अन्तश्शून्यापि सर्वत्र दृश्यते ऽसारसुन्दरी । न क्वचित् संस्थितापीह सर्वत्रैवोपलक्ष्यते
Though empty within, everywhere it is seen as a beauty without substance; though not settled anywhere, it is observed everywhere.
जडैव चिन्मयीवासाव् अन्यस्पन्दोपजीविनी । निमेषम् अप्य् अतिष्ठन्ती स्थैर्याशङ्कां प्रयच्छति
Though inert, it seems conscious, living by the movement of another; even while not lasting a moment, it gives the impression of stability.
ज्वालेव शुद्धवर्णापि मषीमलिनकोटरा । वल्गत्य् अन्यप्रसादेन क्षीयते तदवीक्षिता
Like a flame, pure in color yet dark at its core with soot; it flickers by another's favor, and fades away when not regarded.
आलोके विमले म्लाना तमस्य् अतिविराजते । मृगतृष्णेव सुस्फारा नानावर्णविलासिनी
Pale in pure light, yet shining brightly in darkness; like a mirage, it appears full and splendid, displaying many colors.
वक्रा विषमयी तन्वी मृद्वी कण्टककर्कशा । ललना चञ्चला क्षुद्धा तृष्णा जिह्वेव भोगिनः
Crooked, perilous, slender, soft yet prickly and rough; a restless, hungry maiden—craving, like the tongue of a serpent.
स्वयं दीपशिखेवाशु क्षीयते स्नेहसङ्क्षये । सिन्दूरधूलिलेखेव विना रागं न रञ्जते
Just as a lamp quickly fades when its oil is exhausted, or as a streak of vermilion dust does not shine without color, so too does it lose its luster without attachment.
क्षणप्रकाशा तरला कृतसंस्था जडाशये । मुग्धानां त्रासजननी वक्रा विद्युद् इवोदिता
Ephemeral and flickering, established in inertness, it appears suddenly and frightens the innocent, like a crooked lightning flash.
यत्नाद् गृहीत्वा दहति भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते । लभ्यते ऽपि च नान्विष्टा विद्युद्वद् अतिभङ्गुरा
Though seized with effort, it burns and repeatedly dissolves; even when found, it is not sought after, as fragile as lightning.
अप्रार्थितैवोपनता रमणीयाप्य् अनर्थदा । अकालपुष्पमालेव श्रेयसे नाभिनन्दिता
Unasked, it arrives; though delightful, it brings misfortune. Like an untimely blossom, it is not welcomed for one's welfare.
अत्यन्तविस्मृतैवातिसुखाय भ्रमदायिनी । दुस्स्वप्नकलनेवेयम् अनर्थायैव सूत्थिता
Utterly forgotten, it brings wandering joy; yet, like the creation of a bad dream, it arises only for harm.
प्रतिभासवशाद् एव त्रिजगन्ति महान्ति च । मुहूर्तमात्रेणोत्पाद्य धत्ते ग्रासीकरोति च
By the power of appearance alone, it creates and sustains the three vast worlds for a moment, then devours them.
मुहूर्तो वत्सरश्रेणी लवणस्यानया कृता । रात्रिर् द्वादशवर्षाणि हरिश्चन्द्रस्य निर्मिता
A moment becomes a series of years through it; a night of twelve years was fashioned for Harishchandra by its agency.
वियोगिनाम् अथान्येषां कान्ताविरहशालिनाम् । रात्रिर् वत्सरवद् दीर्घा भवत्य् अस्याः प्रसादतः
For those separated from their beloved, for those suffering the pain of separation, a night becomes as long as a year by its influence.
सुखितस्याल्पताम् एति दुःखितस्यैति दीर्घताम् । कालो ह्य् अस्याः प्रसादेन विपर्यासैकशालिना
For one who is happy, time appears short; for one who is unhappy, it seems long. By the influence of this alone, time is marked by a single quality: reversal.
अस्यास् स्वसत्तामात्रेण कर्तृतैतासु वृत्तिषु । दीपस्यालोककार्याणां यथा तद्वन् न वस्तुतः
By its mere existence, it appears to be the agent in these activities, just as a lamp seems to be the doer of the acts of illumination; but in reality, it is not so.
सनितम्बस्तना चित्रे न स्त्री स्त्रीधर्मिणी यथा । तथैवाकारधीरेयं कर्तुं योग्या न किञ्चन
Just as a painted figure with hips and breasts is not truly a woman, nor does it possess the nature of womanhood, so too this form, though it appears, is not truly fit to act as anything.
मनोराज्यम् इवाकारभास्वरा सत्यवर्जिता । सहस्रशतशाखापि न किञ्चित् परमार्थतः
Like a kingdom imagined in the mind, shining with forms but devoid of reality, even if it has hundreds or thousands of branches, in truth it is nothing at all.
अरण्ये मृगतृष्णेव मिथ्यैवाडम्बरान्विता । विडम्बयति तान् मुग्धमृगान् एव न मानुषान्
Like a mirage in the forest, adorned with false display, it deceives only the bewildered deer, not human beings.
फेनमालेव सञ्जातध्वस्ता विच्छेदवर्जिता । जडैव चञ्चलाकारा गृह्यमाना न किञ्चन
Like foam that arises and is destroyed, without true separation, it is inert, though appearing restless in form, and when grasped, is found to be nothing.
अनन्या चेतनस्यापि नूनम् अन्येव च स्थिता । क्रिमितन्तुर् इवादीर्घा जडैवाप्य् अजडाश्रिता
Though not different from consciousness, it certainly appears as something else; like a short thread of a worm, it is inert, yet dependent on the non-inert.
कलुषोड्डामरकारा रजःप्रसरधूसरा । चला कल्पान्तवात्येव स्वाक्रान्तभुवनान्तरा
Turbid, with an arrogant appearance, dusted by the spread of passion, it is unsteady like a hurricane at the end of an age, encompassing its own world.
धूमालीवाङ्गसंलग्ना दाहस्वेदप्रदायिनी । गर्भीकृतरसाक्रम्य जगन्ति परिवर्तते
Like a trail of smoke clinging to the limbs, giving rise to burning and sweat, she moves through the worlds, having absorbed their essence within herself.
धारा जलधरस्येव सुदीर्घा जडनिर्मिता । असारसङ्घातदृढरज्जुस् तृणगणैर् इव
Her stream is long, fashioned by inertia, like the flow of a raincloud; her cord is firm, made of insubstantial clusters, like a rope woven from blades of grass.
तरङ्गोत्पलमालेव कल्पनामात्रवर्णिता । मृणालीव बहुच्छिद्रा पङ्कप्रौढा जडात्मिका
She is described only by imagination, like a wave or a lotus; full of many holes like a lotus stem, thick with mud, and composed of inertia.
ज्वालेव दृश्यते वृद्धितत्परा न च वर्धते । विषास्वाद इवापातमधुरान्ते सुदारुणा
She appears like a flame, intent on growth yet never increasing; sweet at first like the taste of poison, but ultimately exceedingly harsh.
नष्टा दीपशिखेवैषा न जाने क्वेह गच्छति । मिहिकेवाग्रदृष्टापि गृह्यमाणा न किञ्चन
She vanishes like a lamp’s flame—I do not know where she goes; like mist seen from afar, when grasped, she is nothing at all.
पांसुमुष्टिर् इवास्तीर्य प्रेक्षिता पारमाणवी । आकाशनीलिमेवैषा निर्निमित्तैव दृश्यते
Spread out like a handful of dust, she is observed as atomic; like a haze in the sky, she is seen without any cause.
द्विचन्द्रमोहवज् जाता स्वप्नवद् विहितभ्रमा । यथा नौयायिनस् स्थाणुस्पन्दस् तद्वद् इहोत्थिता
She arises like the confusion of seeing two moons, or the delusion of a dream; just as the motion of a stationary object is perceived by those on a moving ship, so she appears here.
अनयोपहते चित्ते दीर्घकालम् इवाकुलैः । जनैर् आलक्ष्यते दीर्घस् संसारस्वप्नविभ्रमः
When the mind is afflicted by her, people perceive for a long time the bewildering dream of worldly existence, as if troubled and restless.
मनोज्ञम् अपि सत्यं च दृश्यते सद् असत्तया । अमनोज्ञम् असत्यं च दृश्यते ऽसच् च सत्तया
Even what is pleasing and true is perceived sometimes as real, sometimes as unreal; and what is displeasing and untrue is sometimes perceived as unreal, sometimes as real.