करिणी मदसम्मत्ता यावत् सा न विजीयते । को नाम सुभटस् तावज् जयेत् स मरभूमिषु
As long as this elephant, maddened by intoxication, is not conquered, who indeed among warriors can win on the battlefield?
कासौ प्रमत्ता करिणी काश् च ता रणभूमयः । कथं विहन्यते चैषा क्व चैषा रचितस्थितिः
What is this intoxicated elephant? What are these battlefields? How is this one struck down, and where does it establish its ground?
रामेच्छा नाम करिणी सेदम् अस्त्व् इतिरूपिणी । शरीरकानने मत्ता विविधोल्लासकारिणी
The elephant named 'desire'—taking the form of 'let this be mine'—roams intoxicated in the forest of the body, producing various delights.
मत्तेन्द्रियोग्रकलभा रसनाकलभाषिणी । मनोगहनसंलीना स्वेहावंशविहारिणी
With powerful calves of intoxicated senses, speaking with the tongue of taste, it wanders in the thicket of the mind, delighting in its own lineage.
एतया कर्मबृंहाभिर् बृंह्यते प्रतिकाननम् । देहाख्यमदनद्यो यास् तासां प्रविसृता इव
By this one, with the branches of action, every grove is made to flourish; the rivers called 'body' seem to flow forth from them.
सुखदुẖखे सुरभयḫ पृषतस् स्पन्दसम्पदः । कल्लोला एव कल्लोलास् तटौ सुकृतदुष्कृते
Pleasure and pain, fear and courage, the droplets of movement and stillness—these are but waves upon waves on the shore of good and evil deeds.
स्वकर्माण्य् उरुकूलानि शुभान्य् अप्य् अशुभानि च । भावाभावा भवावर्ता वृत्तयḫ परिवर्तुलाः
One's actions, vast and varied, whether auspicious or inauspicious, are the currents of existence—manifest or unmanifest—revolving as the cycles of life.
ऊर्ध्वाधोगतयो मत्ता मूलाग्राणि महान्त्य् अपि । विलासगतयो ऽनन्ता भवभूमिगमागमाः
Their movements rise and fall, intoxicated, from root to tip, even the greatest; their play is endless, coming and going across the realms of existence.
मरणं बिससञ्चारो जीवितं फेनसन्ततिः । महोर्मयẖ क्रियाकारास् तृष्णा उपसरिद्रयाः
Death is like the journey of a lotus stalk; life is a succession of foam; mighty waves are the forms of action, and thirst flows as subsidiary streams.
स्वर्गẖ कलमसस्यादि नरकं पङ्कपीठिकाः । पुत्रदाराश् शफरिका मकरा भोगभूमयः
Heaven is like the rice crop and its produce; hell is the seat of mud; sons and wives are small fish, crocodiles are realms of enjoyment.
दुर्ग्रहा विषमग्राहा धनान्य् उपलपङ्क्तयः । परलोको महाम्भोधिर् आधयो वीचिमण्डलम्
Difficult gains and perilous acquisitions are like rows of stones; the other world is the vast ocean; afflictions are circles of waves.
ताभिर् मदनदीभिस् सा हृदयान्तरचारिणी । इच्छानागी निहन्त्य् एतान् कृपणाञ् जीवजीवकान्
With these rivers of desire, she who moves within the heart—this serpent of longing—slays these pitiable creatures who live only to live.
वासनेहा मनश् चित्तं सङ्कल्पो भावनं स्पृहा । इत्यादिर् निवहो नाम्नाम् अस्यास् स्वाशयकोशगः
Inclination, desire, mind, consciousness, resolve, imagination, longing—such is the multitude of names, all contained within her own treasury.
धैर्यपद्माकरोन्माथे प्रसृताम् अर्थहेलया । नागीं सर्वात्मिकाम् एनाम् इच्छां सर्वात्मना जयेत्
By uprooting her with the lotus-hand of steadfastness, and with disregard for worldly aims, one should conquer this all-pervading serpent of desire with one's whole being.
यावद् अस्त्व् इदम् इत्य् एव विषम् अन्तर् विजृम्भते । तावद् उग्राẖ कुसंसारमहाविषविषूचिकाः
As long as the thought 'let this exist' arises, the poison of duality spreads within; so long do the fierce epidemics of the great poison of worldly existence rage.
तावत् कार्पण्यमिहिका यावद् इच्छाभ्रमण्डली । अस्यां व्यपगतायां तु भाति जीवश् शरन्नभः
So long does the mist of misery and the whirling of desire persist; but when this has vanished, the living being shines like the autumn sky.
एतावान् एव संसार इदम् अस्त्व् इति यन् मतिः । अस्यास् तूपशमो मोक्ष इत्य् एव ज्ञानसङ्ग्रहः
The notion that 'this alone is the world'—that is saṃsāra; but the cessation of this is liberation—this is the essence of knowledge.
इदम् अस्त्व् इति मूढस्य दुर्ग्रहग्रहगर्धिनः । कल्लोलाḫ परिवर्तन्ते नद्य इव घनागमे
For the deluded one, attached to the grasp of false understanding, waves of thought surge like river currents during the rainy season.
इच्छोत्तानमतेर् नान्तर् उपदेशो मनाग् अपि । विश्रान्तिम् एति मकुरे मुक्ताफलम् इवातलम्
For one whose mind is uplifted by desire, even a little instruction does not bring rest, just as a pearl does not settle on the surface of a mirror.
प्रसादकारिणी स्वच्छा निरिच्छे विमलाकृतौ । तैलबिन्दुर् इवादर्शे विश्राम्यत्य् उपदेशवाक्
But for one who is clear, pure, and free of desire, instruction comes to rest, like a drop of oil on a spotless mirror.
मनाग् अप्य् उदितैवेच्छा च्छेत्तव्यानर्थकारिणी । स्वसंविद्यत्नशस्त्रेण विषस्येवाङ्कुरावली
Even the slightest arising of desire, which brings misfortune, must be cut off by the weapon of self-awareness, like a cluster of poison sprouts.
इच्छाविच्छुरितो जीवो विजहाति न दीनताम् । उपलेपकरीं वारि मृच्चूर्ण इव पङ्कताम्
A being stained by desire does not abandon wretchedness, just as water mixed with clay does not lose its muddiness.
इच्छाच्छोटनचातुर्यं तुर्यम् आहुर् मनीषिणः । तत् कार्यम् आर्यवर्येण यत्नेनौदार्यसंविदा
The wise declare that the fourth state is the skill of severing desire; this should be pursued by the noble with effort and the awareness of generosity.
पदम् उत्तमम् अज्ञानाम् इच्छाच्छेदेन सिध्यति । पत्त्रिणां पाशभेदेन सर्वोर्ध्वस्था यथा गतिः
The highest state for the ignorant is attained by cutting off desire, just as the upward movement of all winged creatures is achieved by breaking their bonds.
असंवेदनमात्रेण नोदेतीच्छाभवाङ्कुरः । स्वयत्नसाध्येनासेकाद् बीजकोशाद् इवाङ्कुरः
The sprout of desire does not arise merely from insentience; it emerges only through one's own effort, just as a sprout arises from a seed-pod when watered.
विद्ध्य् असंवेदनं नाम तूष्णीम् एवान्तरासनम् । एतावन्मात्रके वस्तुन्य् अहो निरवधानता
Know that insentience is simply silent inner stillness; how astonishing is the boundlessness of this subtle reality.
निष्कर्मास्तु सकर्मा वा पुरुषḫ पूर्णमानसः । असंविदन् सुखाद्य् अन्तḫ पाषाणम् इव तिष्ठतु
Whether active or inactive, a person whose mind is complete should remain insentient, from pleasure to pain, like a stone.
सावधानो भृशं भूत्वा भुक्तं शवशतं यया । तां प्रत्य् आहारबडिशेनेच्छामत्सीं नय च्छिदाम्
Having become thoroughly attentive, by the hook of withdrawal, lead the fish of desire to its severance, as one who has consumed a hundred corpses.
सङ्कल्पालानम् उन्मूल्य मत्तैरावणलीलया । हेलया पदम् आलम्ब्य त्रैलोक्यविजयी भव
Uproot the reeds of intention with the playful might of a mad elephant; effortlessly attain the state and become the conqueror of the three worlds.
नञर्थयुक्तोत्तममन्त्रयुक्त्या चिता चिरं चेतितया हृदन्तः । सङ्कल्परूपं विषम् आशु नीत्वा जरां जयाशेषभवामयांस् त्वम्
By the supreme mantra of negation, joined with meaning, and by long contemplation within the heart, swiftly lead the poison of intention to its end, and conquer all the diseases of birth and old age.