहुशो भूत्वा पुनर् भवति भूरिशः । अभूत्वैव भवत्य् अन्यत् पुनश् च न भवत्य् अलम्
That which, having existed many times, arises again and again, also ceases to exist and becomes something else, and then again ceases—enough of this.
अन्यत् प्राक्सन्निवेशस्य सादृश्येन स्फुरत्य् अलम् । अन्यत् प्राक्सन्निवेशार्धसादृश्येन विवल्गति
Something else appears with a resemblance to a previous arrangement; another arises with only a partial similarity to a former state.
सदृश्यो विषमाश् चैव यथा सरसि वीचयः । ता एवान्याश् च दृश्यन्ते व्यवस्थास् संसृतौ तथा
Just as waves in a lake are both similar and dissimilar, so too are the patterns seen in the cycle of existence.
तस्माद् राघव भूयो ऽपि वक्ष्यमाणो नरेश्वरः । भविष्यति महातेजास् तद्वृत्तान्तम् इमं शृणु
Therefore, Raghava, the king who will be described again will arise, endowed with great brilliance; listen to this account.