दुःखानि मौर्ख्यविभवेन भवन्ति यानि नैवापदा न च जरामरणेन तानि । सर्वापदां शिरसि तिष्ठति मौर्ख्यम् एकं कृष्णं जनस्य वपुषाम् इव केशजालम्
The sufferings that arise from the wealth of folly do not come from calamity, nor from old age or death; folly alone sits atop all misfortunes, black as a mass of hair on the bodies of people.
अथेमम् अपरं रम्यं वृत्तान्तं शृणु भूपते । परं प्रबोधनं बुद्धेस् साधो सदृशम् आत्मनः
Now, O king, listen to this other delightful tale, which is supremely awakening for the mind and worthy of a noble soul like yourself.
अस्ति विन्ध्यवने हस्ती महायूथपयूथपः । अगस्त्यरुद्धया वृद्ध्या विन्ध्येनेवैधितस् स्वतः
In the Vindhya forest there is an elephant, the chief of a great herd, who, like the Vindhya mountain halted by Agastya, has grown vast by his own nature.
वज्राश्रिविषमौ दीर्घौ स्तस् तस्य दशनौ शितौ । कल्पानलशिखातुल्यौ सुमेरून्मूलनक्षमौ
His two long tusks are sharp as thunderbolts and poisonous snakes, resembling the blazing tongues of the fire at the end of an age, capable of uprooting Mount Sumeru.
स बद्धो लोहजालेन हस्तिपेन च्छलादितः । मुनीन्द्रेणेव विन्ध्याद्रिर् उपेन्द्रेणेव वा बडिः
He was bound with iron chains and deceived by the elephant-keeper, just as the Vindhya mountain was restrained by the great sage, or the demon Baḍi was subdued by Upendra.
निबद्धो यन्त्रणापाशशस्त्रकुम्भार्पितो गजः । तां जगाम व्यथां वीरो न वाग्गोचरम् एति या
Imprisoned by fetters, ropes, and weapons, the elephant was placed in a pen; the suffering he endured was so great that it cannot be described in words.
रिपौ हस्तिपके दूराद् गुप्तं पश्यति वारणः । अयस्समुद्गके तस्मिन् निनाय दिवसत्रयम्
From a distance, the elephant saw his enemy, the keeper, hidden away; confined in that iron enclosure, he spent three days.
खेदान् निगडनिर्भेदयत्नवान् स झणज्झणम् । चकार किङ्किणीक्वाणम् उपोद्घातै रथो यथा
Straining to break the shackles, he made a jingling sound like anklets, as a chariot does when struck, from his efforts to shatter the iron bonds.
दन्ताभ्यां यत्नतस् ताभ्यां मुहूर्तद्वितयेन सः । बभञ्ज शृङ्खलाजालं स्वर्गार्गडम् इवासुरः
With both tusks, exerting himself, in the span of two moments, he broke the network of chains, as a demon would shatter the gates of heaven.
तं तस्य निगडच्छेदम् अपश्यद् दूरतो रिपुः । बडेस् स्वर्गावदलनं हरिर् मेरुतटाद् इव
From afar, his enemy saw him break the shackles, just as Hari beheld the demon Baḍi breaking through the gates of heaven from the slopes of Mount Meru.
तस्यावच्छिन्नपाशस्य मूर्ध्नि तालतरो रिपुः । पपाताक्रमतस् स्वर्गं हरिर् मेरोर् बडेर् इव
The enemy, whose bonds had been severed, fell from the top of the palm tree, just as Hari fell from Meru or Baḍa, striving for heaven.
स पतन् पादपान् मोहाद् अप्राप्य करिणश् शिरः । पपातोर्ध्व्यां फलं पक्वं वाताहतम् इवाकुलः
As he fell, blinded by delusion, he did not reach the elephant's head, but tumbled down in confusion, like a ripe fruit struck by the wind.
तं पुरः पतितं दृष्ट्वा महेभः करुणां ययौ । स्फुरत्स्फारगुणास् सन्तस् सन्ति तिर्यग्गताव् अपि
Seeing him fallen before him, the great elephant was moved to compassion; for even the noble, whose virtues are abundant, feel pity for those who have fallen low.
पतितं दलयामीति किं नाम मम पौरुषम् । वारणो ऽपीति कलयन् न जघान च तं रिपुम्
He thought, 'What strength is there in crushing one who has already fallen? It is not fitting for me, an elephant, to strike this enemy,' and so he did not kill him.
केवलं निगडव्यूहं विदार्याशु जगाम ह । विततं सेतुम् उत्सार्य विपुलौघ इवाम्भसः
He merely broke through the array of chains and swiftly departed, scattering the broad barrier like a mighty flood dispersing a dam.
तम् अनादृत्य मातङ्गो भङ्क्त्वा जालं जवाद् ययौ । विदार्य मेघसङ्घातं नभसीव दिवाकरः
Disregarding him, the elephant broke the net and hurried away, parting the mass of clouds in the sky like the sun.
गते गजे समुत्तस्थौ हस्तिपस् स्वस्थदेहधीः । गजेनैव समं तस्य व्यथा दूरतरं गता
When the elephant had gone, the mahout rose up, his body and mind restored; with the elephant's departure, his pain too had gone far away.
प्रोत्तालतालविटपात् स तथा पतितो ऽपि सन् । न भेदम् आप दुर्भेदा मन्ये देहा दुरात्मनाम्
Though he had fallen from the tall palm tree, he suffered no injury; I think the bodies of the wicked are indeed hard to break.
वर्धते प्रावृषीवाब्दः कुकार्येष्व् असतां बलम् । अतीवासीत् समुत्साही स गजाक्रमणे तदा
Just as the river swells in the rainy season, so does the strength of the wicked increase in wrongful deeds; at that time, he was exceedingly eager to attack the elephant.
वारणारिर् असिंहो ऽसौ गतेभो दुःखम् आययौ । आगत्योपगते ऽन्तर्धिं निधान इव निर्धनः
That enemy of the elephant, the lion, became distressed when the elephant departed; coming and finding him gone, he vanished like a poor man at an empty treasury.
सो ऽन्वियेष गजं यत्नाद् गुल्मकान्तरितं वने । पयोदपिहितं भोक्तुं राहुर् इन्दुम् इवाम्बरे
He searched diligently for the elephant, hidden among the thickets in the forest, just as Rāhu seeks to devour the moon concealed by clouds in the sky.
चिरेणालभतेभेन्द्रं कस्मिंश्चित् कानने स्थितम् । विश्राम्यन्तं तरुतले समराद् इव निर्गतम्
After a long time, he found the lord of elephants resting beneath a tree in some part of the forest, as if withdrawn from battle.
अथ यत्र स्थितो नागस् तत्र तद्बन्धनक्षमम् । परया राजसामग्र्या गजलम्पटरूपया
Then, at the place where the elephant stood, he prepared a suitable trap with supreme royal skill, taking on the form of one greedy for elephants.
स खातवलयं चक्रे हस्तिपः कानने नवम् । सर्वदिक्कं विधिर् भूमौ समुद्रवलयं यथा
In the forest, the hunter made a new pit encircled by a trench, arranging it all around on the ground like the encircling ocean.
उपर्य् अस्थगयज् जीर्णलतौघेन स तं शठः । शून्यं तन्वभ्रजालेन शरत्काल इवाम्बरम्
Above, that cunning one covered it with a mass of withered creepers, making it appear empty with a thin web, like the autumn sky.
दिनैः कतिपयैर् एव वारणो विहरन् वने । तस्मिन् निपतितः खाते शुष्काब्धाव् इव पर्वतः
Within just a few days, as the elephant wandered in the forest, he fell into that pit, like a mountain into a dried-up ocean.
व्रजन् सर्पाकृतौ कूपे पातालतलभीषणे । खाते शुष्काब्धिखाताभे गजरत्नसमुद्गके
Proceeding, the elephant fell into a well shaped like a serpent, dreadful as the netherworld, hollowed out like a pit of a dried-up ocean, a casket for elephant-jewels.
इति भूयो दृढं बद्धस् तेन हस्तिपकेन सः । तिष्ठत्य् अद्यापि दुःखेन भूसद्मनि यथा बडिः
Thus, firmly bound again by that elephant-catcher, he remains even now in misery, like a fish on dry land.
अहनिष्यत् पुरैवासौ यद्य् अग्रोपगतं रिपुम् । तन् नालप्स्यत तद् दुःखं गजः खातनिबन्धनम्
Had he destroyed the approaching enemy at the very outset, the elephant would not have suffered that misery of being bound in the pit.
मौर्ख्याद् आगामिनं कालं वर्तमानक्रियाक्रमैः । अशोधयन् नरो दुःखं याति विन्ध्यगजो यथा
Through folly, a man who does not examine the future by means of present actions goes to suffering, like the Vindhya elephant.