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.
आक्रुष्टम् उद्धतरवं रुदितं विपत्सु भुक्तं कदन्नम् उषितं हतपक्कणेषु । कालान्तरं बहु मयोपहतेन तत्र दुर्वासनानिगडबन्धगतेन सभ्याः
There, bound by the chains of bad habits, I endured much: being shouted at, harsh words, weeping in misfortune, eating poor food, and sleeping in ruined huts, O noble ones.
अथ गच्छति काले ऽत्र जराजर्जरितायुषि । तुषारपूर्णशष्पौघसमश्मश्रुधृते मयि
Then, as time passes here, with my life worn out by old age, my hair white as frost, and my body frail like grass filled with dew,
कर्मवातावनुन्नेषु सरसेष्व् अरसेष्व् अपि । पतत्सु वासरौघेषु शीर्णपर्णगणेष्व् इव
When actions are tossed about by the winds of karma, in lakes both clear and turbid, as days fall away like clusters of dried leaves,
आजाव् इव शरौघेषु सुखदुःखेष्व् अनारतम् । कलहेष्व् अथ कार्येषु आगच्छत्सु व्रजत्सु च
Just as arrows gather on a battlefield, so do pleasures and pains come ceaselessly, as do conflicts and duties, arriving and departing,
विकल्पकलनावर्तवर्तिनीव जगद्भ्रमे । समुद्र इव कल्लोलभरे भ्रमति चेतसि
Like the whirlpool of thoughts spinning in the world’s illusion, the mind wanders, as the ocean swirls with waves,
चलं चिन्ताचितं चक्रम् आरूढे भ्रान्त आत्मनि । प्रोह्यमाने तृण इव सावर्ते कालसागरे
The restless wheel of thoughts, built from worries, turns in the confused self, tossed about like a blade of grass in the whirlpool of the ocean of time,
विन्ध्योर्वीव्रणकीटस्य ग्रामैकशरणस्य च । द्विबाहोर् गर्दभस्यात्र क्षीण इत्थं समागणे
Like the insect in a wound on the Vindhya mountain, or a donkey with only two legs, or one who has only a single village for refuge, so am I, weakened in this gathering,
विस्मृते मम भूपत्वे शवस्येव महाज्वरे । चण्डालत्वे स्थिरीभूते छिन्नपक्ष इवाचले
With my kingship forgotten, like a corpse in a great fever, settled in the state of an outcaste, like a bird with broken wings on a mountain,
संसारम् इव कल्पान्तो दावाग्निर् इव काननम् । सागरोर्मिस् तटम् इव शुष्कवृक्षम् इवाशनिः
Like the end of an age for the world, like a forest consumed by wildfire, like a dry tree struck by lightning, or a wave crashing on the shore,
अकाण्डमरणोड्डीनचण्डचण्डालमण्डलम् । निरन्नतृणपत्त्राम्बु विन्ध्यकच्छं तदा ययौ
Then, the Vindhya region became a desolate expanse, with a fierce, unbroken ring of death, devoid of food, grass, leaves, or water.
न वर्षति घनव्राते दृष्टनष्टे क्वचित् स्थिते । पूताङ्गारकणोन्मिश्रगतौ वहति मारुते
No rain fell from the massed clouds, which vanished from sight and did not return; the wind carried only ashes mixed with glowing embers.
शीर्णमर्मरपर्णासु दावाग्निवलितासु च । वनस्थलीषु शून्यासु चिरप्रव्रजितास्व् इव
In the forests, leaves were shriveled and rustling, scorched by wildfire, and the groves stood empty, as if abandoned long ago.
अकाण्डम् अभवद् भीमम् उद्दामदवपावकम् । शोषिताशेषगहनं भस्मशेषतृणोलपम्
A dreadful, uncontrolled blaze arose without warning, drying up every thicket, leaving only ashes and remnants of grass.
पांसुधूसरसर्वाङ्गं क्षुधिताशेषमानवम् । निरन्नतृणपानीयदेशोद्यद्दावमण्डलम्
All bodies were covered in dust, and every person was hungry; the land, lacking food, grass, and water, was encircled by wildfire.
कचन्मरुमरीच्यम्बुमज्जन्महिषमण्डलम् । वातोत्थसैकतव्यूहवारिवाहावृताम्बरम्
The region was filled with buffaloes sinking into mirages and sand, while the wind raised heaps of sand and clouds covered the sky.
पानीयशब्दमात्रैकश्रवणोत्कनरव्रजम् । आतपाद् अतिसंशोषसीदत्सकलमानवम्
Crowds of people, longing only to hear the sound of water, suffered from the intense heat, which dried up all life.
पुत्रग्रसनसंरब्धक्षुधितोज्झितजीवितम् । स्वाङ्गचर्वणसंरम्भलुठद्दशनमण्डलम्
Driven by hunger, some lost their lives in a frenzy to devour their own children; others, in desperation, gnawed at their own limbs, their teeth sunk deep as they writhed.
मांसशङ्कानिगीर्णोग्रखदिराग्निकणोत्करम् । मण्डूकाशावशग्रस्तवनपाषाणखण्डकम्
A place strewn with fragments of meat, bones, and sharp splinters of khadira wood, with embers scattered about, and stones gnawed by famished frogs.
अन्योऽन्यद्रुतसंसक्तमातृपुत्रपितृव्रजम् । गृध्रोदररटत्साग्रनिगीर्णवनशारिकम्
There, mothers, sons, and fathers, all mingled together, are swiftly seized by one another; the forest mynas are swallowed whole by vultures with roaring bellies.
परस्पराङ्गविच्छेदरक्तसिक्तधरातलम् । हरिग्रसनसंरब्धमत्तक्षुभितवारणम्
The ground is soaked with blood from the severed limbs of creatures attacking each other, while maddened elephants, agitated by the frenzy of lions, are fiercely devoured.