शब्ददेशपतद्दृष्टिर् दृष्टवान् वनिताम् अहम् । पार्श्वे कनकनिष्ष्यन्दप्रभया भासिताम्बराम्
Following the direction of the sound, I saw a woman, her garments illuminated by the radiance of flowing gold at her side.
आलोलमाल्यवसनाम् अलकाकुललोचनाम् । लोलधम्मिल्लवलनाम् अन्यां श्रियम् इवागताम्
She wore garlands and garments that swayed, her eyes restless beneath disordered locks, her hair loose and moving—she appeared like another goddess of fortune newly arrived.
कान्तकाञ्चनगौराङ्गीम् अङ्गस्थनवयौवनाम् । वनदेवीम् इवामोदिसर्वावयवसुन्दरीम्
Her limbs shone with the golden hue of polished gold, her body youthful and full; she was beautiful in every part, like a forest goddess, exuding delight.
सा पूर्णचन्द्रवदना पुष्पप्रकरहासिनी । यौवनोद्दामवदना पक्ष्मलेक्षणशालिनी
Her face was full like the moon, she smiled with clusters of flowers, her expression vibrant with the energy of youth, her eyes adorned with long lashes.
आकाशकोशसदना शशाङ्ककरसुन्दरी । मुक्ताकलापरचना कान्ता मदनुसारिणी
She, whose dwelling is the vault of space, whose beauty rivals the moon's rays, adorned with strings of pearls, my beloved, followed after me.
स्वरेण मधुरेणेमाम् आर्याम् आर्यविलासिनी । पपाठाकठिनं वामा मत्पार्श्वे मृदुहासिनी
With a sweet voice, this noble and graceful lady, charming and smiling gently at my side, recited these solemn words, though with a touch of severity.
असदुदितरिक्तचेतनसंसृतिमृगसरिति मुह्यमानानाम् । अवलम्बनतटविटपिनम् अभिनौमि भवन्तम् एव मुने
To you alone, O sage, I bow—who are the sheltering tree on the bank for those bewildered in the river of worldly existence, whose minds are empty, false, and deluded.
इत्य् आकर्ण्याहम् आलोक्य तां चारुवचनस्वनाम् । ललनेयं किम् अनयेत्य् अनादृत्यैव तां गतः
Hearing this, and seeing her lovely speech and voice, I thought, 'Who is this woman?' and, disregarding her, I went away.
ततो जगद्वृन्दमयीं मायां सम्प्रेक्ष्य विस्मितः । अनादृत्यैव तां व्योम्नि विहर्तुम् अहम् उद्यतः
Then, beholding the illusion that is the multitude of worlds, I was amazed, and, disregarding it as well, I resolved to roam in the sky.
ततस् तां तत्कृतां चिन्ताम् अलम् उत्सृज्य खे स्थिताम् । जगन्मायां कलयितुं व्योमात्माहं प्रवृत्तवान्
Then, abandoning that thought she had caused, which remained in space, I, whose nature is space itself, set about contemplating the cosmic illusion.
यावत् तानि तथोग्राणि जगन्ति सकलानि खम् । शून्यम् एव यथा स्वप्ने सङ्कल्पकथने तथा
As long as those fierce worlds, all of them, existed in space, they were empty, just as in a dream or in the narration of a fantasy.
न पश्यन्ति न शृण्वन्ति कदाचित् कानिचित् क्वचित् । तानि कल्पमहाकल्पजातान् एकत्र तान् मिथः
They neither see nor hear anything, ever, anywhere; those worlds, born of imagination and great imagination, exist together in one place.
प्रमत्तपुष्करावर्तान् उन्मत्तोत्पातमारुतान् । स्फुटिताद्रीन्द्रडाक्कारघट्टितब्रह्ममण्डपान्
With whirlpools of heedless lotuses, with the mad winds of calamity, with the domes of Brahma struck and shattered like the peaks of mountains split apart—
ज्वलत्कल्पाग्निविस्फोटस्फुटदैडबिडास्पदान् । प्रतपद्द्वादशाकारकटुमार्ताण्डमण्डलान्
With the bursting of world-ending fires blazing forth, with the abodes of gods split open, with the fierce orbs of twelvefold suns scorching all—
लुठत्सुरपुरव्रातवितताक्रन्दघर्घरान् । रणन्मेर्वादिकटकश्रेणीनिगरणोद्भटान्
With the tumultuous wailing and rumbling of the scattered hosts of celestial cities, with the terrifying emergence of lines of fortresses like Meru being devoured—
कल्पाग्निज्वलनोल्लासपटत्पटपटारवान् । आत्मभ्रंशबृहत्क्षोभक्षुब्धाम्बरमहार्णवान्
With the crackling roar of the blazing world-fire, with the vast, agitated ocean of the sky stirred by the great upheaval of self-loss—
देवासुरनरागारघर्घराक्रन्दकर्कशान् । सप्तार्णवमहापूरपूरितार्केन्दुमन्दिरान्
With the harsh cries and rumblings of the abodes of gods, demons, and men, with the mansions of the sun and moon filled by the flood of the seven great oceans—
न विचेतन्ति कल्पान्तान् सर्वाण्य् एव परस्परम् । एकमन्दिरसंसुप्तास् स्वप्ने रणरयान् इव
Yet, at the ends of the world-cycles, none of these are aware of one another at all; all are as if asleep in a single house, like warriors in a dream of battle.
तत्र रुद्रसहस्राणि ब्रह्मकोटिशतानि च । दृष्टानि विष्णुलक्षाणि कल्पवृन्दान्य् अलं मया
There I have seen thousands of Rudras, hundreds of millions of Brahmas, countless Vishnus, and multitudes of world-cycles in abundance.
तत्र क्वचिद् अनादित्ये निरहोरात्रभूतले । अकल्पयुगवर्षान्ते जगद्व्यूहैẖ क्षयोदयः
There, in some places where there is no sun and no day or night upon the earth, at the end of the unmeasured ages and years, the rise and fall of worlds takes place.
चिति सर्वं चितस् सर्वं चित् सर्वं सर्वतश् च चित् । चित् सर्वैकात्मिकेत्य् एतद् दृष्टं तत्र मयाखिलम्
Consciousness is everything; all is mind; awareness is everywhere and everything is of the nature of awareness; thus have I seen all this there.
त्वं का चिद् इति चेद् वक्षि तन् न किञ्चिद् इवाङ्ग चित् । सा हि शून्यतमा व्योम्नो न च नाम नकिञ्चन
If you say, 'You are something,' O dear one, that is as if nothing at all; for that is the most empty of all, like space, and not even a name or anything at all.
तद् आकाशम् इदं भाति जगद् इत्य् अभिशब्दितम् । तेनैव शब्दनभसा सर्वं हि परमं नभः
This space is called 'the world' as it appears; yet by that very word-space, all is truly the supreme space.
दृश्यदृष्टिर् इयं भ्रान्तिर् आकाशतरुमञ्जरी । चिद्व्योमाङ्गकम् एवेति तत्राहम् अनुभूतवान्
This perception of the seen and the seer is a delusion, like a cluster of blossoms on the sky-tree; it is only a limb of the sky of consciousness—thus have I experienced there.
बुद्ध्याकाशैकरूपेण व्यापिना बोधरूपिणा । तत्रानन्ते नसङ्कल्पम् अनुभूतम् इदं मया
With the all-pervading, knowledge-form that is of the single nature of the space of intellect, I have experienced there this infinite, thought-free state.
ब्रह्मव्योम जगज्जालं ब्रह्मव्योम दिशो दश । ब्रह्मव्योम कलाकालदेशद्रव्यक्रियादिकम्
The web of worlds is the space of Brahman; the ten directions are the space of Brahman; time, portions, places, substances, actions—all are the space of Brahman.
तत्राहम् इव संसारशते सार्धे मुनीश्वराः । दृष्टा वसिष्ठनामानो ब्रह्मपुत्रा मदुत्तमाः
There, along with hundreds of cycles of existence, I have seen sages named Vasiṣṭha, sons of Brahmā, my own superiors.
ब्रह्मद्वासप्ततेस् त्रेतास् सर्वा एव सराघवाः । तत्र दृष्टं कृतशतं द्वापराणां शतं तथा
Seventy-two Brahmās, all the Tretā Rāmas, hundreds of Kṛta ages, and likewise a hundred Dvāpara ages have been seen there.
भेदोदयेन चेद् दृष्टास् तास् तास् सर्गदशास् तथा । बोधेन चेत् तद् अत्यच्छम् एकं ब्रह्मनभस् ततम्
If, due to the arising of division, those various stages of creation are seen, then, through knowledge, that is entirely transcended—one, pure, and pervaded by the radiance of Brahman.
भेदब्रह्मणि नामास्ति जगद् ब्रह्मण्य् अथ त्व् इदम् । ब्रह्मैवाजम् अनाद्यन्तं तत् सर्वं त्वन्मदादिकम्
When there is the Brahman of division, the world exists; but in Brahman itself, this does not. That unborn, beginningless and endless Brahman is all—everything from me to you.