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.
विनिद्रस्य विधैर्यस्य स्फुरतस् सह पल्लवैः । मम दुःखातिदैर्घ्येण सा व्यतीयाय शर्वरी
Sleepless, restless, trembling along with the leaves, that night dragged on for me in the extreme length of my suffering.
ततस् तिमिरलेखासु सह तारेन्दुकैरवैः । मयीवापद्यमानासु म्लानताम् अलसाननैः
Then, as streaks of darkness faded away together with the stars and the moon, and as my own face grew pale and weary,
शाम्यन्तीषु च वेतालक्ष्वेडास्व् अजनजङ्गले । सह शीतार्तिमद्दन्तपङ्क्तिटाङ्कारसीत्कृतैः
And as the howls of jackals in the wild subsided, along with the chattering of teeth from the cold among those with rows of suffering mouths,
माम् अबन्तरनिर्मग्नं हसन्तीम् इव दृष्टवान् । अहं पूर्वां दिशं प्रातर् मधुपानारुणाम् इव
I saw the eastern direction in the morning, glowing red as if flushed by wine, while she seemed to laugh at me, sunk within myself.
क्षणाद् अज्ञ इव ज्ञानं दरिद्र इव काञ्चनम् । दृष्टवान् अहम् अर्कं खवारणारोहणोन्मुखम्
In a moment, I beheld the sun rising towards the sky’s gateway, as knowledge appears to the ignorant or gold to the poor.
उत्थाय वारवाणं च तत आस्फोटितं मया । हस्तिचर्म हरेणेव सन्ध्यानृत्तानुरागिणा
Then, rising up, I struck my shield, like one enamored with the dance of twilight, striking an elephant hide with a stick.
प्रवृत्तस् ताम् अहं स्फारां विहर्तुं जङ्गलस्थलीम् । कालो जगत्कुटीं कल्पदग्धभूतगणाम् इव
I set out to roam that vast wilderness, as time moves through the world-house, its beings consumed as if by the fire of dissolution.
न किञ्चिद् दृश्यते तत्र भूतं जरढजङ्गले । अभिजातो गुणलवो यथा मूर्खशरीरके
There, in that ancient, desolate jungle, nothing living was seen—just as in the body of a fool, only a trace of virtue is found.
केवलं विगताशङ्कं षण्डभ्रमणचञ्चलाः । चीचीकूचीचीवचना विहरन्ति विहङ्गमाः
Only birds, fearless and restless in their wandering, uttering their cīcī and kūcī sounds, moved about there.
अथाष्टभागम् आपन्ने व्योम्नो दिवसनायके । शुष्कावश्यायलेशासु स्नातास्व् इव लतासु च
Then, when the sun had ascended an eighth part of the sky, I saw the vines as if freshly bathed, with only a trace of withered dew upon them.