किम् अन्धया मया तादृक् सन्त्यक्तं तन् महावपुः । यथा नाशेन वा भाव्यं तथोदेत्य् अशुभा मतिः
Why did I, so blind, abandon that great body? When destruction is inevitable, such inauspicious thoughts arise.
माम् अवान्तरनिर्दग्धां न्यूनां कीटकणाद् अपि । उद्धरिष्यति को नाम पांसुराशिषु हारिताम्
Who indeed will rescue me, burned within and diminished, more insignificant than an insect's wing, lost among heaps of dust?
विविक्तमनसां बुद्धौ क्व स्फुरन्ति हताशयाः । ग्राममार्गतृणानीव गिरेर् उपरि वासिनाम्
How can hopes that have been destroyed arise in the mind of those who are inwardly detached, like blades of grass from a village path appearing atop a mountain?
स्थितानाम् अज्ञसम्बोधे कथम् अभ्युदयो भवेत् । अण्व् अप्य् उदेति प्राकाश्यं न खद्योतानुसेविनः
How can there be progress for those who remain in ignorance? Even a tiny spark of light does not arise for one who follows only fireflies.
अतः कियन्तं नो जाने कालम् आवलितापदम् । मयापच्छ्वभ्रगर्तेषु लुठितव्यं हतेहया
Therefore, I do not know how long I must continue to roll in pits of misery, as one whose hope has been destroyed.
कदा स्याम् अञ्जनमहाशैलपुत्रकरूपिणी । द्यावापृथिव्योर् वैडूर्यस्तम्भताम् अनुतिष्ठती
When will I become like the daughter of the great mountain Anjana, standing as a pillar of beryl between heaven and earth?
मेघमालासमभुजा स्थिरविद्युच्छटेक्षणा । नीहारजालवसना प्रोच्चकेशासिताम्बरा
With arms like banks of clouds, eyes like steady flashes of lightning, clothed in veils of mist, with hair unbound and dark garments.
लम्बोदराभ्रसन्दर्शप्रनर्तितशिखण्डिनी । लम्बलोलस्तनी श्यामदेहपातद्रवत्सुरा
With a belly like a cloud, her crest feather dances, her long, swinging breasts are dark as the body of a rain-cloud, and she flows like liquor.
हासभस्मच्छटाच्छन्नसूर्यमण्डलरोधिनी । कृतान्तग्रसनोद्युक्तकृत्यैकाकृतिधारिणी
Her laughter veils the sun’s disk with ashes, she blocks its light, and she assumes the form of the one intent on devouring the end of all things.
कुणालोलूखलबृसीशूर्पस्रग्दामभारिणी । पर्वतात् पर्वते शृङ्गे न्यस्य पादं विहारिणी
She bears a garland heavy with pestles, mortars, winnowing baskets, and ropes; she roams, placing her foot from mountain to mountain peak.
कदा मे स्याद् उरुश्वभ्रभासुरं तन् महोदरम् । कदा मे स्याच् छरन्मेघमेदुरा नखरावली
When shall I possess that vast belly, shining like a great black cloud? When shall my row of nails be dense as a mass of rainclouds?
कदा मे स्यान् महारक्षोविद्रावणकरं स्मितम् । स्वस्फिग्वाद्यैर् अरण्यान्यां कदा नृत्येयम् उन्मदा
When shall my smile drive away great demons? When, intoxicated, shall I dance wildly in the forest, with my own hips resounding?
वसासवमहाकुम्भैर् मृतमांसास्थिसञ्चयैः । कदा करिष्ये विरतं मधुरोदरपूरणम्
When shall I fill my sweet belly with jars of strong liquor, heaps of dead flesh, and bones, abstaining from all else?
कदा पीतमहालोकरुधिरा क्षीवतां गता । भवेयम् उदितोन्नृत्ता मुद्रिता निद्रया ततः
When shall I, having drunk the blood of the great world, become exhausted, and then, having danced, fall into sleep, sealed in rest?
मयैव कुतपोवह्नौ तद् दग्ध्वा भासुरं वपुः । भस्मत्वं कनकेनेव सूचित्वम् उररीकृतम्
When shall I, having burned that radiant body in my own funeral fire, embrace the state of ash, marked as if with gold?
क्व किलाञ्जनशैलाभं वपुर् भरितदिक्तटम् । क्व मूषिकाखुरसमं सूचित्वं तृणपेलवम्
How far removed is this body, once dark as collyrium mountain and filling all directions, from its present state—its insignificance now like a mouse’s burrow, its frailty like a blade of grass.
त्यजत्य् आशु मृद् इत्य् अज्ञः प्राप्यापि कनकाङ्गदम् । मया सूचित्वलोभेन सन्त्यक्तं भासुरं वपुः
The ignorant one quickly abandons even gold, mistaking it for clay; out of desire for triviality, I too have cast aside this radiant form.
हा महोदर विन्ध्याद्रिसनीहारगुहोपमम् । अद्य नान्तं करोषि त्वं कथं सिंहैणहस्तिनाम्
Alas, vast belly, like the misty caves of Mount Vindhya—why do you not today bring to an end the lions, elephants, and other beasts?
हा भुजौ भरनिर्भुग्नशिखरौ शशभृन्नखौ । पुरोऌआशधिया चन्द्रं कथम् अद्य न धावथः
Alas, arms—once strong, their peaks bent under burdens, their nails like the moon—why do you not now, with sacrificial intent, pursue the moon itself?
हा वक्षः काचवैडूर्यगिरीन्द्रतटसुन्दर । नाद्य सिंहादियौकं तद् धृतं रोमवनं त्वया
Alas, chest—beautiful as the slopes of mountains of crystal and beryl—why do you not now hold the forest of hair as you did the dwellings of lions and others?
हा नेत्रे कृष्णरजनीज्वलच्छुष्कवनोज्ज्वले । कस्मान् न मे भूषयथो दृग्ज्वालामालया दिशः
Alas, eyes—once shining like a forest blazing in the dark night—why do you not now adorn the quarters with a garland of fiery glances for me?
हा स्कन्धबन्धो नष्टो ऽसि विभ्रष्टो ऽसि महीतले । कालेन विनिविष्टो ऽसि निघृष्टो ऽसि शिलोदरे
Alas, shoulder-joint, you are lost, you have fallen to the earth; time has pressed you down, you have been ground within the hollow of stone.
हा मुखेन्दो तपसि किं नाद्य त्वद्दन्तरश्मिभिः । कल्पाग्निदग्धसंशान्तचन्द्रबिम्बमनोहर
Alas, moon-like face, why do you not now, with your inner rays, perform austerity—enchanting as the moon’s disc cooled after being burned by the fire at the end of an age?
हा हा हस्तौ महाकारौ ताव् अद्य क्व गतौ मम । सम्पन्ना किम् अहं सूची मक्षिकाखुरदोलिता
Alas, alas, where have my great, powerful hands gone today? Have I become a mere needle, shaken by the hoof of a fly?
हा भगोग्रकरञ्जाढ्यसुखदश्वभ्रशोभन । विन्ध्याद्र्यरण्यविपुलनितम्बामलबिम्बक
Alas, O hands, once strong as thunderbolts, bringers of joy, shining like a splendid horse, with hips broad as the Vindhya mountains, pure as a flawless orb.
क्वाकारो ऽम्बरपूरकः क्व च नवं तुच्छात्मसूचीवपू रोदोरन्ध्रसमः क्व चास्यकुहरः क्वेदं च सूचीमुखम् । क्व ग्रासो बहुमांसभारबहलः क्वाब्बिन्दुना रोधनं सूक्ष्मास्य् एतद् अहो मयैव रचितं स्वात्मक्षये नाटकम्
Where is that form, vast as the sky, and where is this new, insignificant body, like a needle’s thread? Where is the mouth, cavernous as a mountain cave, and where is this needle’s eye? Where is the act of eating, heavy with much flesh, and where is this subtle swallowing of a drop of water? Ah, this drama of my own destruction is indeed wrought by me alone.
सूची सासम्भवद्वाणी चिन्तयित्वेत्य् अकल्पयत् । पुनस् तद्देहलाभाय भवाम्य् आशु तपस्विनी
The needle, endowed with the power of speech, reflected thus and resolved: 'I shall again become an ascetic, quickly regaining that former body.'
इति सञ्चिन्त्य सत्त्वस्थं संहृत्य जनमारणम् । तद् एव हिमवच्छृङ्गं जगाम तपसे स्थिरम्
Thinking in this way, withdrawing her mind from birth and death, she went to that very peak of the Himalayas, steadfast in her resolve for austerity.
अपश्यद् एवं सूचीत्वं सा तन् मानसम् आत्मनि । प्राणवातात्मका प्राणैः प्रविश्य हतमानवा
Thus, seeing her needle-form as a creation of her own mind, she, composed of vital air, entered the body that had lost its mind.
अथात्मन्य् एव सूचीत्वं पश्यन्त्य् एव मनोमयी । प्राणवातशरीरासौ जगाम हिमवच्छिरः
Then, perceiving her needle-nature within herself, she, made of mind, with a body of vital air, reached the summit of the Himalayas.