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.
यदा विवेकी पुरुषो भोगान् सन्त्यज्य तिष्ठति । तदा पलायते ऽज्ञानं छिन्नवृक्षपिशाचवत्
When a discerning person stands firm, having abandoned enjoyments, then ignorance flees like a demon from a tree that has been cut down.
भोगौघे नूनम् उन्मुक्ते पतत्य् अज्ञानम् अस्थिति । पादपे क्रकचच्छिन्ने कुलायस् तद्गतो यथा
Surely, when the flood of enjoyments is turned away, ignorance falls, just as a nest falls when the tree it rests on is cut down.
यदा वनं प्रयातस् त्वं तदाज्ञानं क्षतं त्वया । पतितं सन् न विहतं मनस्त्यागमहासिना
When you went to the forest, then ignorance was wounded by you; though fallen, it was not destroyed by the great sword of renunciation of the mind.
तेन भूयस् समुत्थाय स्मृत्वा परिभवः कृतः । तपःप्रपञ्चखाते ऽस्मिन् गहने त्वं नियोजितः
Therefore, rising again and remembering the insult done, you were engaged in this dense thicket of ascetic practice.
तदैवाघातयिष्यस् त्वं यद्य् अज्ञानं यदा पतत् । राज्यत्यागविधौ तत् त्वां नाहनिष्यत् क्षयं गतम्
If, at that very moment, you had destroyed ignorance when it arose, then, at the time of renouncing the kingdom, that ignorance, already perished, would not have harmed you.
यत् खातवलयस् तेन वैरिणा हस्तिनः कृतः । तत् तपोदुःखम् अतुलम् अज्ञानेन तवार्पितम्
That suffering of austerity, which the enemy—the elephant—inflicted with the ring of the pit, was imposed upon you by ignorance, and is incomparable.
यां तस्य राजसामग्रीं गजारेर् आहरन् नृपः । सा त्वदज्ञाननृपतेश् चित्तभूतिर् विसारिणी
The royal wealth that the king brought from the elephant's lair was, in truth, the manifestation of the mind of the king of your ignorance, spreading outward.
त्वं गजेन्द्रस् तपःखाते दीर्घे वनगतो ऽपि सन् । अज्ञानवैरिणा तेन निक्षिप्तस् तरसाचिति
You, though dwelling in the forest for a long time in the pit of austerity like the lord of elephants, were forcefully cast there by that enemy—ignorance.
यत् खातवलयो बाललताभिर् अवगुण्ठितः । आवृतं तत् तपोदुःखम् ईषत्सज्जनवृत्तिभिः
That suffering of austerity, veiled by the tender creepers of childhood, was slightly covered by the conduct of good people.
इत्य् अद्यापि तपःखाते दुःखे ह्य् अस्मिन् सुदारुणे । स्थितो ऽसि पातालतले नृप बद्धो यथा बडिः
Thus, even now, you remain in this pit of austerity, in this exceedingly harsh suffering, O king, bound at the nethermost level like a fish on a hook.
गजस् त्वम् आशा निगडानि वैरी मोहो निखातः पुनर् उग्रबन्धः । महीतलं विन्ध्य उदन्त इत्थं त्वदीय उक्तः कुरु यत् करोषि
You are the elephant; hope is the chain; the enemy is delusion; the pit is a fierce bondage; the earth is the Vindhya mountain—thus your story has been told. Do as you will.
यद् उक्तं नयशालिन्या तया विदितवेद्यया । तदा चूडालया ज्ञानं तत् कस्मान् नोररीकृतम्
That knowledge which was spoken by her, Cūḍālā, skilled in discernment and knowing what is to be known—why was it not embraced at that time?
सा हि तत्त्वविदां मुख्या यद् यद् वक्ति करोति च । तत् सर्वं सत्यम् एवाङ्ग तद् अनुष्ठेयम् आदरात्
She is indeed foremost among those who know the truth; whatever she speaks or does, O dear one, all of it is truly so and should be followed with reverence.
अथ चेद् वचनं तस्यास् त्वया नानुष्ठितं नृप । तत् स सर्वपरित्यागः कस्मान् न निपुणीकृतः
But if her words have not been carried out by you, O king, then why has this complete renunciation not been made thoroughly?
राज्यं त्यक्तं गृहं त्यक्तं देशस् त्यक्तस् तथाविधः । दारास् त्यक्तास् तथाप्य् अङ्ग सर्वत्यागो न किं कृतः
The kingdom has been abandoned, the home has been abandoned, the land likewise has been abandoned; the wife has been abandoned—yet, O dear one, why has complete renunciation not been accomplished?
धनं दारा गृहं राज्यं भूमिश् छत्त्रं च बान्धवाः । इति सर्वं न ते राजन् सर्वत्यागो ऽत्र कस् तव
Wealth, wife, home, kingdom, land, umbrella, and relatives—all this, O king, is not yours; then what is your complete renunciation here?
तवास्त्य् एवापरित्यक्तस् सर्वस्माद् भाग उत्तमः । तं परित्यज्य निश्शेषं पराम् आयास्य् अशोकताम्
There remains for you, indeed, an unsurpassed portion not yet renounced from everything; by abandoning that completely, you will attain supreme freedom from sorrow.
राज्यं चेन् मम नो सर्वं तत् सर्वं वनम् एव मे । सालवृक्षादिगुल्माढ्यं तद् अप्य् एतत् त्यजाम्य् अहम्
If the kingdom is not all mine, then all this forest is mine; filled with sal trees and other thickets—this too I now abandon.
इति राम वदन्न् एव कुम्भवाक्यप्रचोदितः । निमेषान्तरमात्रेण वशी वीरश् शिखिध्वजः
Thus, as Rama spoke, prompted by Kumbha’s words, the self-controlled and heroic Sikhidhvaja, in but a moment’s time—
प्रममार्ज वनास्थां तां हृदस् सुदृढनिश्चयः । प्रावृड्वातस् तटगतां रजोरेखाम् इवात्मनः
With firm resolve in his heart, he wiped away his attachment to forest-dwelling, as the monsoon wind erases a line of dust on the riverbank.