अर्धदग्धद्रुमवनव्यूहावलनसङ्कटः । त्रैलोक्यभस्मसम्मृष्टिमषीकर्दमकुत्सितः
Half-burnt forests and groves were tossed about in the tumult; the three worlds were smeared with the muddy ink of their own ashes.
नभस्स्तम्भबृहद्धारानालभास्करपुष्करः । धाराजलमहाम्भोदविलीननलिनीदलः
The sky was filled with massive columns of water, obscuring the sun's lotus; the great flood submerged even the lotus leaves floating on the streams.
दिण्डीरपर्वतप्रान्तप्राप्तवृत्तान्तवारिदः । भ्रमदिन्द्रानलार्केन्दुपुरपत्तनपूरनौः
A flood of waters, bearing news from the slopes of the Dindira mountain, with ships filling the cities of the gods, fire, and moon, surges forth.
काष्ठवत्प्रोह्यमानोग्रसुरासुरनरोत्करः । शनैẖक्रमोच्छूनतया लिहन्न् आदित्यमण्डलम्
A mass of gods, demons, and men is swept away like logs, and as it gradually swells, it seems to lick the orb of the sun.
तरत्तारतरारावधारासारसमुद्भवैः । बुद्बुदैḫ परिसन्दिग्धप्रोह्यमानमहाचलः
A great mountain is tossed about, surrounded by bubbles arising from the roaring, surging streams of stars and planets.
भ्रमद्बुद्बुदविश्रान्तभ्रान्तकल्पान्तवारिदः । उत्तारकैस् तैर् नयनैḫ पश्यन्न् अपरवारिदम्
A deluge at the end of an age, filled with swirling bubbles, comes to rest, and with those rescuers—its waves—looks upon the other ocean.
महाप्रलयवार्योघघोषघुङ्घुमितान्तरः । एकप्रवाहापहृतसर्वोर्वीकुलपर्वतः
Within, the tumult of the great flood's waters resounds, and a single current sweeps away all the earth's mountains and lands.
चण्डवातकृतापूर्वजलौघकुलपर्वतः । महाघुरुघुरारावघर्घरोग्रपयोरयः
Mountains and lands are heaped up by fierce winds and unprecedented torrents, while the dreadful, rumbling roar of the great flood resounds.
ब्रह्माण्डकुड्यसङ्घट्टपरावृत्तिभिर् उद्धतः । कुर्वन् योजनलक्षाणि विनतान्य् उन्नतानि च
It surges, rebounding from the walls of the cosmic egg, making leagues by the hundred thousand sink and rise.
तृणैर् इव तरङ्गेषु दोलान्दोलनम् अद्रिभिः । कुर्वद्भिर् उपलाघातभग्नभास्करमण्डलः
Mountains are tossed and swung on the waves like blades of grass, and the blows of stones shatter the disk of the sun.
शून्यब्रह्माण्डविपुलजलघातकुलायके । लीनान् अचलकाकोलान् गृह्णन् सलिलजालकैः
In the vast nest of the void-like universe, struck by the force of great waters, he gathers the sunken, motionless, and agitated beings with nets of water.
मृतामृतबृहद्भूतमज्जनोन्मज्जनाकुलान् । तरङ्गमकुरान् कर्षन् प्रतिबिम्बान्वितान् इव
He draws in those overwhelmed by immersion and emergence, who are both dead and alive, great and small, like reflected images caught by the waves.
मृतशिष्टान् पुरभ्रष्टान् फेनाद्रितटकोटिषु । दधज् जलबलश्रान्तांस् त्रिदशान् मषकान् इव
He bears those who remain dead, those cast out from their cities, exhausted by the force of the waters, on the crests of foam and mountain peaks, like gods as if they were gnats.
विमलाद्यतनाकाशविपुलान् अम्बुबुद्बुदान् । सहस्रसङ्ख्यान् वलयंल् लोचनानीव वासवः
He holds countless pure, newly-formed bubbles of water, vast as the sky, like Indra holding a circle of shining eyes.
शरद्व्योमसमाभोगैर् वलद्भिर् बुद्बुदेक्षणैः । पश्यन्न् इव नदीधारान् मेघान् आत्मप्रपूरकान्
With the swelling, single-eyed bubbles, resembling the expanse of the autumn sky, he seems to watch the streams of rivers and clouds that fill his own being.
पुष्करावर्तकाभ्राणां बाहुभिर् वीचिमण्डलैः । कुर्वन्न् आलिङ्गनानीव सपक्षाद्रिवद् उत्थितैः
With his arms of circling waves, he seems to embrace the whirling lotuses and clouds, rising up like winged mountains.
त्रिजगद्ग्राससन्तृप्तḫ प्रगायन्न् इव घर्घरैः । रवैर् नृत्यन्न् इवोग्राद्रिकटकैर् वीचिदोर्द्रुमैः
With roaring sounds, as if singing in satisfaction after devouring the three worlds, and with the fierce, rocky crests of waves, he seems to dance.
नदीधाराधरैर् ऊर्ध्वे मध्ये दग्धैर् धराधरैः । अधो धराधरैर् नागैर् अधरः पङ्कगैर् वृतः
Above, he is covered by the river-stream clouds; in the middle, by scorched mountains; below, by mountains, serpents, and mud-dwellers.
धारात्रिपथगापूरैर् निपतद्भिर् निरन्तरम् । मग्नोन्मग्नोह्यमानाद्रिशृङ्गदिण्डीरबुद्बुदः
With torrents filling the river’s course, falling ceaselessly, the mountain’s peaks were battered, resounding like bubbles bursting.
उह्यमानगलत्स्वर्गखण्डक्रन्दन्नभश्चरः । वहद्विद्याधरीवृन्दपद्मिनीसुन्दरान्तरः
Swept along, fragments of heaven tumbled, crying out in the sky, while the beautiful interiors of lotus ponds carried hosts of Vidyādharas.
एकार्णवपयḫपूरे घर्घरारावरंहसि । त्रैलोक्यखण्डसम्भारे प्रोह्यमाने महाम्भसि
In the vast ocean’s flood, roaring with thunderous sounds, as the mass of the three worlds was driven about in the great waters.
नासीत् कश्चित् परित्राता दाता वा वचसो ऽपि च । शक्नोति कḫ परित्रातुं कालेन कवलीकृतम्
There was no one to save, nor anyone to give even a word; who could rescue what was swallowed by Time?
नाकाशम् आसीन् न दिगन्तम् आसीद् अधो ऽपि नासीन् न तदोर्ध्वम् आसीत् । भूतं न चासीन् न च सर्ग आसीद् आसीत् परं केवलम् एव वारि
There was no sky, no horizon, no below, nor above; neither being nor creation existed—only water, utterly alone, remained.
एतस्मिन्न् अन्तरे चक्षुर् व्योमस्थो ऽहम् अथात्यजम् । ब्रह्मलोके महीलोके प्रभाते ऽर्कḫ प्रभाम् इव
Meanwhile, my vision, dwelling in the sky, transcended; in Brahma’s world and on earth, I shone like the sun at dawn.
यावद् दृष्टो मया तत्र शैलाद् इव विनिर्मितः । परमेष्ठी समाधिस्थḫ प्रधानपरिवारवान्
There I saw, as if fashioned from a mountain, Parameṣṭhī absorbed in meditation, surrounded by his chief attendants.
समूहश् चैव वेदानां मुनीनां भावितात्मनाम् । शुक्रो बृहस्पतिश् चैव शक्रो वैश्रवणो यमः
There was also a gathering of Vedas, of sages with purified minds—Śukra, Bṛhaspati, Śakra, Vaiśravaṇa, and Yama.
सोमो ऽथ वरुणो ऽग्निश् च तथान्ये च सुरर्षयः । देवगन्धर्वसिद्धानां साध्यानां चैव नायकाः
Then Soma, Varuna, Agni, and other sages among the gods, as well as the leaders of the gods, gandharvas, siddhas, and sadhyas,
लिपिकर्मार्पिताकारास् सर्वे ध्यानपरायणाः । बद्धपद्मासनास् तत्र निर्जीवा इव संस्थिताः
All, whose forms were shaped by the work of scribes, were absorbed in meditation, seated in the lotus posture, remaining there as if lifeless.
अथैते द्वादशादित्यास् तम् एवोद्देशम् आगताः । बद्धपद्मासनास् तस्थुस् तथैवाशु यथैव ते
Then, those twelve Adityas also arrived at that very place, and, quickly, just as the others, stood seated in the lotus posture.
ततो मुहूर्तमात्रेण दृष्टवान् नाहम् अब्जजम् । पुरो विनिद्रतां यातस् स्वप्नदृष्टम् इवाग्रगम्
After a brief moment, I did not see the lotus-born one before me; he had entered a state like sleep, as if seen in a dream.