महाकल्पाभिधानेभ्यो वृक्षेभ्यः परिशातयन् । देवासुरगणान् पक्वान् फलभारान् अवस्थितः
Standing amidst the trees named after great aeons, it shakes down the ripe fruits—gods and demons—gathered in clusters.
आलोलभूतमषकघुङ्घुमानां प्रपातिनाम् । ब्रह्माण्डोडुम्बरौघानां बृहत्पादपतां गतः
It strides with vast feet among swarms of universes, buzzing like restless gnats and falling, tossed about.
सत्तामात्रकुमुद्वत्या चिज्ज्योत्स्नापरिफुल्लया । वपुर् विनोदयत्य् एकः क्रियाप्रियतमान्वितः
With the lotus of pure existence blossoming under the radiance of consciousness, it delights in its own form, accompanied by its beloved actions.
अनन्तापायपर्यन्तं बद्धपीठं निजं वपुः । महाशैलवद् उत्तुङ्गम् अवलम्ब्य व्यवस्थितः
It establishes its own form, boundless from beginning to end, set high like a great mountain, and remains steadfast.
क्वचिच् छ्यामातमश्श्यामं क्वचित् कान्तियुतं ततम् । द्वयेनापि क्रमाद् रिक्तं स्वभावं भावयन् स्थितः
At times, he appears dark as a shadow, at times, he shines with radiance; yet, by turns, he remains empty of both, abiding in his own nature.
संलीनासङ्ख्यसंसारसारया स्वात्मसत्तया । गुर्वीव भारघनया निबद्धपदतां गतः
Merged with the essence of countless worlds through the reality of his own self, he stands fixed, as if bound by a great and weighty mass.
न खिद्यते न म्रियते नायाति न च गच्छति । नास्तम् एति न चोदेति महाकल्पशतैर् अपि
He does not suffer, nor does he die; he neither comes nor goes; he neither sets nor rises, even through hundreds of great aeons.
केवलं जगदारम्भलीलया घनहेलया । यापयत्य् आत्मनात्मानम् अनहङ्कारम् आगतम्
Only for the play of beginning the world, with effortless ease, he passes time within himself, having attained a state free from ego.
यामिनीपङ्ककलिलां दिनकोकनदावलीम् । क्रियाभ्रमरिकां स्वात्मसरस्स्व् आरोपयन् स्थितः
He remains, projecting the night’s muddy darkness and the day’s lotus array, the bee of action, upon the lake of his own self.
गृहीत्वा भीषणः कृष्णां रजनीं जीर्णमार्जनीम् । आलोककनकक्षोदम् आहरत्य् अभितो ऽवनिम्
Seizing the dreadful black night, the worn-out sweeper, he brings forth the golden dust of light all around the earth.
सञ्चारयन् क्रियाङ्गुल्या कोणकेष्व् अर्कदीपिकाम् । जगत्सद्मनि कारुण्यात् क्व किम् अस्तीति वीक्षते
With the finger of action, he moves the lamp of the sun into the corners; out of compassion, he observes what and where things are in the house of the world.
प्रेक्ष्याहानि निमेषेण सूर्याक्ष्णा पाकवन्त्य् अलम् । लोकपालफलान्य् अत्ति जगज्जीर्णवनाद् अयम्
Beholding the days ripen in a moment with the sun’s eye, he consumes the fruits of the world-guardians, like one who devours the produce of an ancient forest.
जगज्जीर्णकुटीकीर्णान् अर्पयत्य् उग्रकोटरे । क्रमेण गुणवल्लोकमणीन् मृत्युसमुद्गके
Death, like a fierce chest, gradually deposits the jewels of worlds—worn-out huts of the universe—into its dreadful cavity.
गुणैर् आपूर्यते यैव लोकरत्नावली भृशम् । भूषार्थम् इव ताम् अङ्गे कृत्वा भूयो निकृन्तति
The string of world-gems, thoroughly filled with qualities, he adorns upon himself as if for decoration, and then again cuts it off.
दिनहंसानुसृतया निशेन्दीवरमालया । ताराकेसरयाजस्रं चपलो वलयत्य् अलम्
With the garland of night-lotuses following the swan of day, the fickle one ever encircles the sky with the rays of stars as filaments.
शैलोर्णद्युधराशृङ्गजगदूर्णायुसौनिकः । प्रत्यहं पिबति प्रोक्ष्य तारारक्तकणान् अपि
The wine-seller of life, who stirs the mountain, river, cloud, and world, daily drinks up, after sprinkling, even the red drops of stars.
तारुण्यनलिनीसोम आयुर्मातङ्गकेसरी । न तद् अस्ति न यस्यायं तुच्छातुच्छस्य तस्करः
There is nothing—no youth, no lotus, no moon, no lion’s mane of life—that this thief of the trivial and the great does not seize.
कल्पकेलिविलासेन पिष्टपातितजन्तुना । न्यग्भावोद्भवहासेन रमते स्वात्मनात्मनि
With the sport of the world-cycle, crushing and casting down creatures, he delights in his own self, with the smile of arising and subsiding.
कर्ता भोक्ताथ संहर्ता स्मर्ता सर्वपदं गतः । सर्वम् एव करोतीदं न करोति च किञ्चन
He is the doer, the enjoyer, the destroyer, the rememberer, who has reached every state; he does all this, yet does nothing at all.
सकलम् अप्य् अकलाकलितान्तरं सुभगदुर्भगरूपधरं वपुः । प्रकटयन् सहसैव च गोपयन् विलसतीह हि कालबलं नृषु
The power of time, shining among people, at once reveals and conceals the entire form—bearing both auspicious and inauspicious shapes, and marked by all divisions of time.
अस्योड्डामरलीलस्य दूरास्तसकलापदः । संसारे राजपुत्रस्य कालस्याकलितौजसः
All the steps of this grand play are far removed from the prince in the world, whose strength has not been measured by time.
अस्मिन्न् आचरतो दीनैर् मुग्धैर् भूतमृगव्रजैः । आखेटकं जर्जरिते जगज्जङ्गलजालके
In this, as he acts, with the herds of bewildered, miserable creatures, the world, worn out, becomes a hunting ground in the thicket of existence.
एकदेशोल्लसच्चारुवडवानलपङ्कजा । क्रीडापुष्करिणी रम्या कल्पकालमहार्णवः
In one place, a beautiful lotus of submarine fire arises; a delightful lake of play, the great ocean of the age of dissolution.
कटुतिक्ताम्ब्लभूताढ्यैस् सदधिक्षीरसागरैः । तैर् एव तैः पर्युषितैर् जगद्भिः कालवर्तनम्
The course of time in the world is filled with those very beings, aged in the sour, bitter, and salty seas of existence.
चण्डी चतुरसञ्चारा सर्वमातृगणान्विता । संसारवनविन्यस्तनरैणाकर्षणी वृकी
The fierce one, moving in all directions, accompanied by all the hosts of mothers, is the she-wolf in the forest of existence, drawing the deer of men.
पृथ्वी करतले पृथ्वी पानपात्री रसान्विता । कमलोत्पलकल्हारलोलजालकमालिता
The earth is on her palm, the earth is a drinking vessel filled with flavors, adorned with nets of swaying lotuses, water-lilies, and garlands of flowers.
विरावी विकटास्फालो नृसिंहो भुजपञ्जरे । सटाविकटपीनांसः कान्तः क्रीडाशकुन्तकः
Roaring, striking fiercely, the man-lion in the cage of arms, with a mane broad and muscular, is the beloved playful bird.
अलाबुवीणामधुरश् शरद्व्योमामलच्छविः । देवः किल महाकालो लीलाकोकिलबालकः
Sweet as the music of a gourd-vina, with the pure radiance of the autumn sky, the god, indeed, is Mahakala, the playful young cuckoo.
अजस्रस्फूर्जिताकारो वान्तदुःखशराशनिः । अभावनामकोदण्डः परिस्फुरति सर्वतः
With a form that constantly roars, casting away the arrows of suffering, wielding the bow named 'non-conception', it vibrates everywhere.
अनुत्तमस्फुरितविलासवर्धितो भ्रमन् हरन् परिविलसन् विदारयन् । जरज्जगज्जरढविलोलमर्कटः परिस्फुरद्वपुर् इह काल ईहते
Enhanced by the supreme play of vibration, wandering, seizing, whirling, tearing apart, this aged, world-worn, restless monkey—here, time—makes its body pulse.