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.
दृढदावानले तत्र सर्वभूतविवर्जिते । महाशिलातलक्षोभरूक्षे पांसुविधूसरे
There, in a place devoid of all living beings, on the hard, rocky, uneven ground, covered with dust, scorched by a fierce forest fire.
तस्थाव् अभ्युत्थितैकासौ निस्तृणे विपुलस्थले । मराव् अकस्मात् सञ्जाता शुष्का तृणशिखा यथा
She stood upright, alone, on the broad ground devoid of grass, suddenly appearing in the desert like a dry blade of grass.
सूक्ष्मस्यैकस्य पादस्य सार्धेनैवाश्रितोर्वरा । स्वसंविदेकपादात्मतपः कर्तुं प्रचक्रमे
Relying only on one and a half toes of her subtle foot, she began to perform austerities, with her own awareness as the single support of her foot.
सूक्ष्मपादतलेनैषा वसुधारेणुसङ्कटम् । निवार्यात्तपदा कृच्छ्राद् यत्नेनोर्ध्वमुखी स्थिता
With the tip of her subtle foot, she blocked the narrowness of the earth's dust, and with effort, stood upright, raising her foot with difficulty.
कृष्णत्वहिंस्रतातैक्ष्ण्या वृत्तास्या पवनाशनैः । यत्नात् पदं निबध्नन्ती रेण्वणूपलसङ्कटे
Binding her foot with effort amid the tightness of dust, sand, and pebbles, she endured darkness, nonviolence, sharpness, a round mouth, and subsisted on air.
अरण्ये क्षुभितां सर्पीं दूरालोकार्थम् उत्थिताम् । पुच्छकोटिस्थितां पातलोलाम् अनुचकार सा
In the forest, she followed a restless snake, which had risen to see far, and was swaying, poised at the tip of its tail.
मुखरन्ध्रविनिष्क्रान्ता तस्या भास्करदीधितिः । सखी बभूव सूच्याभा पश्चाद्भागैकरक्षिणी
The sun's ray, emerging from the snake's mouth, became her companion, resembling a needle, guarding only the rear part.
क्षुद्रे ऽपि स्वजनीभूते याति वत्सलतां जनः । दीधित्यापि सखीवृत्तं सूच्यास् सूचितयाश्रितम्
Even in something small that becomes one's own, people develop affection; even the sun's ray, acting as a friend, was attached to the needle-like companion.
बभूव तस्यास् स्वच्छा या द्वितीया तापसी सखी । एनस्सूचीव मलिना तया पश्चात् कृतैव सा
Her second companion, a hermit woman, was clear and pure; but she herself became tainted by that companion, just as a needle is stained.
सूच्यास्यनिर्गतार्कांशुपाताक्षस्मयकूणितम् । पश्चात् स्मयतता दृष्टा सा धूल्यैवात्र केवलम्
Her face, wrinkled with a smile as the sun's rays emerged from the tip of the needle, was later seen to be smiling only because of the dust there.