इह विविधपदार्थसङ्कुलायां ह्रदनदपर्वतपत्तनाकुलायाम् । कुलशिखरिसमुद्रसङ्कटायां भुवि विभवावलितो ऽस्त्य् अयं प्रदेशः
Here, on this earth crowded with various objects—filled with lakes, rivers, mountains, and cities, with peaks and oceans close together—there is a region adorned with prosperity.
अस्ति तावद् अयं देशो नानावननदीयुतः । वसुधामण्डलस्यास्य सहोदर इवानुजः
There is, to begin with, this land, adorned with various forests and rivers, like a younger brother to this globe of earth.
अस्मिंश् चायम् अहम् राजा पौराभिमतवृत्तिमान् । इन्द्रस् स्वर्ग इवास्यां तु सभायाम् अद्य संस्थितः
And here I am the king, conducting myself according to the wishes of the citizens, just as Indra presides in his assembly in heaven.
यावद् अभ्यागतो दूरात् कश्चिच् छाम्बरिकस् त्व् अयम् । रसातलाद् अभ्युत्थितो मायी मय इव स्वयम्
Then, from afar, someone named Shambarika arrived—he seemed to have risen from the netherworld, like the magician Maya himself.
अनेन भ्रामितैषेह पिञ्छिका राजिराजिता । कल्पान्तपवनाभ्रेण शक्रचापलता यथा
By him, this peacock-feathered wand was spun here, its line made radiant, like Indra’s lightning streaked by the wind at the end of an age.
आलोक्यैताम् अहं लोलाम् अस्याश्वस्य पुरस्स्थितेः । पृष्ठम् आरूढवान् एक आत्मना भ्रान्तमानसः
Seeing this restless thing placed before his horse, I, with a mind disturbed, mounted its back alone.
ततो ऽद्रिं प्रलयक्षुब्धं पुष्करावर्तको यथा । तथा चलन्तं चलितस् स्वश्वम् आरूढवान् अहम्
Then, as a whirlwind stirs a mountain at the world’s end, so did I mount my agitated horse as it moved unsteadily.
गन्तुं प्रवृत्तो मृगयाम् एको ऽहम् अथ रंहसा । उर्वराम् इव निर्भेत्तुं कल्लोलः प्रलयाम्बुधेः
I set out swiftly, alone, to hunt—like a wave of the doomsday ocean rushing to break upon the land.
तेनानिलविलोलेन दूरं नीतो ऽस्मि वाजिना । भोगाभ्यासजडेनाज्ञो मुग्धस् स्वमनसा यथा
By that wind-tossed steed, I was carried far away—ignorant and bewildered, dulled by habitual pleasures, just as one’s own mind leads one astray.
अकिञ्चनमनश्शून्यं स्त्रीचित्तम् इव दुर्भगम् । ततः प्रलयनिर्दग्धजगदास्पदभीषणम्
My mind was destitute and empty, as unfortunate as the heart of a woman, and terrifying like the abode of a world consumed by dissolution.
निष्पक्षि क्षारनीहारं निर्वृक्षम् अजलं महत् । सम्प्राप्तो ऽहम् अपर्यन्तम् अरण्यं तान्तवाहनः
I arrived, exhausted, at a vast, endless wilderness—without birds, with saline mist, without trees, and devoid of water.
तद् द्वितीयम् इवाकाशं तथाष्टमम् इवाम्बुधिम् । पञ्चमं सागरम् इव संशुष्कं शून्यकोटरम्
It was like a second sky, or an eighth ocean, or a fifth sea—dry, with hollow emptiness.
ज्ञस्येव विततं चेतो मूर्खस्येव रुषो ऽजवम् । अदृष्टजनसंसर्गम् अजाततृणपल्लवम्
It was spread out like the mind of a wise man, swift in anger like a fool, untouched by the presence of people, and without any grass or sprouts ever born.
अरण्यं महद् आसाद्य मतिर् मे खेदम् आगता । ललनेवैत्य दारिद्र्यं निरन्नफलबान्धवम्
Having reached that great forest, my mind became weary, like a woman encountering poverty, with no food, fruit, or kin.
कचन्मरुमरीच्यम्बुपूरप्लुतककुब्मुखे । आसूर्यान्तं दिनं तत्र प्रक्रान्तं सीदता मया
In that place, whose quarters were flooded with mirages and the illusion of water in the desert, I, sinking down, spent the sunless day.
तद् अरण्यं मयातीतम् अतिकृच्छ्रेण खेदिना । विवेकिनेव संसारो मध्यशून्यातताकृतिः
I passed through that forest with great difficulty and fatigue, like a discerning person traversing the void-like expanse of worldly existence.
तद्दिनेनातिवाह्याहं प्राप्तवाञ् जङ्गलं महत् । अस्ताद्रिसानुं खिन्नः खं शून्यं भ्रान्त्वेव भास्करः
Having spent that day, I, weary, reached a vast wilderness—like the sun, having wandered through empty space, arrives at the peak of the western mountain.
जम्बूकदम्बप्रायेषु कलालापाः पतत्रिणः । यत्र स्फुरन्ति षण्डेषु पान्थानाम् इव बन्धवः
In groves thick with jambu and kadamba trees, the birds' chatter bursts forth, like the lively talk of travelers among their friends.
यत्र शष्पशिखाश्रेण्यो दृश्यन्ते ऽविरलास् स्थले । कदर्थलक्ष्म्या जिह्मस्य हृदीवानन्दवृत्तयः
There, on the ground, rows of grass blades are seen, unbroken, like the fleeting joys in the crooked heart of one favored by fickle fortune.
पूर्वाद् अरण्याद् अरसात् तद् धि किञ्चित् सुखावहम् । अत्यन्तदुःखान् मरणाद् वरं व्याधिर् हि जन्तुषु
Compared to the earlier forest, this place is somewhat more pleasant; for among creatures, disease is preferable to the utter misery of death.
तत्र जम्बीरषण्डस्य तलं सम्प्राप्तवान् अहम् । मार्काण्डेय इवागेन्द्रम् एकार्णवविहारतः
There I reached the base of a jambīra grove, like Markandeya approaching Indra after wandering alone upon the one great ocean.
आलम्बिता मया तत्र स्कन्धसंसङ्गिनी लता । नीला जलदमालेव तापतप्तेन भूभृता
There I grasped a vine clinging to a branch, as a parched mountain would embrace a dark raincloud.
मयि प्रलम्बमाने ऽस्यां प्रयातस् स तुरङ्गमः । गङ्गावलम्बिनि जने यथा दुष्कृतसञ्चयः
As I hung upon it, the horse departed, just as accumulated misdeeds leave a person who takes refuge in the Ganga.
चिरदीर्घाध्वगः खिन्नस् तत्र विश्रान्तवान् अहम् । भानुर् अस्ताचलोत्सङ्गे तले कल्पतरोर् इव
Weary from a long and difficult journey, I rested there, like the sun pausing at the base of the western mountain, beneath the wish-fulfilling tree.
यावत् समस्तसंसारव्यवहारभरैस् समम् । रविर् विश्रमणायेव निविष्टो ऽस्ताचलाङ्गने
As the sun, together with the burdens of all worldly affairs, settles to rest upon the slope of the western mountain, so did I find repose.
शनैश् श्यामिकया ग्रस्ते समस्ते भुवनोदरे । रात्रिसंव्यवहारेषु सम्प्रवृत्तेषु जङ्गले
As the entire world was gradually enveloped by the darkness of night, and nocturnal activities began in the wilderness,
अहं तनुतृणे तस्मिन् पेलवे षण्डकोदरे । निलीनो ऽविरलालस्यस् स्वनीडे विहगो यथा
I, in that hollow of sparse, thin grass, hid myself, utterly weary, like a bird in its own nest.
विपद्भ्रष्टविवेकस्य च्छिन्नाशस्य गलत्स्मृतेः । विक्रीतस्येव दीनस्य मग्नस्येवान्धकूपके
Deprived of discernment by misfortune, with hopes cut off and memory slipping away, I was like a wretched man sold into bondage, or one sunk in a dark pit.
तत्र कल्पसमा रात्रिर् मोहमग्नस्य मे गता । एकार्णवोह्यमानस्य मार्काण्डेयमुनेर् इव
There, immersed in delusion, a night passed for me as long as an age, like the sage Markandeya being tossed upon the single ocean.
न स्नातवान् न स्थितवान् न तदा भुक्तवान् अहम् । केवलं मे गता रात्रिस् सापदां धुरि तिष्ठतः
I did not bathe, nor stand up, nor eat at that time; the night simply passed for me as I bore the burden of my misfortunes.