स्वदेशस्यातिदूरस्थम् आगतो ऽसीमम् आश्रमम् । भुवो ऽन्तम् इव विश्रान्त्यै वैनतेयस् सकच्छपः
You have come to this hermitage, far from your own land, as Garuda comes to the world's end for rest, along with the tortoise.
केवलं सर्वसन्त्यागे शेषिताहम्मतिस् त्वया । मृष्टाखिलकलङ्केन स्वसत्तेवानिलेन खे
Only the notion of 'I' remains in your complete renunciation; cleansed of all stain, your own being, like the wind in the sky.
मनोमात्रे हृदस् त्यक्ते यावत् ते याति पूर्णताम् । त्यागस् तावद् विकल्पस् त्वां खम् अम्बुद इवावृणोत्
As long as the heart, which exists only as mind, has not attained fullness by abandonment, so long does the notion of abandonment, like a cloud, cover you as the sky.
नायं स परमानन्दस् सर्वत्यागो महोदयः । को ऽप्य् उच्चैर् अन्य एवासौ चिरसाध्यो महान् इति
This is not that supreme bliss, the great arising of total renunciation; that is something else, exceedingly lofty, difficult to attain even after a long time, and truly great.
चिन्तयेति गते वृद्धिं सङ्कल्पग्रहणे शनैः । वात्ययेव वनस्पन्दे त्यागः प्रोड्डीय ते गतः
When thought gradually increases in the grasping of concepts, then, like a wind blowing through a forest, your abandonment is swept away and gone.
त्यागिता स्यात् कुतस् तस्य चिन्ताम् अप्य् आवृणोति यः । पवनस्पन्दयुक्तस्य निस्स्पन्दत्वं कुतस् तरोः
How can there be renunciation for one whose mind is still covered by thought? How can a tree moved by the wind ever be motionless?
चिन्तैव चित्तम् इत्य् आहुस् सङ्कल्पेतरनामकम् । तस्याम् एव स्फुरन्त्यां तु चित्तं त्यक्तं कथं भवेत्
They say that thought itself is mind, also called intention and the like; as long as it is active, how can the mind be considered abandoned?
चित्ते गृहीते त्रिजगज्जालबीजकणे क्षणात् । कथं सम्पद्यते साधो सर्वत्यागो निरञ्जनः
O noble one, when the mind, which contains the seed-particle of the net of the three worlds, is grasped even for a moment, how can stainless, total renunciation arise?
सङ्कल्पग्रहणेनान्तस् त्यागः प्रोड्डीय ते गतः । शब्दसंश्रवणेनाङ्ग यथा ग्रामविहङ्गमः
With the grasping of concepts, your inner renunciation is swept away and gone, just as, O dear one, a village bird is drawn away by the sound of its flock.
निश्चिन्तत्वधनं सर्वं त्याग आदाय ते गतः । आमन्त्र्यापूजितो याति यस् स दुःखं करोति हि
All that you have gained by renunciation departs, taking with it the wealth of freedom from thought; that which leaves when called or honored, indeed brings sorrow.
सर्वत्यागमणाव् एवं गते कमललोचन । तपःकाचमणिर् दृष्टस् त्वया सङ्कल्पचक्षुषा
O lotus-eyed one, when the jewel of complete renunciation had reached such a state, you beheld the crystal of asceticism with the eye of intention.
त्वया तस्मिंस् तपस्य् एव दुःखे दृष्टिभ्रमोदिते । ग्राह्यैकभावना बद्धा जलेन्दौ शिशुना यथा
In that asceticism, which was itself suffering and born of a deluded vision, you fixed your mind on grasping only one thing, like a child intent on catching the moon in water.
अवासनम् अनारभ्य कृतानन्दा सवासना । आद्यन्तमध्यविषमा दुःखायैव तपःक्रिया
Without abandoning latent tendencies, and without truly beginning, you performed ascetic practices filled with desires; uneven at the beginning, middle, and end, such austerity leads only to suffering.
अमितानन्दम् उत्सृज्य सुसाधं यः प्रवर्तते । मिते वस्तुनि दुस्साधे स्वात्महा स शठस् स्मृतः
He who, abandoning boundless bliss, pursues what is difficult to attain in a limited thing, is called a fool who deceives himself.
सर्वत्यागस् समारभ्य न विनिष्पादितस् त्वया । तपोदुःखैकतज्ज्ञेन बद्धेन वनसद्मनि
You did not accomplish complete renunciation, but, knowing only the suffering of asceticism, you bound yourself in the forest dwelling.
राज्यबन्धाद् विनिष्क्रम्य गजवद् दुःखपूरिते । वनवासाभिधे साधो बद्धो ऽसि दृढबन्धने
Having left the bondage of kingship, O noble one, you became firmly bound in the so-called forest life, filled with suffering like an elephant.
द्विगुणा एव ते चिन्ताश् शीतवातातपादयः । बन्धनाद् अधिकं मन्ये वनवासम् अजानतः
Your anxieties have doubled—cold, wind, heat, and the rest; I consider forest life, for one ignorant of bondage, to be a greater fetter.
चिन्तामणिर् मया प्राप्त इत्य् अलं बुद्धवान् असि । न लब्धवान् भवान् साधो स्फटिकस्यापि खण्डिकाम्
You think, 'I have attained the wish-fulfilling jewel,' but truly, O noble one, you have not even obtained a fragment of crystal.
इत्य् एतद् अङ्ग मणियत्नकथासमानं सम्यङ् मया प्रकटितं तव पद्मनेत्र । उद्बोध्य बोधम् अमलं स्वयम् एव बुद्ध्या यद् वच्मि तत् परिणतिं कुरु चित्तकोशे
Thus, O lotus-eyed one, I have clearly explained this matter to you, with care, just as one would tell a precious tale. Awaken pure understanding within yourself by your own discernment; whatever I say, bring it to fruition in the treasury of your mind.
इदानीं राजशार्दूल वस्तुसम्प्रतिपत्तये । शृणु विन्ध्येभवृत्तान्तविवृतिं स्मयकारिणीम्
Now, O best of kings, in order to grasp the true nature of things, listen to the delightful account of what happened in the Vindhya forest.
यो ऽसौ विन्ध्यवने हस्ती सो ऽस्मिन् भूमितले भवान् । यौ वैराग्यविवेकौ ते तौ तस्य दशनौ शितौ
That elephant in the Vindhya forest is you upon this earth; and those two sharp tusks of his are your dispassion and discernment.
यश् चासौ वारणाक्रान्तितत्परो हस्तिपस् स्थितः । तद् अज्ञानं त्वदाक्रान्तितत्परं तव दुःखदम्
And just as there is one intent on subduing the elephant, standing as the elephant-keeper, so too is ignorance intent on subduing you, bringing you suffering.
अतिशक्तो ऽप्य् अशक्तेन दुःखाद् दुःखं भयाद् भयम् । हस्ती हस्तिपकेनेव राजन् मौर्ख्येण नीयसे
Even though you are powerful, you are led by the powerless from sorrow to sorrow, from fear to fear; O king, like an elephant led by its keeper, you are driven by folly.
यल् लोहरज्जुसारेण वारणः परियन्त्रितः । तद् आशापाशजालेन भवान् आपदम् आगतः
Just as the elephant is restrained by an iron chain, so too you have come into distress, bound by the net of attachments.
आशा हि लोहरज्जुभ्यो विषमा विपुला दृढा । कालेन क्षीयते लोहं तृष्णा तु परिवर्धते
Indeed, desire is more dangerous, vast, and strong than iron chains; iron is worn away by time, but craving only increases.
यद् बद्धं प्रेक्षते वैरी गजम् आराद् अलक्षितः । प्रेक्षते त्वां तद् अज्ञानं क्रीडार्थं बद्धम् एककम्
Just as an enemy secretly watches a bound elephant from a distance, so too ignorance observes you, bound and alone, for its own amusement.
यद् बभञ्ज गजश् शस्त्रशृङ्खलाजालबन्धनम् । तत् तत्याज भवान् भोगभूमिं राज्यम् अकण्टकम्
Whatever chains of weapons, fetters, and nets the elephant broke, you abandoned that land of enjoyment and the kingdom, free from thorns.
कदाचित् सुकरं शस्त्रशृङ्खलाजालभेदनम् । न त्व् अस्य मनसस् साधो भोगाशाविनिवारणम्
Sometimes it is easy to break the chains of weapons and nets, but O noble one, it is not so to remove the craving for enjoyment from the mind.
यद् इभे पाटयत्य् उच्चैर् बन्धं हस्तिपको ऽपतत् । त्वयि त्यजति तद् राज्यम् अज्ञानं पतितं क्षतम्
Just as when the elephant tears apart its bonds, the elephant-keeper falls down, so too, when you renounced the kingdom, ignorance fell, wounded.
यदा विरक्तः पुरुषो भोगाशां त्यक्तुम् इच्छति । तदा प्रकम्पते ऽज्ञानं छेद्यवृक्षपिशाचवत्
When a person, dispassionate, wishes to abandon the desire for enjoyment, then ignorance trembles like a demon bound to a tree about to be cut.