कलाकलापसम्पन्नौ लसद्रसरसायनौ । शीतलस्निग्धमुग्धाङ्गौ शशाङ्कौ द्वाव् इवोदितौ
Endowed with arts and eloquence, radiant with the nectar of delight, their bodies cool, tender, and charming, like two moons newly risen.
रेजे लसन्नृपतिभोगविलासकान्तम् अन्तःपुरेषु मिथुनं तद् अनुत्तमश्रि । ब्रह्माब्जषण्डकुहरेष्व् इव राजहंसयुग्मं विकासिमदमन्मथमन्दचारि
That peerless couple shone with royal splendor in the inner chambers, like a pair of royal swans wandering gracefully in the lotus-filled caves of Brahma, radiant with blossoming love.
एवं बहूनि वर्षाणि मिथुनं निर्भरस्पृहम् । रेमे यौवनलीलाभिर् अनन्ताभिर् दिने दिने
Thus, for many years, the couple, filled with intense longing, delighted each day in endless youthful pleasures.
अथ यातेषु वर्षेषु बहुष्व् आवृत्तिशालिषु । शनैर् गलति तारुण्ये भिन्नकुम्भाद् इवाम्भसि
Then, as many years passed, abundant with repeated cycles, youth gradually faded, like water leaking from a broken pot.
शारदस्येव पर्णस्य मिथुनस्यास्य कालतः । ईषद्विरागो हृदयं सम्यक्प्राग्रसम् अस्पृशत्
Just as a leaf in autumn, so too, with the passage of time, a subtle dispassion touched the hearts of the couple, gently and thoroughly.
विरागवासनाक्रान्तम् एकान्तस्थम् अचिन्तयत् । मिथुनं तज् जगद्यात्राम् इमाम् इत्थम् अशाश्वतीम्
Seized by the inclination toward dispassion, withdrawn in solitude, the couple reflected deeply on this fleeting journey of the world.
किं नामेह मनोहारि संसारकुहरभ्रमे । तरङ्गनिकराकारभङ्गुरव्यवहारिणि
What, indeed, is truly captivating here in this whirlpool of worldly existence, where all dealings are as fragile as clusters of waves?
पातः पक्वफलस्येव मरणं दुर्निवारणम् । हिमाशनिर् इवाम्भोजे जरा निपतनोन्मुखी
Death is as inevitable as the fall of a ripe fruit; old age descends upon the body like frost or hail upon a lotus, ready to strike.
आयुर् गलत्य् अविरतं जलं करतलाद् इव । प्रावृषीव लतातुम्बी तृष्णैका दीर्घतां गता
Life slips away incessantly, like water from the palm of the hand; only desire, like a gourd vine in the rains, grows long.
शैलनद्या रय इव सम्प्रयात्य् एव यौवनम् । इन्द्रजालम् इवासत्यं जीवितं क्षणसंस्थिति
Youth departs just as the current of a mountain stream flows away; life, lasting only a moment, is as unreal as a magician’s illusion.
सुखानि प्रपलायन्ते शरा इव गुणच्युताः । पतन्ति चेतो दुःखानि धृष्टा गृध्रा इवामिषम्
Pleasures swiftly vanish like arrows released from the bowstring; sorrows, bold as vultures, descend upon the mind seeking their prey.
बुद्बुदः प्रावृषीवाप्सु शरीरं क्षणभङ्गुरम् । रम्भागर्भ इवासारो व्यवहारो विरागदः
The body is as fleeting as a bubble in the monsoon waters; worldly dealings, devoid of passion, are like the sapless core of a plantain.
सत्वरं युवता याता कान्तेवाप्रियकामिनः । बलाद् अरतिर् आयाता वैरस्यम् इव पादपम्
Youth departs quickly, like a beloved woman leaving a lover she no longer desires; disinterest arrives forcibly, like tastelessness overtaking a tree.
तद् इह स्यात् कुसंसारे किं नाम बत शोभनम् । यद् आसाद्य पुनश् चेतो दशासु न विदूयते
So, in this false world, what indeed is truly admirable, when, having attained it, the mind is not again tormented by various states?
इति निर्णीय युग्मं तत् संसारव्याधिभेषजम् । चिरं विचारयाम् आस शास्त्रम् अध्यात्म सम्मतम्
Thus, having determined that pair—the disease of worldly existence and its remedy—they long reflected on the scripture approved by the wise in the Self.
आत्मज्ञानैकमन्त्रेण संसृत्याख्या विषूचिका । संशाम्यतीति निश्चित्य ताव् आस्तां तत्परायणौ
Concluding that the only cure for the cholera of transmigration is the mantra of Self-knowledge, both devoted themselves to that path.
तच्चित्तौ तद्गतप्राणौ तत्कथौ तद्विदाश्रयौ । तद्विदेकार्चनपरौ तदीहौ तौ बभूवतुः
Their minds and lives absorbed in That, their conversations and refuge in That, devoted solely to the worship of That, they engaged only in That pursuit.
तत्रैवातिघनाभ्यासौ बोधयन्तौ परस्परम् । तत्प्रीतौ तत्समारम्भौ चिरकालं बभूवतुः
There, through intense practice, instructing each other, delighting in That, undertaking actions for That, they remained for a long time.
अथ साविरतं बाला रमणीयपदक्रमान् । श्रुत्वाध्यात्मविदां वक्त्राच् छास्त्रार्थांस् तारणक्षमान्
Then, that young girl, having heard from the mouths of the knowers of the Self the delightful sequences of teachings—the meanings of the scriptures capable of delivering one—without interruption,
इत्थं विचारयाम् आस स्वम् आत्मानम् अहर्निशम् । अव्यापृता व्यापृता च धिया धवलयाशये
Thus, she began to reflect day and night upon her own self, both when her mind was engaged and when it was at rest, with a pure intention.
प्रेक्षे तावत् स्वम् आत्मानं किम् इदं स्याम् इति स्वयम् । कस्यायं जागतो मोहः कथम् अभ्युत्थितः क्व वा
She observed her own self, wondering, 'What is this that I might be? Whose is this delusion in the waking state? How has it arisen, and where?'
देहस् तावज् जडो मूको नाहम् इत्य् एव निश्चयः । आबालम् एतत् संसिद्धं मृतौ चैवानुभूयते
The body, indeed, is inert and mute—this is certain: 'I am not this.' This is evident from childhood and is also experienced at death.
कर्मेन्द्रियगणश् चास्य न भिन्नो ऽवयवात्मकः । अवयवावयविनोर् अभेदाज् जड एव च
The group of organs of action, too, is not separate from the aggregate of limbs; because there is no distinction between the parts and the whole, it is also inert.
बुद्धीन्द्रियगणो ऽप्य् एवं जड एवेति दृश्यते । प्रेर्यते मनसा यस्माद् यष्ट्येव भुवि लोष्टकः
Likewise, the group of sense organs is seen to be inert; for they are impelled by the mind, just as a clod of earth is moved on the ground by a stick.
मनश् चैव जडं मन्ये सङ्कल्पात्मकशक्तिमत् । क्षेपणैर् इव पाषाणः प्रेर्यते बुद्धिनिश्चयैः
I consider the mind, too, to be inert, though endowed with the power of intention; it is driven by the determinations of the intellect, as a stone is cast by a thrower.
बुद्धिर् निश्चयरूपैवं जडासत्येति निश्चयः । खातेनेव सरित् स्वैरम् अहङ्कारेण वाह्यते
The intellect, being of the nature of determination, is likewise certainly inert and unreal; it is carried along freely by egoity, as a river is channeled by a ditch.
अहङ्कारो ऽपि निस्सारो जड एवं शवात्मकः । जीवेन जन्यते यक्षो बालेनेव भ्रमात्मकः
Even the ego is insubstantial, inert, and corpse-like; it arises in the living being as a phantom, born of ignorance and delusion.
जीवश् च कलनाकारो वातात्मा हृदये स्थितः । शुक्रसारो ऽन्तर् अन्येन केनापि परिजीवति
The individual soul, shaped by conceptualization, is wind-like and abides in the heart; nourished by the essence of semen, it subsists within by some other means.
आम् अहो ज्ञातम् एतेन चेत्योल्लेखकलङ्किना । जीवो जीवति जीवेन चिद्रूपेणात्मरूपिणा
Ah, indeed, it is understood: by this awareness, tainted with the notion of objectivity, the soul lives by means of the soul itself, whose nature is consciousness and the form of the Self.
चेत्यभ्रमवता जीवश् चिद्रूपेणैव जीवति । आमोदः पवनेनेव खातेनेव सरिद्रयः
The soul, deluded by object-consciousness, lives only by consciousness itself—just as fragrance exists by the wind, or a river flows by the channel that is dug.