नीलमेघपटच्छन्ननिरिन्दुगगनान्तरा । तमालवनसम्पिण्डमण्डलोड्डीनकज्जला
The sky was covered with dark clouds, without a moon, and the darkness was like a mass of tamala forests, as if smeared with lampblack and swirling in circles.
लताघनतया ग्रामकोटरैकान्ध्यमन्थरा । गृहचत्वरसम्बाधनगरे नवयौवना
With the lightness of a creeper, she moves slowly through the dark alleys of the village, a young woman in the city, confined within the narrow courtyards of houses.
चत्वरेषु तमःपिण्डप्रजिह्मीकृतदीपिका । कुञ्चिकाच्छिद्रनिष्क्रान्तदीपिकारोमराजिका
In the courtyards, she is like a mass of darkness, bending the lamps aside; she is the line of lamp-flames emerging through the keyhole.
स्ववयस्येव कर्कट्याः परिनृत्यत्पिशाचिका । मत्तकङ्कालवेताला काष्ठमौनम् इव स्थिता
She dances like the companion of a crab, a wild female spirit; like a drunken ghoul or goblin, she stands in wooden silence.
सुषुप्तमृतभूतौघा घननीहारहारिणी । मन्दमन्दमरुत्स्पन्दशरत्प्रालेयशीकरा
She is the host of deep sleep and death, stealing away the dense fog; she is the gentle, gentle stirring of the wind, the autumnal frost and dew.
सरस्सु विरटद्वारिकोकभेकतरङ्गिका । अन्तःपुरेषु रमणरणन्नारीनरानना
In the lakes, she is the rippling water disturbed by the movement of cranes, frogs, and small waves; in the inner chambers, she is the faces of women and men engaged in playful love.
जङ्गलेषु ज्वलज्ज्वालजटालज्वलनोज्ज्वला । केदारेष्व् अम्बुसंसेकपुष्टपाकमिलत्सिला
In the wilderness, she is the blazing fire with locks of flames burning bright; in the fields, she is the stones warmed and ripened by the sprinkling of water.
नभस्य् अलक्षितस्पन्दपरिवृत्तर्क्षचक्रका । वनेषु विसरद्वातपतत्पुष्पफलद्रुमा
In the sky, she is the unseen movement of the revolving constellation of stars; in the forests, she is the trees whose flowers and fruits are scattered by the blowing wind.
श्वभ्रेषु कौशिकास्यात्तवायस्याद्याहृतारवा । तस्कराक्रान्तपर्यन्तग्राम्याक्रन्दनकर्कशा
In the chasms, she is the echoing cry of the wind swallowed by the mouth of the owl; on the outskirts of villages seized by thieves, she is the harsh wailing of the villagers.
ग्रामेष्व् अचेतनग्राम्या नगरे सुप्तनागरा । वनेषु विसरद्वाता नीडेष्व् अस्पन्दपक्षिणी
In villages, the villagers are insentient; in the city, the citizens are asleep; in the forests, the winds wander; in the nests, the birds are motionless.
गुहासु सुप्तसिंहौघा कुञ्जेषूच्छ्वसितैणका । खे सावश्यायनिकरा विपिने मौनधारिणी
In caves, the groups of lions sleep; in thickets, the deer breathe; in the sky, the clouds drift; in the wilderness, silence prevails.
कज्जलाम्भोदमध्याभा काचशैलोदरोपमा । पङ्कपिण्डान्तरघना खड्गच्छेद्यान्ध्यमांसला
She is like the darkness at the center of a cloud of soot, resembling the hollow of a glass mountain; dense within a lump of mud, her flesh is blind and can be cut by a sword.
प्रलयानिलविक्षुब्धा कज्जलाचलचञ्चला । एकार्णवमहापङ्कपर्वतोदरमेदुरा
Agitated by the wind of dissolution, she is restless like a mountain of soot; she is thick as the belly of a muddy mountain in the vast ocean of mire.
अङ्गारकोटिनखरा सौषुप्तपदसुन्दरी । अज्ञाननिद्रानिविडा भृङ्गपृष्ठच्छविच्छविः
She is rough as millions of embers, beautiful in the state of deep sleep; she is the fortress of ignorance and sleep, with the hue of a bee’s back.
तस्यां रजन्यां भीमायां किरातजनमण्डले । मन्त्रिणा सह भूपालस् तस्मिन्न् अवसरे तदा
In that dreadful night, among the tribes of hunters, the king together with his minister, at that moment,
निर्जगाम सुधीरात्मा नगरात् सुप्तनागरात् । अटवीं विक्रमो नाम विषमां वीरचर्यया
Departed from the city of sleeping citizens, the wise-hearted king, named Vikrama, entered the perilous forest with heroic conduct.
अटव्यां कर्कटी सा तौ चरन्तौ राजमन्त्रिणौ । अपश्यद् धृतधैर्यांशौ वेतालालोकनोन्मुखौ
In the forest, Karkati saw those two—the king and his minister—wandering, steadfast in courage, seeking the realm of the vetalas.
अथ सा चिन्तयाम् आस लब्धो भक्षो ऽद्य हो मया । मूढाव् एताव् अनात्मज्ञौ भारो देहः किलानयोः
Then she thought, 'Today I have found food to eat. These two are foolish and ignorant of the Self; their bodies are indeed a burden to them.'
इहामुत्र च नाशाय मूढो दुःखाय जीवति । यत्नाद् विनाशनीयो ऽसौ नानर्थः परिपाल्यते
Here and hereafter, the fool lives only for destruction and suffering; he should be destroyed with effort, for there is no reason to preserve what is harmful.
अपश्यतस् स्वम् आत्मानं मृतिर् मूढस्य जीवितम् । मरणेनोदयो ऽस्यास्ति पापसम्पत्तिहेतुतः
For the one who does not see his own Self, death is life; his rise comes through death, since it is the cause of the accumulation of evil.
आदिसर्गे च नियमः कृतः पङ्कजजन्मना । हिंस्राभिभोजनायास्तु मूढात्मा नात्मवान् इति
At the beginning of creation, the lotus-born one established the rule: the ignorant self is for violent consumption, not for one possessing the Self.
तस्माद् इमौ मयैवाद्य भोक्तव्यौ भोज्यतां गतौ । अभव्य एव निर्दोषं प्राप्तम् अर्थम् उपेक्षते
Therefore, today these two must be eaten by me, as they have become food; only the unfortunate neglect a faultless opportunity that has come.
मा कदाचिद् इमौ स्यातां गुणयुक्तौ महाशयौ । तादृङ्नरविनाशो हि स्वभावान् मे न रोचते
Let these two never become virtuous or noble; the destruction of such men does not suit my nature.
तद् एतौ सम्परीक्षे ऽहं यदि तावद् गुणान्वितौ । तद् भक्ष्यं न करोम्य् एतौ न हिंस्या गुणिनः क्वचित्
Therefore, I will examine these two: if they are endowed with virtue, I will not eat them; the virtuous should never be harmed.
अकृत्रिमं सुखं कीर्तिम् आयुश् चैवाभिवाञ्छता । सर्वाभिमतदानेन पूजनीया गुणान्विताः
Those who desire uncontrived happiness, fame, and long life should honor the virtuous by giving them all that is desired.
यदि नश्यामि देहेन तन् न भोक्ष्ये गुणान्वितम् । सुखयन्ति हि चेतांसि जीविताद् अपि साधवः
If I should perish along with my body, I will not enjoy what is endowed with virtue; for truly, the virtuous bring delight to the hearts even more than life itself.
अपि जीवितदानेन गुणिनं परिपालयेत् । गुणवत्सङ्गमौषध्या मृत्युर् अप्य् एति मित्रताम्
One should protect a virtuous person even at the cost of one's own life; for with the medicine of association with the virtuous, even death becomes a friend.
यत्राहम् अपि रक्षामि राक्षसी गुणशालिनम् । तत्रान्यश् चानुकुर्यात् तं हृद्विचारम् इवामलम्
Where even I, a demoness, protect one endowed with virtue, there another too would act kindly toward him, just as pure reflection arises in the heart.
उदारगुणयुक्ता ये विहरन्तीह देहिनः । धरातलेन्दवस् सङ्गाद् भृशं शीतलयन्ति ते
Those who are endowed with noble virtues and dwell here among embodied beings, are like moons upon the earth, greatly cooling through their association.
मृतिर् गुणतिरस्कारो जीवितं गुणिसंश्रयः । फलं स्वर्गापवर्गादि जीविताद् गुणिसंश्रयात्
Death is the rejection of virtue; life is the shelter of the virtuous; the fruit, whether heaven, liberation, or otherwise, comes from taking refuge in the virtuous during life.