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.
रोमभिः कोटिषु प्रोच्चैश् शीतेनोद्धृषितस्य मे । वर्षासु मुक्ताकणवद् धृतास् सलिलबिन्दवः
On my body, bristling with hair in the intense cold of the rainy season, drops of water clung like strings of pearls.
अजाजिमूलखण्डार्थं क्षुत्क्षोभक्षीणकुक्षिणा । कलत्रेण महाटव्यां कृतः कलह आकुलः
In the great forest, there was a tumultuous quarrel with my wife, whose stomach was shrunken by hunger, over a piece of ginger or ajwain root.
वने रणितदन्तेन शीतकेकरचक्षुषा । मषीमलिनगात्रेण वेतालस्वजनायितम्
In the forest, with teeth chattering, eyes wide from the cold, and limbs stained with soot, I appeared like a goblin to my own kin.
सरित्तीरेषु मत्स्यार्थं भ्रान्तं बडिशधारिणा । कल्पे जगत्सु भूतार्थं कृतान्तेनेव पाशिना
On riverbanks, I wandered with a fishing hook in search of fish, like Death himself, holding a noose, roams the worlds seeking living beings.
पीतं बहूपवासेन सम्यक्कृत्तान् मृगोरसः । तत्कालकोष्णं रुधिरं मातुस् स्तनपयो यथा
After many fasts, I drank the freshly drawn, warm blood of a slain animal, just as an infant drinks its mother’s milk.
श्मशानसंस्थितान् मत्तो रक्तरक्तात् पलाशिनः । विद्रुता वनवेतालाश् चण्डिकाभिद्रुता इव
Those intoxicated, blood-stained, and covered in palāś leaves, dwelling in cremation grounds, fled like forest ghouls driven by the fierce goddess.
वागुरा विपिने व्युप्ता बन्धार्थं मृगपक्षिणाम् । आशा इव विवृद्ध्यर्थं पुत्रदारकलत्रजाः
A net is spread in the forest to capture beasts and birds, just as hope is extended for growth through children, wives, and family.
मया मायामयैर् लोकास् सूत्रजालमयैः खगाः । जालैर् जर्जरतां नीता दिशश् च सुकृतायुषाम्
By me, worlds made of illusion, birds woven of threads, and nets have been brought to ruin, as have the directions of those with virtuous lives.
तत्रातिदत्तप्रसरे मनसो दुष्कृतोदये । आशा प्रसारिता दूरं प्रावृषीव तरङ्गिणी
There, with the mind rushing excessively toward evil deeds, hope is stretched far, like a river swelling in the rainy season.
करभ्या इव सर्पेण विद्रुतं दूरतो ह्रिया । दूरे त्यक्ता दया देहाद् भुजङ्गेनेव कञ्चुकम्
Just as a snake quickly sheds its skin from its limbs, so compassion is cast far from the body, abandoned in shame.
क्रौर्यं मुखरसंरम्भि शरवर्षि निनादि च । अङ्गीकृतं निदाघान्ते नभसेवासिताम्बुदः
Cruelty, loud anger, and showers of arrows are adopted, like dark clouds in the sky at the end of summer.
विकासिन्यो ऽक्षताकारा दूरं परिहृता जनैः । श्वभ्रेणेव कुमञ्जर्यश् चिरम् ऊढा मयापदः
Those who flourish, unbroken in form, are avoided by people, like bad luck long carried by me, hidden in a chasm.
श्वकाकाकुलकोणासु नरकोड्डारभूमिषु । उप्ता दुष्कृतबीजानां मुष्टयो मोहवृष्टयः
In corners crowded with dogs and crows, in fields of human suffering, handfuls of seeds of evil deeds are sown, watered by rains of delusion.
वागुरासिमता विन्ध्यकन्दरस्थेन निर्दयम् । भूतेष्व् इव कृतान्तेन मृगेषु परिवल्गितम्
Like a merciless hunter in a mountain cave, casting his net, I moved among the animals as Death moves among living beings.
पामरीकण्ठकुड्येषु विश्रान्तशिरसा मया । सुप्तम् अस्तविवेकेन शेषाङ्गेष्व् इव शौरिणा
With my weary head resting against the mud walls of peasants’ huts, I slept in ignorance, as the serpent rests on the limbs of the sleeping god Vishnu.
विलोलपर्णाम्बरया शरावोल्लासिधूमया । मम तन्वा सनीहारविन्ध्यकच्छगुहायितम्
Clad in fluttering leaves and smoky with the gleam of arrows, my body dwelt in the cold caves along the Vindhya’s slopes.
कृष्णदेहेन यौकाढ्या कन्था स्कन्धे मया चिरम् । ग्रीष्मेषूढा बलोद्भूता वराहेण यथोर्वरा
For a long time, I wore a tattered black garment on my shoulder, thick with filth, as the earth bears the wild boar’s weight in the heat of summer.
बहुशो ऽहं वनोत्थाग्निनिर्दग्धप्राणिमण्डलः । कल्पाग्निभुक्तजगतः कालस्यानुकृतिं गतः
Many times I became like the fire at the end of an age, burning up the creatures of the forest, imitating Time that consumes the world.
लोहलिङ्गा यथा रोगान् अनर्थान् इव दुर्ग्रहाः । प्रसूतास् तत्र मे दारा दुःखान्य् अपि सुतान् अपि
There, my wives and even my children were born to me, hard to manage like iron fetters or misfortunes, bringing suffering.
त्रिबालपुत्रिकेणैकतनयेन तदा मया । नीता नीरन्ध्रदोषेण षष्टिः कल्पसमास् समाः
With only one child, a little boy, I spent sixty brief years there, afflicted by incurable faults.