पादैर् अमृदिताम्लानपुष्पपल्लवकोमलैः । फुल्लाब्जदलमालाभैर् अस्पृशद्भूतलं पुनः
With feet soft as tender flower buds and fresh leaves, untouched by the ground, resembling garlands of blooming lotus petals, she again walked.
तालीतमालषण्डानां शुष्कानां शशिरोचिषाम् । आलोकनामृतासेकैर् जनयद् बालपल्लवान्
By the nectar of her gaze, she brought forth young shoots among the groves of dried palm and tamala trees, whose moonlike radiance had faded.
नमो ऽस्तु वनदेवीभ्याम् इत्य् उक्त्वा कुसुमाञ्जलिम् । तत्याज ज्येष्ठशर्माथ सार्धं गृहजनेन सः
Having spoken, 'Salutations to the forest goddesses,' and offering a handful of flowers, Jyeshtha Sharma then departed together with his household.
पपात पादयोर् देव्योस् तयोस् सकुसुमाञ्जलिः । प्रालेयशीकरासारः पद्मिन्या इव पद्मयोः
He placed the flower offering at the feet of those goddesses, like a shower of icy dew upon the lotuses of a lotus pond.
जयतं वनदेव्यौ नो दुःखनाशार्थम् आगते । प्रायः परपरित्राणम् एव कर्म निजं सताम्
May the forest goddesses be victorious, who have come to remove our suffering; for the noble, their own action is mostly for the protection of others.
देव्याव् अभवतां स्निग्धाव् इह ब्राह्मणदम्पती । सर्वातिथी कुलकरौ स्तम्भभूतौ द्विजस्थितेः
The goddesses became affectionate here toward the Brahmin couple, pillars of their lineage, hosts to all guests, and the foundation of the twice-born community.
ताव् अद्य गृहम् उत्सृज्य सपुत्रपशुबान्धवम् । स्वर्गं गतौ नः पितरौ तेन शून्यं जगत्त्रयम्
Today, our parents have left the house, along with sons, cattle, and kin, and gone to heaven; thus, the three worlds are empty for us.
पक्षिणो वृक्षम् आरुह्य विक्षिपन्तः प्रतिक्षणम् । गृहे शून्ये मृताव् उत्काश् शोचन्ति मधुरस्वनैः
Birds, perched upon the tree, scatter about every moment; in the empty house, grieving for the dead, they lament with sweet voices.
गुहा घुरघुरारावप्रलापकलनाकुला । सरित्स्थूलाश्रुधाराभिः परिरोदिति पर्वतः
The mountain wails, overwhelmed by the confused, rumbling echoes from its caves, and by the thick streams of tears flowing down like rivers.
निर्झराक्रन्दहारिण्यो मुक्ताम्बरपयोधराः । तप्तनिश्श्वासविध्वस्ताः परं कार्श्यम् इता दिशः
The waterfalls, their garments loosened and breasts exposed, cry out as they collapse, their hot sighs scattering them, and they wander in utter emaciation in all directions.
क्षतविक्षतसर्वाङ्गः करुणाक्रन्दकर्कशः । उपवासपरो ग्रामो दीनो मृतिपरस् स्थितः
The village, battered and wounded in every limb, harsh with pitiful cries, devoted to fasting, stands miserable, intent on death.
दिवसं प्रति वृक्षाणाम् अवश्यायास्रुबिन्दवः । गुच्छलोचनकोशेभ्यस् तापोष्णा निपतन्त्य् अधः
Every day, drops of dew-like tears fall downward, hot from the heat, from the clustered eyes of the trees.
प्रशान्तजनसञ्चारा रथ्याः क्षारविधूसराः । विधवा विगतानन्दास् संशून्यहृदयं गताः
The streets, deserted by peaceful people, are whitened with salt; widowed, joyless, and emptied of heart, they have become desolate.
कोकिलालिप्रलापिन्यो वृष्टिबाष्पहता लताः । उष्णोष्णश्वसना देहं घ्नन्ति पल्लवपाणिभिः
The vines, their bodies struck by the hot, burning wind, battered by rain and tears, chatter with the cries of cuckoos and bees, striking themselves with leafy hands.
आत्मानं शतधा कर्तुं बृहच्छ्वभ्राच् छिलातले । निर्झरा निपतन्त्य् एते तापतप्तशरीरकाः
These waterfalls, their bodies scorched by heat, fall from the great crevices onto the rocky ground, as if to shatter themselves into a hundred pieces.
निस्सङ्कथा गतश्रीका मूका विलुलिताशयाः । अन्धेन तमसा पूर्णा गृहा गहनतां गताः
The houses, deprived of conversation and fortune, mute, with scattered intentions, filled with blind darkness, have become dense and impenetrable.
उद्यानपुष्पषण्डेभ्यो रुदद्भ्यो भ्रमरारवैः । पूतिगन्धो विनिर्याति स्वामोदापरनामकः
From the flower clusters in the garden, as the bees cry out in lament, a foul odor arises, called by another name their former sweet fragrance.
चूतद्रुमविलासिन्यो विरसाः प्रतिवासरम् । लताः कृशा विलीयन्ते सङ्कुचद्गुच्छलोचनाः
The mango trees' companions, the vines, have lost their savor day by day; the slender creepers with shrinking bud-like eyes are fading away.
प्रक्षेप्तुम् अम्बुधौ देहं प्रवृत्ता गन्तुम् आकुलाः । कुल्याः कलकलालोला लोलयन्त्यस् तनुं भुवि
The streams, eager to cast their bodies into the ocean and longing to depart, move restlessly on the earth, their waters murmuring as they flow.
अशङ्कमषकापातस्पन्दम् अप्य् अतिचापलम् । कलयन्त्यस् स्थिता वाप्यो निस्स्पन्दानन्दम् आत्मनि
The ponds, unmoved, remain, counting even the slightest tremor from a falling gnat as excessive restlessness, delighting in the stillness within themselves.
गायत्किन्नरगन्धर्वविद्याधरसुराङ्गनम् । नूनम् अद्य नभो जातम् अस्मत्ताताभ्यलङ्कृतम्
Surely today the sky has become filled with the songs of kinnaras, gandharvas, vidyadharas, and celestial maidens, adorned by the arrival of our father.
तद् देव्यौ क्रियतां तावद् अस्माकं शोकनाशनम् । महतां दर्शनं नाम न कदाचन निष्फलम्
Therefore, let these goddesses now bring us relief from our sorrow; for the sight of the great is never without fruit.
इत्य् उक्तवन्तं सा पुत्रं मूर्ध्नि पस्पर्श पाणिना । पल्लवेनानता नम्रं मूलग्रन्थिम् इवाब्जिनी
Thus speaking to her son, she touched his head with her hand, as a lotus bends to touch its root-knot with a tender leaf.
तस्यास् स्पर्शेन तेनासौ दुःखदौर्भाग्यसङ्कटम् । जहौ प्रावृड्घनासङ्गाद् ग्रीष्मतापम् इवाचलः
By her touch, he cast off the distress and misfortune that bound him, as a mountain sheds the heat of summer when the monsoon clouds gather.
सर्वो गृहजनस् सो ऽथ तयोर् देव्योर् विलोकनात् । लक्ष्मीवान् दुःखनिर्मुक्तो बभूवामृतपो यथा
Then, upon seeing those two goddesses, all the people of the house became prosperous and free from sorrow, just as one is upon drinking the nectar of immortality.
तयास्य लीलया मात्रा पुत्रस्य ज्येष्ठशर्मणः । कस्मान् न दर्शनं दत्तं नो दत्तः कथितो ऽथवा
By her playful act, the mother did not grant a meeting or even mention of her son, Jyeṣṭhaśarma; why was this not given?
बुद्धः पृथ्व्यादिबोधेन येन पृथ्व्यादिसङ्घकः । तस्य पिण्डात्मतां धत्ते व्योमैवान्यस्य केवलम्
One who is awakened by knowledge of earth and the other elements, and thus perceives the aggregate of earth and so on, assumes individuality from that mass, just as space appears as something else.
असद् एवाङ्ग सद् इव भाति पृथ्व्यादिवेदनात् । यथा बालस्य वेतालो न भाति तदवेदनात्
O dear one, the unreal appears as real due to awareness of earth and the rest, just as a child does not see a ghost because he is unaware of it.
यथा पृथ्व्यादिता भाता न पृथ्व्यादि भवेत् क्षणात् । स्वप्ने स्वप्नपरिज्ञानात् तथा जाग्रत्य् अपि स्फुटम्
Just as the state of being earth and so on appears, but earth and the rest may vanish in an instant—so too, in a dream, due to dream-knowledge, and clearly even while awake.
पृथ्व्यादि खतया बुद्धं खम् इत्य् एवानुभूयते । तथा हि क्षुब्धधातूनां कुड्ये ऽपि ख इवोद्यमः
When awakened by the element of space, one experiences only space; likewise, when the elements are agitated, even a wall seems to have the activity of space.