गुरुस् त्वं नौ महादेवि वयस्या च सुनिर्वृता । निमन्त्रयावहे यत्नात् त्वाम् अम्भोरुहसुन्दरि
You are our teacher, O great goddess, and a contented friend as well; O lotus-faced beauty, we earnestly invite you to our home.
न प्रार्थनां तथास्माकं वितथीकर्तुम् अर्हसि । सौहार्दं सुजनानां हि दर्शनाद् एव वर्धते
You should not refuse our request; for the friendship of good people grows simply by meeting.
लघुसौभाग्यसंयुक्तं कृत्वाकारं मनोहरम् । आगच्छास्मद्गृहं भव्या तत्र तिष्ठ यथासुखम्
Assume a charming and delightful form, adorned with modest fortune, and come to our house, O noble one; there, stay as you please.
मुग्धस्त्रीरूपधारिण्यै दातुं शक्नोषि भोजनम् । सन्तर्पयसि मां केन राक्षसीरूपधारिणीम्
You are able to give food to one who has assumed the form of a naive woman; by what means do you satisfy me, who has taken on the form of a demoness?
रक्षोऽन्नम् एव मे तुष्ट्यै न सामान्यजनाशनम् । पूर्वसिद्धस् स्वभावो ऽयम् आ सर्गान्ताद् विवर्धते
Only flesh is food for my satisfaction, not the fare of ordinary people; this nature, established from the beginning, grows until the end of creation.
हेमस्रग्दामवलिता दिनानि कतिचिद् गृहे । मम स्त्रीरूपिणी तिष्ठ यावदिच्छम् अनिन्दिते
Adorned with golden garlands, remain in my house for a few days in the form of a woman, O blameless one, as long as I desire.
ततो दुष्कृतिनश् चौरान् वध्याञ् शतसहस्रशः । मण्डलेभ्यस् समानीय ददे तुभ्यं सुभोजने
Then, gathering hundreds of thousands of wicked thieves condemned to death from the districts, I gave them to you as excellent food.
कान्तारूपं परित्यज्य गृहीत्वा राक्षसं वपुः । आदाय वध्याञ् शतशः पुरुषांस् तान् स्वसञ्चितान्
Abandoning your lovely form and assuming the body of a demon, you took those hundreds of condemned men whom you had collected.
नयस्व हिमवच्छृङ्गं तत्र भुङ्क्ष्व यथासुखम् । महाशनानाम् एकान्ते भोजनं हि सुखायते
Take them to the peak of the Himalayas and there eat as you please; for solitary eating is pleasant to those who are great eaters.
सुप्ता निद्रां परित्यज्य भव भूयस् समाधिभाक् । समाधिविरता भूयो ऽप्य् आगत्य पुनर् अन्यदा
Abandoning sleep and slumber, become absorbed in meditation again; having ceased from meditation, you returned once more at another time.
नेष्यस्य् अन्यान् वध्यनरान् हिंसा नैषा च धर्मतः । स्वधर्मेण च हिंसैव महाकरुणया समा
You will bring other condemned men, for violence is not righteous; yet, by your own duty, even violence is equal to great compassion.
त्वं समेष्यसि चावश्यं मां समाधिविरामिणी । असताम् अपि संरूढं सौहार्दं न निवर्तते
You will certainly meet me again, when your meditation comes to rest; even among those who are false, a friendship once established does not fade.
युक्तम् उक्तं त्वया राजन् करोम्य् एवम् अहं सखे । सौहार्देन प्रवृत्तस्य को वाक्यं नाभिनन्दति
What you have said is appropriate, O king; I shall do so, my friend. Who would not welcome the words of one who acts from friendship?
इत्य् उक्त्वा राक्षसी तत्र सम्पन्ना सा विलासिनी । हारकेयूरकटकपट्टस्रग्दामधारिणी
Having spoken thus, the rakshasi, adorned and charming, stood there, wearing necklaces, armlets, bracelets, girdles, and garlands.
राजन्न् आगच्छ गच्छाम इत्य् उक्त्वा नृपमन्त्रिणौ । अग्रे गन्तुं प्रवृत्तौ तौ रात्राव् अनुससार सा
Saying, 'O king, let us go,' she set out with the king and his minister; those two proceeded ahead, and she followed them through the night.
अथ ते पार्थिवगृहं प्राप्य तां रजनीं मिथः । कथयैकगृहे रम्ये क्षपयाम् आसुर् आदृताः
Then, having reached the royal residence, they spent that night together, honored, conversing in a single delightful chamber.
प्रभाते ऽन्तःपुरे तस्थौ पुरन्ध्रिजनलीलया । राक्षसी मन्त्रिराजानौ स्वव्यापारौ बभूवतुः
At dawn, the rakshasi remained in the inner quarters, mingling with the women of the palace; the king and his minister engaged in their own affairs.
ततो दिवसषट्केन सञ्चितानि महीभृता । नृपान्तरपुरेभ्यो ऽपि स्वमण्डलगणात् तथा
Then, within six days, the king gathered together from other royal cities and from his own circle of vassals the accumulated prisoners.
त्रीणि वध्यसहस्राणि तानि तस्यै तदाददौ । सा बभूव निशाकाले सैवोग्रा कृष्णा राक्षसी
He gave her three thousand condemned prisoners; at night, she became that fierce, dark rakshasi.
तानि वध्यसहस्राणि जग्राह भुजमण्डले । धारानिकरजालानि मेघमालेव कोटरे
She seized those thousands of condemned ones within the circle of her arms, like clusters of streaming rain caught by a cloud in a hollow.
ययौ राजानम् आपृच्छ्य तद् एव हिमवच्छिरः । दरिद्रा लब्धहेमेव गृहम् उग्रशरीरिणी
Having taken leave of the king, she went to that very summit of the Himalayas, as a poor woman who has found gold returns to her home, though her body was fierce.
तत्रा तृप्तेर् भृशं भुक्त्वा सुखं सुप्त्वा दिनद्वयम् । आसीत् प्रबुद्धा सुस्वच्छा सा समाधिवती पुनः
There, after satisfying her hunger and sleeping comfortably for two days, she awoke refreshed, clear, and again absorbed in deep meditation.
पञ्चभिर् वा त्रिभिर् वापि वर्षैस् सा सम्प्रबुध्यति । तत् ततो मण्डलं याति तेन राज्ञा च पूज्यते
After five years, or even three, she would awaken from that state, then go to the assembly and be honored by that king.
तत्र विश्रम्भगर्भाभिः कथाभिः कञ्चिद् एव सा । स्थित्वा कालं गृहीत्वा तान् वध्यान् स्वास्पदम् एत्य् अथ
There, after spending some time with conversations filled with trust, she would take those condemned ones and return to her own abode.
जीवन्मुक्ततयैवम् एव विपिने साद्यापि रक्षोऽङ्गना । तस्मिन्न् एव गिरौ स्थिता विगलितध्यानैकतानाशया
Even now, that demoness, liberated while living, remains in that forest on that very mountain, her mind free from all absorbed contemplation.
तस्मिन् राजनि शान्तिम् आगतवति त्यक्तैषणेनात्मना । तद्राष्ट्राधिपसौहृदैस् स्वकवलान् आस्वादयन्ती चिरम्
When that king attained peace, having abandoned all desires, she enjoyed her meals for a long time, with the friendship of the ruler of that land.
किरातमण्डले तस्मिन् ये ये सन्ति महीभृतः । तैस् तैस् सह परा मैत्री तस्यास् समभिजायते
In that region of the Kirātas, with all the local kings, she formed the highest friendship with each of them.
सर्वांस् तत्र महोत्पातान् पिशाचादिभयान्य् अपि । रोगांश् च योगसिद्धा सा निवारयति राक्षसी
There, that yogically accomplished demoness wards off all great calamities, fears from spirits and the like, and diseases.
बहुवर्षगणैर् नैषा ध्यानाद् विरतिम् आगता । तत्रागत्य समश्नाति वध्याञ् जन्तून् सुसञ्चितान्
For many years she did not abandon meditation; coming there, she devours the sacrificial victims that have been well gathered.
अद्यापि तत्र ये वध्यास् ते तदर्थं महीभुजा । दीयन्ते मित्रसम्माने के हि नाध्यवसायिनः
Even today, those who are to be sacrificed are given there by the king for that purpose, as a mark of friendship—who indeed would not be resolute?