अस्वतन्त्राः प्रधावन्ति पदार्थास् सर्व एव यत् । ब्रह्माण्डं पार्थिवं भागं तद् अधश् शून्यम् अन्यथा
All objects move about without independence; the earth portion of the cosmic egg is called 'below,' but otherwise it is void.
पिपीलिकानाम् भ्रमतां व्योम्नि वर्तुललोष्टके । दशदिक्कम् अधःपादाः पृष्ठम् ऊर्ध्वम् उदाहृतम्
For ants wandering on a round clod in the sky, the ten directions—downward is their feet, upward is their back—are designated as such.
वृक्षवल्मीकजालेन केषाञ्चिद् धृदि भूतलम् । सेन्द्वर्कामरदैत्येन वेष्टितं व्योम निर्मलम्
For some, the earth in their hearts is covered by a web of trees and anthills; the clear sky is encircled by the sun, moon, gods, and demons.
सम्भूतं मरुभूतेन सग्रामपुरपर्वतम् । इदङ्कल्पम् अलूनेन पक्वाक्षोटम् इव त्वचा
This world, with its villages, cities, and mountains, has arisen from the desert element, and is enveloped, like a ripe myrobalan fruit by its skin, by the undiminished.
यथा विन्ध्यवनाभोगे प्रस्फुरन्ति करेणवः । तथा तस्मिन् पराभोगे ब्रह्माण्डत्रसरेणवः
Just as elephants roam in the Vindhya forest region, so in that supreme expanse, the rivers of universes flow.
तस्मिन् सर्वं ततस् सर्वं तत् सर्वं सर्वतश् च तत् । तच् च सर्वमयं नित्यं तथा तद् अणुकं प्रति
In that, is everything; from that, is everything; that is everything, and everywhere; and that is always all-pervading, even in the smallest particle.
शुद्धबोधमये तस्मिन् परमालोकवारिधौ । अजस्रम् एत्य गच्छन्ति ब्रह्माण्डाख्यास् तरङ्गकाः
In that ocean of supreme light, composed of pure consciousness, the waves called universes continually arise and subside.
अन्तश्शून्यास् स्थिताः केचित् सकल्पक्षयरात्रयः । तरङ्गा इव तोयाब्धौ प्रोह्यन्ते शून्यतार्णवे
Some, empty within, remain as the nights of the dissolution of all thoughts; like waves in the ocean of water, they are cast into the ocean of emptiness.
केषाञ्चिद् अन्तः कल्पान्तः प्रवृत्तो घर्घरारवः । न श्रुतो ऽन्यैर् न च ज्ञातस् स्वभावरसनाकुलैः
For some, at the end of the cycle, an inner rumbling sound arises, but it is neither heard nor known by others, whose taste is absorbed in their own nature.
अन्येषां प्रथमारम्भेषूद्बुभूषा विजृम्भते । सर्गसंसिक्तबीजानां कोशे ऽङ्कुरलता यथा
In others, at the very beginning, the desire to manifest arises, like a tender shoot in the seed-capsule moistened by creation.
महाप्रलयसम्पत्तौ सूर्यार्चिर्विद्रुताश्रयाः । प्रवृत्ता गलितुं केचित् तापे हिमकणा यथा
At the time of the great dissolution, some beings, whose refuge is scattered by the sun's rays, begin to melt away, like drops of frost under heat.
आकल्पं निपतन्त्य् एव केचिद् अप्राप्तभूमयः । यावद् विशीर्य जायन्ते तथासंविन्मयाः किल
Some, not having attained their destined realms, keep falling for an age, until, having disintegrated, they are born again, it is said, as forms made of mere consciousness.
स्तब्धा एव स्थिताः केचित् केषोण्डुकम् इवाम्बरे । वायोस् स्पन्दा इवाभान्ति तथाप्रोदितसम्पदः
Some remain motionless, like a hairball suspended in the sky; their fortunes appear like the vibrations of wind, arising in such a manner.
आचाराद् वेदशास्त्राणाम् अन्य एवान्यथोदितः । आरम्भो विततो ऽन्येषाम् अनित्थं संस्थितक्रमः
From the practice of Vedic scriptures, a different course is described for others; for some, the beginning is extended, and their sequence of existence is otherwise established.
केचिद् ब्रह्मादिपुरुषाः केचिद् विष्ण्वादिसर्गपाः । केचिच् चान्ये प्रजानाथाः केचिन् निर्नाथजन्तवः
Some are beings like Brahma and others, some are creators like Vishnu and the rest; some are lords of creatures, while others are beings without any lord.
केचिद् विचित्रसर्गेशाः केचित् तिर्यङ्मयान्तराः । केचिद् एकार्णवापूर्णा जलेतरविवर्जिताः
Some are lords of wondrous creations, some are among the animal forms; some are filled with a single ocean, devoid of water or anything else.
केचिच् छिलाङ्गनिष्पिण्डाः केचित् क्रिमिपथान्तराः । केचिद् देवमया एव केचिन् नरमयान्तराः
Some are lumps of stone and metal, some are within the paths of worms; some are entirely divine in form, others are partly human.
केचिन् नित्यान्धकाराढ्यास् तथाशीलितजन्तवः । केचिन् मषकसम्पूर्णा उडुम्बरफलश्रियः
Some are always enveloped in darkness, thus inhabited by such beings; some are filled with swarms of gnats, possessing the glory of fig fruits.
नित्यं शून्यान्तराः केचिच् छून्यस्पन्दात्मजन्तवः । सर्गेण तादृशेनान्ये पूर्णा ये ऽस्मद्धियाम् इह । कल्पनाम् अपि नायान्ति व्योममूकाचला इव
Some beings are always empty within, their essence arising from the stillness of emptiness; others, who are full in this world according to our understanding, do not even conceive of such emptiness, like the silent mountains of the sky.
तादृगन्तरम् एतेषां महाकाशं ततस् स्थितम् । आजीवितं प्रयच्छद्भिर् विष्ण्वाद्यैर् यन् न दीयते
Within them is such an inner vastness, a great expanse, which is not bestowed even by Vishnu and the other gods who grant life.
प्रत्येकम् अण्डगोलस्य स्थितः कड्ढकरत्नवत् । भूताकृष्टिकरो भागः पार्थिवस् स स्वभावतः
In each cosmic egg, there is a portion of earth, by its very nature, that acts like a magnet, drawing the elements together, just as a jewel attracts iron.
यस् सर्गविभवो ऽस्माकं धियाम् अविषयस् ततः । तज्जगत्कथने शक्तिर् न ममास्ति महामते
That origin of creation is beyond the reach of our minds; therefore, O wise one, I do not have the power to describe that world.
भीमान्धकारगहने सुमहत्य् अरण्ये नृत्यन्त्य् अदर्शितपरस्परम् एव मत्ताः । यक्षा यथा प्रवितते परमाम्बरे ऽन्तर् एवं स्फुरन्ति सुबहूनि महाजगन्ति
Just as intoxicated yakshas dance unseen by each other in the vast, dense darkness of a great forest, so too, within the supreme sky, countless great worlds arise and shimmer.
एवम् आकलयन्त्यौ ते निर्गत्य जगतो निजम् । अन्तःपुरं ददृशतुर् झगितीव विनिद्रिते
Thus reflecting, the two of them left the world and saw their own palace, as if it were a city lying silent in deep sleep.
स्थितपुष्पभरापूर्णमहाराजमहाशवम् । शवपार्श्वोपविष्टान्तश्चित्तलीलाशरीरकम्
They saw the great royal corpse, heavy with garlands of flowers, and beside the corpse, the subtle body of the mind's play seated nearby.
घनरात्रितयाल्पाल्पमहानिद्रजनाकुलम् । धूपचन्दनकर्पूरकुङ्कुमामोदमन्थरम्
The place was filled with people overcome by the deep sleep of three dark nights, and the air was thick with the fragrance of incense, sandalwood, camphor, and saffron.
तम् आलोक्य पुनर् भर्तुस् संसारं गन्तुम् आदृता । पपात लीला सङ्कल्पदेहेनात्रैव तन्नभः
Seeing him, then, eager to enter her husband's world-cycle again, Lila fell here itself, with her body formed of mere thought, into that very sky.
विवेश भर्तृसङ्कल्पसंसारं कञ्चिद् आततम् । संसारावरणं भित्त्वा भित्त्वा ब्रह्माण्डकर्परम्
She entered a certain expanse, the world-cycle created by her husband's thought, breaking through the covering of the world, and the shell of the cosmic egg.
प्राप सार्धं तया देव्या पुनर् आवरणान्वितम् । ब्रह्माण्डमण्डपं स्फारं तं प्रविश्य तथा जवात्
Together with that goddess, she reached once more the vast pavilion of the cosmic egg, now covered again, and swiftly entered it in the same way.
ददर्श भर्तृसङ्कल्पजगज् जम्बालपल्वलम् । सा हंसी शैलकमलं तमोजलदपङ्किलम्
She beheld the world, born of her husband's thought, as a muddy marsh of existence—a swan seeing a mountain-lotus sullied by the dark waters of ignorance.