अपरिज्ञातम् एनं ते धर्मराजं त्रयो ऽसुराः । न प्रणेमुर् विनाशाय सामान्यम् इव किङ्करम्
The three asuras did not recognize the Lord of Dharma; they did not bow to him, mistaking him for an ordinary servant, and thus brought about their own destruction.
अथ वैवस्वतेनैते ज्वलितश्वभ्रभूमिषु । विहितभ्रूपरिस्पन्दम् आदेशेन निवेशिताः
Then, by the command of Vaivasvata, they were placed upon blazing, fiery grounds, their brows set in grim determination.
तत्र ते करुणाक्रन्दास् ससुहृद्दारबान्धवाः । दग्धास् सपर्णविटपा वृक्षा इव दवानलैः
There, together with their dear friends, wives, and relatives, they wailed in anguish, burned up like trees with leafy branches consumed by a forest fire.
स्वया वासनया जातास् तथैव क्रूरया पुनः । वधकर्मकराकाराः कैराता राजकिङ्कराः
By their own cruel tendencies, they were born again in similar forms—as executioners, hunters, and royal servants.
तज् जन्माथ परित्यज्य जातास् सुह्मेषु वायसाः । तदन्ते गृध्रतां यातास् ततो ऽपि बकतां गताः
Then, abandoning that birth, they were born as crows among the Suhmas; after that, they became vultures, and then, after that, they took birth as herons.
शवरत्वं त्रिगर्तेषु मेषत्वं बर्बरेषु च । मगधेष्व् अथ कीटत्वं चक्रुस् ते वक्रबुद्धयः
They, whose minds were crooked, became corpses among the Trigartas, sheep among the Barbaras, and insects among the Magadhas.
अनुभूयेतराम् अत्र चित्रां योनिपरम्पराम् । अद्य मत्स्यास् स्थिता राम कश्मीरारण्यपल्वले
Here, one experiences a bewildering succession of births; today, O Rama, some exist as fish in the marshes and forests of Kashmir.
दावाग्निक्वथिताल्पाल्पपङ्ककल्कानुपायिनः । न म्रियन्ते न जीवन्ति जरज्जम्बालजर्जराः
Scorched by forest fires, stuck in shallow, muddy filth, they neither die nor live, worn out and decayed like rotting moss.
विचित्रयोनिसंरम्भम् अनुभूय पुनः पुनः । भूत्वा भूत्वा पुनर् नष्टास् तरङ्गा जलधाव् इव
Having repeatedly undergone various kinds of births, they arise and vanish again and again, like waves in the ocean.
भवजलधिगतास् ते वासनावातनुन्नास् तृणम् इव चिरम् ऊढा देहरूपैस् तरङ्गैः । उपशमम् अनुयाता राम नाद्याप्य् अनन्तं परिकलय महत्त्वं दारुणं वासनायाः
Carried for long by the winds of tendencies, they have entered the ocean of existence, bearing bodies like waves of grass; even now, O Rama, they have not attained peace—consider the dreadful power of tendencies as truly immense.
अविवेकानुसन्धानाच् चित्तम् आपदम् ईदृशीम् । अनन्ततरदुःखाय परिगृह्णाति लीलया
Due to the pursuit of non-discrimination, the mind, by its own play, embraces such calamity, leading to endless suffering.
क्व किलामरविध्वंसिशम्बरानीकनाथता । क्व तापतप्तजम्बालजलजर्जरमीनता
Where is that lordship which destroyed the hosts of gods and demons, and where is this state of being a fish, battered and decayed by burning heat and filth?
क्व धैर्यम् अमरानीकविद्रावणकरं महत् । क्व किरातमहीपालक्षुद्रकिङ्कररूपता
Where is that courage which drove away the armies of the gods, and where is this condition of being a petty servant, a tribal chief or minor king?
क्व नाम निरहङ्कारचित्सत्त्वोदारधीरता । क्व मिथ्यावासनावेशाद् अहङ्कारकुकल्पना
Where indeed is the noble steadfastness of consciousness free from ego, and where is the false imagination of ego arising from the influence of delusive tendencies?
शाखाप्रतानगहना संसारविषमञ्जरी । अहङ्काराङ्कुराद् एव समुदेतीयम् आतता
The dense creeper of worldly existence, with its spreading branches, arises solely from the sprout of ego and extends everywhere.
अहङ्कारम् अतो राम मार्जयान्तः प्रयत्नतः । अहं न कश्चिद् एवेति मार्जयित्वा सुखी भव
Therefore, O Rama, diligently remove the ego within; having erased the notion 'I am someone,' become happy.
अहङ्काराम्बुदच्छन्नं परमार्थेन्दुमण्डलम् । रसायनमयं शीतम् अदृश्यत्वम् उपागतम्
The orb of the moon of ultimate reality, cool and full of nectar, is concealed by the cloud of ego and has become invisible.
अहङ्कारपिशाचात्ता दामव्यालकटास् त्रयः । गतास् सत्ताम् असन्तो ऽपि मायामाहात्म्यदानवाः
The three demons—greed, anger, and delusion—devoured by the goblin of ego, though not real, appear to exist due to the power of illusion.
कश्मीरेषु महापद्मसरसीतीरपल्वले । अद्य मत्स्यास् स्थिता राम शेवाललवलालसाः
On the marshy banks of the great lotus lake in Kashmir, O Rama, today fish remain, delighting in the tender shoots of water plants.
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः । ते ह्य् असन्तः कथं सन्तस् सम्पन्ना इति मे वद
There is no existence for the unreal, nor is there non-existence for the real; tell me, how can those who are unreal become real and established?
एवम् एतन् महाबाहो नासद् भवति हि क्वचित् । कदाचित् किञ्चिद् अप्य् एतद् बृहद् भवति वा तनु
It is indeed so, mighty-armed one; the unreal never comes into being anywhere. Sometimes it appears as something large or subtle, but never truly exists.
किम् असत् सत् स्थितं ब्रूहि किं तत् सद् वाप्य् असत् स्थितम् । निदर्शनेनानेनैव करिष्ये त्वद्विबोधनम्
Tell me, what is unreal that appears as real, and what is real that appears as unreal? With this very example, I will bring you to understanding.
सन्त एव स्थितास् सन्तो ब्रह्मन् वयम् इमे किल । दामादयस् त्व् असन्तो ऽपि वक्षि सन्तस् स्थिता इति
Only the truly existent remain as existent, O Brahman; we are indeed such. But things like ropes and the rest, though nonexistent, you say they remain as existent.
यथा दामादयो राम स्थिता मायामया इह । असत्या एव सत्याभा मृगतृष्णाम्बुपूरवत्
Just as ropes and the like, O Rama, appear established here as creations of illusion—unreal yet seeming real, like water in a mirage—
तथैवेमे वयम् अपि ससुरासुरदानवाः । असत्या एव वल्गामो याम आयाम एव च
So too, we, along with gods, demons, and others, are only apparently existent; we move and act, but it is all mere appearance.
अलीकम् एव त्वद्भावो मद्भावो ऽलीक एव च । अनुभूतो ऽप्य् असद्रूपस् स्वप्ने स्वमरणं यथा
Your sense of self is only imagined, and my sense of self is also imagined; though experienced, it is unreal in nature, like dying in a dream.
मृतो बन्धुर् यथा स्वप्ने ऽप्य् अनुभूतो ऽप्य् असन्मयः । मृतो ऽयम् इति च ज्ञप्तिर् भवेद् एवम् इदं जगत्
Just as a friend who dies in a dream, though experienced, is made of unreality, and the notion 'he is dead' arises—so too is this world.
एषा हि मूढविषया उक्तिर् एव न राजते । अभ्यासेन विनोदेति नानुभूतेर् अपह्नवः
Such talk belongs only to the deluded; it does not shine forth. Through practice, it is dispelled—direct experience cannot be denied.
निश्चयो ऽन्तः प्ररूढो यस् स यत्नाभ्यसनं विना । नाशम् आयाति लोके ऽस्मिन् न कदाचन कस्यचित्
A conviction that has taken root within, without effort or repeated practice, never perishes in this world for anyone, at any time.
इदं जगद् असद् ब्रह्म सत्यम् इत्य् एव वक्ति यः । तम् उन्मत्तम् इवोन्मत्ता विमूढा विहसन्त्य् अलम्
Whoever says, 'This world is unreal; Brahman alone is real,' is mocked by the deluded, just as madmen laugh at another madman.