निरभ्राम्बरनक्षत्रे कस्मिंश्चिन् दिवसे ततः । तैस् तैर् आरम्भसंरम्भैस् तैर् वस्त्रविभवार्पणैः
Then, on a certain day when the sky was clear, adorned with stars, with various ceremonies, bustling activities, and offerings of garments and wealth,
दत्ताथ तेन सा मह्यं कुमारी भयदायिनी । सुकृष्णा कृष्णवर्णेन दुष्कृतेनेव शासना
That man then gave me his daughter, a maiden who inspired fear, dark-skinned as if she were a punishment for evil deeds.
सरभसम् अभितो विनेदुर् अत्र प्रसृतमहामदिरासवाश् श्वपाकाः । हतपटुपटहा विलासवन्तस् स्वयम् इव दुष्कृतराशयो महान्तः
There, the outcastes, intoxicated with strong liquor, roared loudly all around; the great ones, their minds intent on evil, themselves seemed like the very embodiment of accumulated misdeeds, delighting in the beating of drums and wild revelry.
बहुनात्र किम् उक्तेन स्वोत्सवावर्जिताशयः । ततःप्रभृति तत्राहं सम्पन्नः पुष्टपुक्कसः
What need is there to say much here? From that time onward, with my mind devoid of any joy, I became a wretched and emaciated outcaste.
सप्तरात्रोत्सवस्यान्ते क्रमान् मासाष्टकं गतम् । पुष्पिता साथ सम्पन्ना स्थिता गर्भवती ततः
After the seven-day festival ended, gradually eight months passed; then she became fruitful and pregnant, standing as if bearing a child.
प्रासूत दुःखदां कन्यां विपद् दुःखक्रियाम् इव । सा कन्या ववृधे शीघ्रं मूर्खचिन्तेव पीवरी
She gave birth to a daughter who brought suffering, like a misfortune that brings pain; that girl quickly grew, stout like foolish anxiety.
पुनः प्रासूत सा वर्षैस् त्रिभिः पुत्रम् अशोभनम् । अनर्थम् इव दुर्बुद्धिर् आशापाशविधायकम्
Again, after three years, she gave birth to a son, unattractive, like misfortune itself, dull-witted and bound by the cords of hope.
पुनः प्रासूत कन्यां च पुनर् अप्य् अर्भकं ततः । कलत्रवान् अहं जातो वने जरढपुक्कसः
Again, she gave birth to a daughter, and then once more to a child; thus, I became a husband in the forest, an aged and decrepit outcaste.
तया सह समास् तत्र मया बह्व्यो ऽतिवाहिताः । नरके चिन्तया सार्धं ब्रह्मघ्नेनेव नश्यता
With her, many years passed by for me there; together with worry, like one perishing with the guilt of killing a Brahmin in hell.
शीतवातातपक्लेशविवशेन वनान्तरे । चिरं विलुलितं वृद्धकच्छपेनेव पल्वले
Overcome by the torment of cold, wind, and heat in the depths of the forest, I was tossed about for a long time, like an old turtle in a marsh.
कलत्रचिन्ताहतया धिया सन्दह्यमानया । दृष्टाः कष्टसमारम्भा दिशः प्रज्वलिता इव
Struck by anxiety for my wife, my mind burning within, I saw all directions as if ablaze, filled with painful undertakings.
क्षौमानेकसमाक्षीणपटखण्डकधारिणा । काष्ठभारो वने व्यूढो यो मूर्तम् इव दुष्कृतम्
Wearing a garment patched with many pieces of linen, carrying a load of wood in the forest, he appeared as if the embodiment of misfortune.
यौककीर्णजरक्लिन्नगन्धिकौपीनवाससा । आढ्यास्पदवलीकानां तले नीता घनागमाः
Clad in a loincloth, damp and foul-smelling from old age and filth, he was led beneath the homes of the wealthy, where dense clouds gathered.
कलत्रापूरणोत्केन जर्जरेण हिमानिलैः । हेमन्ते दुर्दुरेणेव निलीनं वनकुक्षिषु
With his wife, worn out and shivering in the cold winds of winter, he was hidden in the depths of the forest, as if in a desolate place.
नानाकलहकल्लोलतापप्रसरविद्रुताः । बाष्पव्याजेन निर्मुक्ता नेत्राभ्यां रक्तबिन्दवः
Driven by the tumult of various quarrels and the heat of discord, drops of blood were released from his eyes under the guise of tears.
यामिन्यो विपिने क्लिन्नवराहामिषभोजिना । शिलातलकुटीकोणे नीता जलदविप्लुताः
The women, soaked and eating the meat of wild boar in the forest, were taken to the corners of huts on stone floors, overwhelmed by the rain clouds.
काले क्षयं गते स्नेहे कलत्रे ऽघनतां गते । असौहार्देन बन्धूनां कलहैश् चातिसन्ततैः
When affection faded with time and the wife became unresponsive, due to the lack of friendliness among relatives and the constant quarrels,
सर्वत्र जातशङ्केन कुलीलामुखरार्भके । मया कृपणचित्तेन नीताः परगृहे समाः
With suspicion everywhere, and children chattering like young birds, I, with a miserable heart, spent years in the homes of others.
चण्डालीकलहोद्विग्नचण्डचण्डालतर्जनैः । मुखं जर्जरतां यातम् इन्दू राहुरदैर् इव
Disturbed by the quarrels of outcasts and their fierce rebukes, my face became worn and battered, like the moon scarred by Rahu's jaws.
चर्विताः खर्वितोष्ठेन द्वीपीपिशितपेशयः । नरकाहृतविक्रीता नारक्यो रसना इव
Chewed with a crushed lip, the shreds of leopard flesh—like tongues of hell-dwellers, bought and consumed in hell.
हिमवत्कन्दरोद्गीर्णाश् चण्डा हेमन्तवायवः । अङ्गे निरम्बरे सोढा मृत्युमुक्ता इवेषवः
Fierce winter winds, expelled from the caves of the Himalayas, endured on the bare body—like arrows freed from death.
जरज्जरढमूढेन मूलानि क्षीणभूरुहाम् । सुकृतानाम् इवैकेन समुत्खातानि भूरिशः
By a decrepit, feeble-minded old man, the roots of withered trees are repeatedly dug up—like the merits of the virtuous, extracted one by one.
शरावकेष्व् अटव्यां च पललं पक्वम् आदरात् । अमृष्टेन जनैर् भुक्तं कुकलत्रवता मया
In the forest, in small bowls, I have eagerly eaten cooked mud, consumed unwashed by people, as if with a wicked wife.
ग्रहीतृतेजःक्षतये बहुवक्त्रविकारिणा । भागधेयम् इवात्मीयं विक्रीतं पण्यम् अन्यतः
For the exhaustion of the eater's strength, my own share—like a personal fortune—has been sold elsewhere by one with many mouths and distorted features.
प्राण्यङ्गवपुषस् स्वस्य प्रोत्कृत्योत्कृत्य पेशयः । आयुषः परि विक्रीता विन्ध्यपक्कणभूमिषु
The flesh of my own living body, cut and cut again, has been sold for a price in the lands of the Vindhya outcasts, as if it were my very lifespan.
जन्मान्तरसहस्रोत्थं स्वं पापम् इव वृद्धये । अवकीर्णं च सङ्कीर्णं मण्डलारामभूमिषु
Like my own sin, accumulated over thousands of births for its increase, it is scattered and mixed in the pleasure-gardens and parks.
दृष्टं कुद्दालकं दृष्ट्या ऋज्व्या स्नेहसमुत्कया । रौरवापतितेनेव तत्काकस् स्निग्धतां गतः
I saw the spade with a direct, affectionate gaze; like one fallen into Raurava hell, that crow became filled with tenderness.
विन्ध्यकन्दरगुल्मानां बन्धुत्वम् इव गच्छता । पुलिन्दवपुषा पत्त्रपङ्क्तयो ऽङ्गे समर्पिताः
As he wandered among the thickets and bushes of the Vindhya forest, rows of leaves were placed upon his body, as if forming kinship with the wild tribes.
तर्पिता लगुडास्फालजितकौलेयरंहसा । पुत्रदाराः कदन्नेन ग्राम्यकाद् याचितेन च
His wife and children were satisfied with coarse food, begged from villagers or obtained by the force of his staff, as he subdued the strong.
धारासाररणत्पत्त्रशुष्कतालतले निशाः । नीता रणितदन्तेन सार्धं विपिनवानरैः
Nights were spent on dry palm leaves, echoing with the cries of wild animals, together with the forest monkeys, while his teeth chattered in the cold.