राजन् स्मर विवेकेन पूर्वजातिम् इमां स्वयम् । वदन्ती मूर्ध्नि पस्पर्श तं करेण सरस्वती
O King, recall with discernment your previous birth yourself—so said Sarasvati, touching his head with her hand.
अथ हार्दतमोमाया पद्मस्य क्षयम् आययौ । सविकासं च हृदयं ज्ञप्तिस्पर्शाद् अथाभवत्
Then, the darkness of ignorance in his heart faded away, and, from the touch of knowledge, his heart blossomed fully.
सस्मार पूर्ववृत्तान्तम् अन्तस्स्फुरद् इव स्थितम् । अन्यदेहैकराजत्वं लीलाविलसितान्वितम्
He remembered the events of his past, as if they were stirring within; his sole sovereignty in another body, accompanied by playful acts.
ज्ञात्वा प्रज्ञप्तिवृत्तान्तं लीलायत्नविजृम्भितम् । आत्मोदन्तं बभूवासाव् उह्यमान इवार्णवे
Having known the account of his previous existence, unfolded through the play of knowledge and effort, he became as if carried away in the ocean of his own story.
उवाचात्मनि संसारे बत मायेयम् आतता । परिज्ञाता प्रसादेन देव्योर् इह मयाधुना
He said: Alas, this world of transmigration is indeed spread out by illusion; by the grace of the goddesses, I have now recognized it here.
हे देव्यौ किम् इदं नाम दिनम् एकं मृतस्य मे । गतम् अद्येह यातानि वयो वर्षाणि सप्ततिः
O goddesses, what is this? Has only a single day passed since my death? Yet today, seventy years of my life have gone by here.
स्मराम्य् अनेककार्याणि स्मरामि प्रपितामहम् । स्मरामि बाल्यं तारुण्यं मित्रबन्धुपरिच्छदम्
I remember many activities, I remember my great-grandfather, I remember my childhood, youth, and the company of friends and relatives.
राजन् मृतिमहामोहमूर्छायास् समनन्तरम् । तस्मिंल् लोकान्तरे ऽतीते तस्मिन्न् एव मुहूर्तके
O King, immediately after the great delusion and fainting of death, in that other world that passed, all of it occurred in that very instant.
तस्मिन्न् एव गृहे ऽथास्मिन् नैव वेत्स्य् अथ वच्मि ते । अयं तस्य गृहस्यान्तर् व्योमन्य् एव किल स्थितः
In that very house, or in this one—whether you know it or not, I will tell you—the interior space of that house is said to be situated right here.
गिरिग्रामकविप्रस्य गृहे ऽन्तर् भूपमण्डपः । तस्यान्तर् इदम् आभाति प्रत्येकं च जगद्गृहम्
Within the house of a brahmin in a mountain village, there is the king's hall; within it, this appears, and within each, the house of the world.
किल ब्राह्मणगेहान्तर् जीवस् ते मद्वरात् स्थितः । तत्रैव तस्य भूपीठं तस्मिंश् च निजमण्डपः
It is said that, by my boon, your soul remains within the brahmin's house; there itself is his royal seat, and within that, his own hall.
तस्यैव च गृहस्यान्तर् इदं संसारमण्डलम् । तत्रैवेदं तव गृहं स्थितम् आरम्भमन्थरम्
And within that very house is this circle of worldly existence; there, your own house stands, slow to begin.
तत्रैव चेतसि तव निर्मलाकाशनिर्मले । प्रतिभासागतम् इदं व्यवहारभ्रमं ततम्
In that very mind of yours, pure as the clear sky, this appearance of worldly confusion is spread out.
यथेदं नाम मे जन्म तथेक्ष्वाकुकुलं मम । एतन्नामान एते मे पुराभूवन् पितामहाः
Just as this is said to be my birth, so too is the Ikshvaku lineage mine; these are my names, and these were my ancestors in times past.
जातो ऽहम् अभवं बालो दशवर्शस्य मे पिता । परिव्राड् विपिनं यात इह राज्ये ऽभिषिच्य माम्
I was born, became a child, and when I was ten years old, my father, having become a renunciant, went to the forest after installing me on the throne.
ततो दिग्विजयं कृत्वा कृत्वा राज्यम् अकण्टकम् । अमीभिर् मन्त्रिभिः पौरैः पालयामि वसुन्धराम्
Then, having conquered all directions and made the kingdom free of obstacles, I rule the earth with these ministers and citizens.
यज्ञक्रियाक्रमवतो धर्मे पालयतः प्रजाः । वयसस् समतीतानि मम वर्षाणि सप्ततिः
While performing sacrifices and upholding righteousness, protecting my subjects, seventy years of my life have passed.
इदं परबलं प्राप्तं मम दारुणविग्रहम् । युद्धं कृत्वेदम् आयातो गृहम् अस्मि यथास्थितम्
Now this hostile force has come, fierce in form; after fighting them, I have returned home as before.
इमे देव्यौ गृहं प्राप्ते ममैते पूजयाम्य् अहम् । पूजिता हि प्रयच्छन्ति देवतास् स्वं समीहितम्
These two goddesses, upon my return home, I worship; for when worshipped, deities indeed grant their desired boons.
ममेयम् एतयोर् एका ज्ञानं जातिस्मृतिप्रदम् । इह दत्तवती देवी भाब्जस्येव विकासनम्
Of these two, one is mine—she grants knowledge and the memory of past births; here, the goddess has given the blossoming of the lotus of the heart.
इदानीं कृतकृत्यो ऽस्मि जातो ऽस्मि गतसंशयः । शाम्यामि परिनिर्वामि सुखम् आसे च केवलम्
Now I have accomplished my purpose, I am born anew, free from doubt; I am at peace, I am completely extinguished, and I rest in pure contentment.
इतीयम् आतता भ्रान्तिर् भवतो भूरिसम्भ्रमा । नानाहारविहाराढ्या सलोकान्तरसञ्चरा
Thus this delusion of yours, so greatly agitated, filled with various pursuits and enjoyments, and wandering through different worlds, has been extended.
यस्मिन्न् एव मुहूर्ते त्वं मृतिम् अभ्यागतः पुरा । तदैव प्रतिभैषा ते स्वयम् अभ्युदिता हृदि
At the very moment in the past when you approached death, at that very instant, this insight spontaneously arose in your heart.
एकाम् आवर्तवलनां त्यक्त्वाधत्ते यथापराम् । क्षिप्रम् एव नदीवाहश् चित्प्रवाहस् तथैव वः
Just as a current of water, leaving one whirlpool, quickly enters another, so too does the stream of consciousness swiftly assume another cycle after abandoning one.
आवर्तान्तरसंमिश्रो यथावर्तः प्रवर्तते । कदाचिद् एवं सर्गश्रीर् मिश्रामिश्रा च वर्धते
As a whirlpool, mingled with other eddies, continues to revolve, so too does the glory of creation, mixed and unmixed, sometimes increase in this way.
तस्मिन् मृतिमुहूर्ते ते प्रतिभानम् उपागतम् । एतज् जालम् असद्रूपं चिद्भागे सद् इव स्थितम्
At that moment of your death, insight arose for you; this web, though unreal in nature, appears to abide in the portion of consciousness as if it were real.
यथा स्वप्नमुहूर्ते ऽन्तस् संवत्सरशतक्रमः । यथा सङ्कल्पनिर्माणे जीवितान् मरणं पुनः
Just as, in the moment of a dream, a sequence of a hundred years may pass; just as, in the creation of imagination, life and death occur again and again—
यथा गन्धर्वनगरे कुड्यमण्डपकुट्टनम् । यथा नौयानसंरम्भे वृक्षपर्वतचोपनम्
Just as, in the city of the Gandharvas, there are walls, halls, and chambers; just as, in the commotion of a boat journey, there appear trees and mountains—
यथा स्वधातुसङ्क्षोभे पुरपर्वतनर्तनम् । यथा समञ्जसं स्वप्ने स्वशिरःपरिकर्तनम्
Just as, when one's own bodily humors are disturbed, the city and mountains appear to dance; just as, in a dream, one may see oneself cutting off one's own head—
मिथ्यैवेयम् इह प्रौढा भ्रान्तिर् आततरूपिणी । वस्तुतस् तु न जातो ऽसि न मृतो ऽसि कदाचन
In this way, this powerful delusion, taking many forms, is entirely false; in reality, you have never been born nor have you ever died.