क्वचिद् भ्रमत्सिद्धगणं क्वचिद् उद्गर्जदम्बुदम् । क्वचिद् विद्याधरधरं यक्षोत्क्षिप्तक्षयं क्वचित्
In some places, there were wandering hosts of accomplished beings; elsewhere, clouds thundered loudly; in some places, mountains of Vidyādharas appeared; elsewhere, the abodes of Yakṣas were hurled about.
क्वचित् भ्रमत्पुरवरं प्रारब्धसमरं क्वचित् । क्वचिद् द्रवज्जलधरं क्वचिद् उन्नृत्तयोगिनि
In some places, splendid cities wandered; elsewhere, battles had begun; in some places, clouds flowed swiftly; elsewhere, yoginīs danced wildly.
क्वचिद् दैत्यपुरोड्डीनं सगन्धर्वपुरं क्वचित् । क्वचिद् भ्रमद्ग्रहगणं तारकाकुलितं क्वचित्
In some places, the cities of demons were submerged; elsewhere, there were cities of Gandharvas; in some places, groups of planets wandered; elsewhere, stars were clustered together.
क्वचित् खखगसङ्घुष्टं क्वचित् क्षुब्धमहानिलम् । क्वचिद् उत्पातवलितं क्वचिन् मङ्गलमण्डितम्
In some places, the sky resounded with flocks of birds; elsewhere, the great wind was agitated; in some places, there were signs of calamity; elsewhere, everything was auspiciously adorned.
क्वचिच् चापूर्वभूतौघं नागैश् चागोपितं क्वचित् । क्वचिद् अर्करथाक्रान्तं क्वचिद् अर्करथोद्धुरम्
In some places, there were unprecedented floods, elsewhere concealed by serpents; in some places, overrun by the chariot of the sun; elsewhere, tossed about by the sun's chariot.
क्वचिद् आदित्यदाहार्तं शशिशैत्यान्वितं क्वचित् । क्वचित् क्षुद्रजनासह्यं क्वचिद् अग्न्यौष्ण्यदुर्गमम्
In some places, scorched by the heat of the sun; elsewhere, imbued with the coolness of the moon; in some places, unbearable for ordinary people; elsewhere, impassable due to the heat of fire.
क्वचिद् उत्तालवेतालं गरुडोड्डामरं क्वचित् । क्वचित् सप्रलयाम्भोदं क्वचित् सप्रलयानिलम्
In some places, haunted by howling ghosts; elsewhere, filled with Garuḍas flying upward; in some places, with clouds of dissolution; elsewhere, with winds of dissolution.
ततो भूतगणांस् त्यक्त्वा दूराद् दूरतरं गतः । प्राप्तवान् अहम् एकान्तं शून्यम् अत्यन्तविस्तृतम्
Then, leaving behind all these hosts of beings, I went farther and farther away, and reached a solitary, utterly vast emptiness.
अत्यन्तमन्दपवनं स्वप्ने ऽप्य् अप्राप्तभूतकम् । मङ्गलोत्पातरहितम् अगम्यं सिद्धसन्ततेः
A place utterly still, where even in dreams no living being has ever reached, free from all auspicious or inauspicious events, inaccessible to even perfected beings.
कल्पिताथ मया तत्र कुटी प्रकटकोटरा । नीरन्ध्रकुड्यनिबिडा पद्मकुट्मलसुन्दरी
There, I imagined a hut with a clearly visible hollow, its walls seamless and dense, beautiful like a closed lotus bud.
घुणक्षुण्णाङ्गपूर्णेन्दुबिम्बोदरमनोहरा । कल्हारकुन्दमन्दारपुष्पश्रीकोशशोभिता
Its form was charming like a full moon disk, though marred by worm-eaten limbs, adorned with the splendor of kalhāra, jasmine, and coral-tree flowers.
समग्रभूतागम्यत्वं तत्र सङ्कल्प्य चेतसा । अगम्ये सर्वभूतानाम् अहम् आसं तदा ततः
With my mind, I conceived that this place was utterly inaccessible to all beings; and in that inaccessible place, I then abided.
बद्धपद्मासनश् शान्तमनाḫ परममौनवान् । संवत्सरशतान्तेन निर्णीयोत्थानम् आत्मनः
Seated in the bound lotus posture, my mind tranquil, observing supreme silence, after a hundred years I determined to arise.
निर्विकल्पसमाधिस्थो निद्रामुद्राम् इवागतः । समस् सोम्यो नभस्स्वच्छस् समुत्कीर्ण इवाम्बरात्
Established in non-conceptual samadhi, I entered a state like the seal of sleep, calm and gentle as the clear sky, as if sprung forth from the heavens.
शुद्धं यद् अनुसन्धत्ते चेतḫ पश्यति तत् क्षणात् । चिरेण वा शापवरव्यक्तिवद् विततं यदा
Whatever the mind purely contemplates, it perceives in an instant—or, after a long time, as when a curse or boon becomes manifest.
तदा वर्षशतेनात्र बोधबीजं धृताङ्कुरम् । आसीन् मे हृदयक्षेत्रे कालसेकविकासतः
Then, after a hundred years, the seed of awakening sprouted in the field of my heart, blossoming through the flow of time.
सम्प्रबुद्धो ऽभवन् मे ऽथ जीवो सम्बुद्धवेदनः । शिशिरक्षीणगात्रस्य मधाव् इव रसस् तरोः
Then I awoke, and my individual consciousness became aware—like the sap in a tree, which, after the cold has faded from its limbs, rises in the spring.
तच् छतं तत्र वर्षाणां निमेष इव मे गतम् । बह्व्यो ऽपि कालगतयो भवन्त्य् एकधियां मनाक्
A hundred years passed there for me like the blink of an eye; for those of unified mind, many spans of time pass as if they were nothing.
विकासम् आगतो बाह्यं ततो बुद्धीन्द्रियक्रमः । वासन्तḫ पुष्परूपेण द्रुमस्येव रसो मम
Then the external sequence of sense and intellect unfolded—just as in spring, the sap of a tree appears outwardly as blossoms.
मां प्राणपूरितम् उपागतसंविदंशम् अभ्यागतस् त्व् अहम् इति प्रसृतḫ पिशाचः । इच्छाङ्गनाविवलितो ऽथ कुतो ऽपि सद्म प्रोन्नामसन्नमनवायुर् इवाग्रवृक्षम्
I, filled with vital breath and touched by a fragment of awareness, was seized by the demon of 'I am'—who, like a gust of wind, suddenly rises from somewhere and shakes the tallest tree, swayed by the maiden of desire.
त्वाम् अप्य् उदितनिर्वाणम् अहङ्कारपिशाचकः । बाधते किम् इति ब्रूहि मुने मन्मोहशान्तये
Tell me, sage, for the calming of my mind's delusion: why does the demon of ego still trouble you, even though you have attained the rise of nirvana?
अहम्भावं विना देहस्थितिस् तज्ज्ञाज्ञयोर् इह । आधेयस्य निराधारा न संस्थेवोपपद्यते
Without the sense of 'I', the body's existence—whether in the wise or the ignorant—cannot be sustained; the supported cannot remain without a support.
अयं त्व् अत्र विशेषस् तं शृणु विश्रान्तचेतसः । श्रुतेन येनाहम्भावपिशाचश् शान्तिम् एति ते
But here is the distinction—listen with a tranquil mind: by hearing this, the demon of ego will find peace within you.
अहम्भावपिशाचो ऽयम् अज्ञानशिशुनामुना । अविद्यमान एवान्तẖ कल्पितस् तेन सूत्थितः
This demon of ego is conjured up within by the child of ignorance; though it does not truly exist, it is imagined and thus arises.
अज्ञानम् अपि नास्त्य् एव प्रेक्षितं यन् न लभ्यते । विचारिणा दीपवता स्वरूपं तमसो यथा
Ignorance does not exist where it is observed that nothing is attained; its nature is revealed by inquiry, like darkness by a lamp.
यथा यथा विलोक्यते तथा तथा विलीयते । इहाज्ञतापिशाचिका तथाविचारिता सती
The more it is examined, the more it dissolves; so too, this demon of ignorance vanishes when properly investigated.
विलसन्त्याम् अविद्यायाम् अज्ञतोदेति शाश्वती । बुद्धिमोहात्मिका यक्षी निर्देहैव यथा निशि
When ignorance is active, perpetual confusion arises; a yaksha of bewildered intellect, bodiless, appears in the night.
सति सर्गे त्व् अविद्यायास् सम्भवो नासति क्वचित् । सति द्वितीये शशिनि द्वितीयो विद्यते शशः
Ignorance arises only when creation exists, never when it does not; just as a second hare exists only when there is a second moon.
सर्गस् त्व् अयम् अजातत्वाद् अज्ञज्ञातो न विद्यते । न जातẖ कारणाभावात् पूर्वम् एव खवृक्षवत्
This creation, being unborn, is not known by the ignorant; it was never produced, for lack of cause, like a tree in the sky.
परमाकाशकोशान्तर् आदिसर्गे निरामये । पृथ्व्यादेर् उपलम्भस्य भवेत् किम् इव कारणम्
Within the supreme space, in the pure primordial creation, what could be the cause for the perception of earth and the rest?