स्वभावम् अवजित्यादाव् इन्द्रियाणां सचेतसाम् । प्रवर्तते विवेके यस् सर्वं तस्याशु सिध्यति
He who, from the outset, conquers the natural tendencies of the senses and the mind and acts with discernment, quickly accomplishes everything.
स्वभावमात्रं येनान्तर् न जितं दग्धबुद्धिना । तस्योत्तमपदप्राप्तिस् सिकतातैलदुर्लभा
For one whose inner nature is not conquered due to a mind scorched by distraction, attainment of the highest state is as rare as oil from sand.
शुद्धे ऽल्पो ऽप्य् उपदेशो हि निर्मलादर्शतैलवत् । लगत्य् उत्तानचित्ते तु नादर्श इव मौक्तिकम्
Even a little instruction settles in a pure mind like oil on a spotless mirror; but in a distracted mind, it does not remain, like a pearl on a mirror.
अत्रैवोदाहरन्तीमम् इतिहासं पुरातनम् । मम पूर्वं भुसुण्डेन कथितं मेरुमूर्धनि
Here they recount this ancient story, once told to me by Bhusunda on the summit of Mount Meru.
पुरा भुसुण्डẖ कस्मिंश्चित् पृष्ट आसीत् कथान्तरे । मया कदाचिद् एकान्ते मेरोश् शिखरकोटरे
Once, Bhusunda was asked about something during another conversation; at some time, in solitude, within a cave on the summit of Mount Meru, by me.
मुग्धबुद्धिम् अनात्मज्ञं कञ्चित् त्वं चिरजीवितम् । स्मरसीति मया पृष्टेनोक्तं तेनेदम् अङ्ग मे
I asked him: 'Do you remember someone, long-lived, with a bewildered mind and ignorant of the Self?' He replied to me thus, O dear one.
आसीद् विद्याधरḫ पूर्वम् अनात्मज्ञस् सुखोचितः । लोकालोकोत्तरे शृङ्गे शुष्क आर्यो ऽविचारवान्
There was once a Vidyadhara, ignorant of the Self and accustomed to pleasure, dry and noble, lacking discernment, on the peak between the worlds and the beyond.
तपसा बहुरूपेण यमेन नियमेन च । अक्षीणायुर् व्यतिष्ठत् स पुरा कल्पचतुष्टयम्
Through various forms of austerity, restraint, and discipline, he lived with undiminished lifespan for four cycles of creation.
ततश् चतुर्थे कल्पान्ते विवेकस् तस्य तूदभूत् । विडूरस्येव वैडूर्यम् औचित्याज् जलदोदयात्
Then, at the end of the fourth cycle, discernment arose in him, just as a jewel shines appropriately when water emerges.
पुनर्मृतिḫ पुनर्जन्म जरा चेति विचारयन् । लज्जे ऽहं तत् किम् एकं स्यात् स्थिरम् इत्य् अवमृश्य सः
Reflecting on repeated death, repeated birth, and old age, he pondered, 'Why does only one thing not remain constant?' and felt ashamed.
समाजगाम सम्प्रष्टुम् अष्टापदमयीं पुरीम् । स्वाम् उपोज्झ्य विरक्तात्मा संसारारसतां गतः
He came to question the city made of eight squares, abandoning his own, with a mind detached, having lost taste for worldly existence.
स मत्समीपम् आगत्य कृतोदारनमस्कृतिः । मत्पूजितो ऽवसरत उवाचेदम् अनिन्दितम्
He approached me, performed a respectful salutation, was honored by me, sat down, and spoke these blameless words.
मृदूनि परितापेन दृषद्दृढमलानि च । छेदे भेदे च दक्षाणि शस्त्राङ्गानीन्द्रियाणि च
The senses, like instruments, are skilled in cutting and splitting; they are gentle with pleasure, but hard and stained with pain.
पर्याकुलानि मलिनानि विपत्प्रदानि दुẖखोर्मिमन्ति गुणकाननपावकत्वात् । हार्दान्धकारगहनानि तमोमयानि जित्वेन्द्रियाणि सुखम् एमि हि किं ममार्थैः
They are agitated, impure, sources of misfortune, full of waves of suffering, because the forest of qualities is ablaze; they are dense with the darkness of the heart, made of ignorance—having subdued the senses, what happiness can objects bring me?
यद् उदारम् अनायासं क्षयातिशयवर्जितम् । पदं पावनम् आद्यन्तरहितं तद् वदाशु मे
Tell me quickly of that pure state, noble, effortless, free from decay and excess, without beginning or end.
एतावन्तम् अहं कालं सुप्त आसं जडात्मकः । इदानीं सम्प्रबुद्धो ऽस्मि प्रसादाद् आत्मनो मुने
All this time I was asleep, inert in nature; now, by the grace of the Self, O sage, I am awakened.
मनोमहामयोत्तब्धं लुब्धम् अज्ञानवृत्तिषु । माम् उद्धर दुरन्तेहं मोहाद् अहम् इति स्थितात्
Lift me up from this difficult body, bound by the great illusion of mind, greedy in ignorant tendencies, and fixed in delusion as 'I am this.'
श्रीमत्य् अपि पतन्त्य् आशु शातनोत्का दुराधयः । गुणवत्य् अग्रपत्त्रे हि तुहिनानीव पङ्कजे
Even on the most splendid, the wicked quickly fall, like frost on the finest lotus petal, though it is virtuous.
जायन्ते च म्रियन्ते च केवलं जीर्णजन्तवः । न धर्माय न मोक्षाय मषका इव पङ्कजे
Creatures are born and die, merely aging; not for righteousness, not for liberation, like mosquitoes in a lotus.
भावैस् तैर् एव तैर् एव तुच्छलाभविडम्बनैः । चिरेण परिखिन्नास् स्मो विप्रलब्धाḫ पुनḫ पुनः
By those very same states, by those very same vain gains and deceptions, we are long wearied, deceived again and again.
नाणुम् अप्य् अवगच्छामि विश्रान्तिं श्रान्तमानसः । प्रभ्रमन् भोगभङ्गेषु मरुभूमिष्व् इवाध्वगः
Weary in mind, I do not find even the slightest rest, wandering among the ruins of pleasures like a traveler in desert lands.
आपातमधुरारम्भा भङ्गुरा भवहेतवः । अचिरेण विकारिण्यो भीषणा भोगभूमयः
The grounds of enjoyment, though sweet at first encounter, are unstable causes of worldly existence; they soon change, becoming dreadful and fearsome.
मानावमानपरया दुरहङ्कारकान्तया । न रमे वामया तात हतविद्याधरश्रिया
O dear one, I take no delight in that fickle woman, devoted to pride and disdain, whose charm is the arrogance of ego and whose splendor as a vidyādhara is now destroyed.
दृष्टाश् चैत्ररथोद्यानभुवẖ कुसुमकोमलाः । कल्पवृक्षलतादत्तसमस्तविभवश्रियः
I have seen the gardens of Caitraratha, soft with blossoms, and the wealth and splendor bestowed by the wish-fulfilling trees and creepers.
विहृतं मेरुकुञ्जेषु विद्याधरपुरेषु च । विमानवरमालासु वातस्कन्धस्थलीषु च
I have wandered in the groves of Meru, in the cities of the vidyādharas, among the rows of splendid aerial palaces, and on the plateaus carried by the wind.
विश्रान्तं सुरसेनासु कान्ताभुजलतासु च । हारिहारविलासासु लोकपालपुरीषु च
I have rested among the armies of the gods, in the embrace of beloved women, amidst the play of dazzling garlands and ornaments, and in the cities of the guardians of the world.
न किञ्चिद् उचितं साधु सर्वम् आधिविषोष्मणा । दग्धं भस्मायते तात विज्ञातम् अधुना मया
Nothing is truly fitting or good; all has been scorched to ashes by the fever of affliction—this, O dear one, I have now come to know.
रूपालोकनलोलेन वनिताननगृध्नुना । सावभासेन दोषाय दुẖखं नीतो ऽस्मि चक्षुषा
Drawn by the restless gaze toward beauty, longing for the faces of women, I have been led by my eyes, with their deceptive brilliance, into suffering.
इदं गुणावहं नेदम् इति मुक्त्वा विकल्पनम् । रूपमात्रानुसारित्वाद् अवस्तुन्य् अपि धावति
Having abandoned the thought, 'This possesses qualities, this does not,' the mind, following only appearances, rushes even toward what is unreal.
तावद् आयाति विरतिं न शठं यावद् आपदम् । नानीतवत् परां चेतḫ परानर्थेहितोन्मुखम्
So long as the mind, deceitful and intent on others’ affairs, has not experienced calamity, it does not attain true dispassion, nor does it turn away from seeking what is not its own.