Bibliotheca Polyglotta

Saundarananda

oṃ namo buddhāya || ||

Homage to the Buddha

gautamaḥ kapilo nāma muni dharmabhṛtāṃ varaḥ |
babhūva tapasi śrāntaḥ kākṣīvān iva gautamaḥ ||

1.1 A sage named Kapila Gautama, an outstanding upholder of dharma,
Became as consumed in ascetic practice as was Kākṣīvat Gautama.

aśiśriyad yaḥ satataṃ dīptaṃ kāśyapavat tapaḥ |
āśiśrāya ca tadvṛddhau siddhim kāśyapavat parām ||

1.2 Ceaselessly he shone his light, like Kāśyapa the sun, on blazing asceticism;
And in promoting that asceticism he pushed himself, like Kāśyapa the sage, to extreme achievement.

haviṁṣi yaś ca svātmārthaṃ gām adhukṣad vasiṣṭhavat |
tapaḥśiṣṭeṣu ca śiṣyeṣu gām adhukṣad vasiṣṭhavat ||

1.3 For the offerings he served himself, he milked a cow, like Vasiṣṭha;
In schooling his disciples in asceticism, he milked a cow, like Vasiṣṭha.

māhātmyād dīrghatapaso yo dvitīya ivābhavat |
tṛtīya iva yaś cābhūt kāyāṅgirasayor dhiyā ||

1.4 In high-mindedness, he was like a second Dīrgha-tapas;
And he was like a third in the mould of Kāvya and Āṅgiras, in religious thought.

tasya vistīrṇatapasaḥ pārśve himavataḥ śubhe |
kṣetraṃ cāyatanaṃ caiva tapasām āśramo ’bhavat ||

1.5 On a bright slope of the Himālayas this man steeped in ascetic practice
Had his ashram, the domain and the very seat of ascetic practices.

cāruvīruttaruvanaḥ prasnigdhamṛduśādvalaḥ |
havirdhūmavitānena yaḥ sadābhra ivābabhau ||

1.6 Wooded with charming shrubs and trees and abounding with lush, soft grass,
It was so thick with sacrificial smoke that it constantly resembled a raincloud.

mṛdubhiḥ saikataiḥ snigdhaiḥ kesarātarapāṇḍubhiḥ |
bhūmibhāgair asaṃkīrṇaiḥ sāṅgarāga ivābhavat ||

1.7 With soft, sandy, and smooth soil, made yellowish white by a covering of kesara blossoms,
And divided into areas, with no commingling, it was like a body painted with cosmetic pigments.

śucibhis tīrthasaṃkhyātaiḥ pāvanair bhāvanair api |
bandhumān iva yas tasthau sarobhiḥ sasaraoruhaiḥ ||

1.8 Pure, esteemed for their sacred presence, edifying, and cultivating
Like friends, were the lakes it stood among – fluent, and bearing lotuses.

paryāptaphalapuṣpābhiḥ sarvato vanarājibhiḥ |
śuśubhe vavṛdhe caiva naraḥ sādhanavān iva ||

1.9 With abundant flowers and fruits beautifying the forests all around it,
It shone and it flourished, like a man furnished with a means.

nīvāraphalasaṃtuṣṭaiḥ svasthaiḥ śāntair anutsukaiḥ |
akīrṇo ’pi tapobhṛdhibhiḥ śūnyaśūnya ivābhavat ||

1.10 Content to feed on wild rice and fruit, the ascetics were self-abiding, inhibited, and retiring,
Though the ashram was full of them, it seemed to be utterly empty.

agnīnāṃ hūyamānānāṃ śikhinā kūjatām api |
tīrthānāṃ cābhiṣekeṣu śuśruve yatra nisvanaḥ ||

1.11 The sound of the fires receiving offerings, of the peacocks with their crested heads uttering their repetitive cry,
And of the sacred bathing places, during ablutions, was all that one heard there.

virejur hariṇā yatra suptā medhyāsu vediṣu |
salājair mādhavīpuṣpair upahārāḥ kṛtā iva ||

1.12 The stags there, their manes beautifully braided, on undefiled elevations fit to be sacrificial altars,
Seemed as though, complete with puffy rice and mādhavi flowers, they had been prepared as religious offerings.

api kṣudramṛgā yatra sāntāś ceruḥ samaṃ mṛgaiḥ |
śarañyebhyas tapasvibhyo vinayaṅ śikṣitā iva ||

1.13 Even lesser creatures moved there in the same subdued manner as the stags,
As if from their ascetic protectors they had learned the rules of discipline.

saṃdigdhe ’py apunarbhāve vidudhheṣv āgameṣv api |
pratyakṣiṇa ivākurvaṃs tapo yatra tapodhanāḥ ||

1.14 Even in the face of precarious immunity to rebirth, and notwithstanding inconsistencies in their time-honoured texts,
There and then, as if seeing with their own eyes, the great ascetics practised asceticism.

yatra sma mīyate brahma kaiś cit kaiś cin na mīyate |
kāle nimīyate somo na cākāle pramīyate ||

1.15 There some prayed to Brahma; none suffered the frustration of losing his way;
The soma, at the right moment, was measured out; and nobody, at a random moment, came to nothing.

nirapekṣāḥ śarireṣu dharme yatra svabhuddhayaḥ |
saṃhṛṣṭā iva yatnena tāpasās te pire tapaḥ ||

1.16 There, each disregarding his body, but having his own view with regard to dharma,
And almost bristling with zeal, the ascetics set about their ascetic practice of asceticism.

śrāmyanto munayo yatra svargāyodyuktacetasaḥ |
taporāgeṇa dharmasya vilopam iva cakrire ||

1.17 There the toiling sages, hearts straining heavenward,
Seemed by their passion for asceticism almost to do dharma a mischief.

atha tejavisadanaṃ tapaḥkṣetraṃ tam āśramam |
kecid ikṣvākavo jagmū rājaputrā vivatsavaḥ ||

1.18 Now, to that ashram, that seat of intensity, that domain of austerity,
There came certain sons of Ikṣvāku, royal princes, wishing to stay.

suvarṇastambhavarṣmāṇaḥ siṃhoraskā mahābhujāḥ |
pātraṃ śabdasya mahataḥ śriyāṃ ca vinayasya ca ||

1.19 Tall they were like golden columns, lion-chested, strong-armed,
Worthy of their great name and royal insignia and good upbringing.

arharūpā hy anarhasya mahātmānaś calātmanaḥ |
prājñāḥ prajñāvimuktasya bhrātṛyasya yavīyasaḥ ||

1.20 For deserving were they, where undeserving was he. Big-minded were they, where fickle-minded was he.
And bright were they, where brainless was he: their younger half-brother

mātṛśulkād upagatāṃ te śriyaṃ na viṣehire |
rarakṣuś ca pituḥ kautsās te bhavanti sma gautamāḥ ||

1.21 The royal authority that had come to him, as his mother’s bride-price, they had not usurped;
Rather, keeping their father’s promise, they had retreated to the forest

teṣaṁ munir upādhyāyo gautamaḥ kapilo ’bhavat|
guru-gotrād ataḥ kautsās te bhavanti sma gautamāḥ||

1.22 The sage Kapila Gautama became their preceptor;
And so, from the guru’s surname, those Kautsas became Gautamas –

ekapitror yathā bhrātroḥ pṛthagguruparigrahāt |
rāma evābhavad gārgyo vāsubhadro ’pi gautamaḥ ||

1.23 Just as, though they were brothers born of one father, because they had different gurus
Rāma became a Gārgya and Vāsubhadra a Gautama.

śākravṛkṣapraticchannaṃ vāsaṃ yasmāc ca cakrire |
tasmād ikṣvākuvaṃśyās te bhuvi śākya iti smṛtāḥ ||

1.24 And since they made a dwelling concealed among śāka trees,
Therefore those descendants of Ikṣvāku were known on earth as Śākyas.

sa teṣāṃ gautamaś cakre svavaṃśasadṛśīḥ kriyāḥ |
munir ūrdhvaṃ kumārasya sagarasyeva bhārgavaḥ ||

1.25 Gautama performed services for them as for his own sons,
Like the Bhārgava sage later did for the child-prince Sagara;

kaṇvaḥ śākuntalasyeva bharatasya tarasviaḥ |
vālmīkir iva dhīmāṃś ca dhīmator maithileyayoḥ ||

1.26 Like Kaṇva did for Śākuntala’s son, the intrepid Bharata;
And like the inspired Vālmīki did for the inspired twin sons of Maithili.

tadvanaṃ muninā tena taiś ca kṣatriyapuṅgavaiḥ |
śāntāṃ guptāṃ ca yugapad brahmakṣatraśriyaṃ dadhe ||

1.27 That forest, through the sage, and through those warrior heroes,
Radiated tranquillity and security – the majesty of the brahmin and of the kṣatriya, in one yoke.

athodakalaśaṃ gṛhya teṣā vṛddhicikīrṣayā |
muniḥ sa viyad utpatya tān uvāca nṛpātmajān ||

1.28 One day, while holding a jug of water, in his desire to nurture the princes’ growth
The sage went up, into the air. Then he said to them:

yā patet kalaśād asmād akṣayyasalilān mahīm |
dhārā tām anatikramya mām anveta yathākramam ||

1.29 “There will fall to earth from this flowing jug, whose flowing is unbreakable,
A line of drops: Do not overstep this mark, as in step you follow me.”

tataḥ paramam ity uktvā śirobhiḥ praṇipatya ca |
rathān āruruhuḥ sarve śīghravāhān alaṅkrṛtān ||

1.30 “Yes!" they said to this, and respectfully bowed, letting their heads fall forward.
Then all went up, onto chariots that were swiftly drawn, and well prepared.

tataḥ sa tair anugataḥ syandanasthair nabhogataḥ |
tadāśramamahīprāntaṃ paricikṣepa vāriṇā ||

1.31 So they followed him in the flow, while, walking on air,
The ends of the earth of that ashram he sprinkled with water.

aṣṭāpadam ivālikhya nimittaiḥ surbhīkṛtam |
tān uvāca muniḥ sthitvā bhūmipālasutān idam ||

1.32 He set out a plan like a chessboard, like an eightfold plan, revealed by signs;
Then the sage, standing still, spoke thus to those offspring of the guardians of the earth:

asmin dhārāparikṣipte nemicihnitalakṣaṇe |
nirmimīdhvaṃ puraṃ yūyaṃ mayi yāte triviṣṭapam ||

1.33 “Within this sprinkled line of drops, wherein your wheels have left a mark,
You are to build a city, when I am gone to heaven.”

tataḥ kadācit te vīrās tasmin pratigate munau |
babhramur yauvanoddāmā gajā iva niraṅkuśāḥ ||

1.34 Thereafter those lads, when in time the sage passed away,
Roamed about in their unbridled youth like elephants unchecked by a driver’s hook –

baddhagodhāṅgulītrāṇā hastaviṣṭhitakārmukāḥ |
śarādhmātamahātūṇā vyāyatābaddhavāsasaḥ ||

1.35 [They roamed about] with bows in hand and leather-clad fingers on arrows,
Shafts causing sizeable quivers to swell, feathers preened and fastened on.

jijñāsamānā nāgeṣu kauśalaṃ śvāpadeṣu ca |
anucakrur vanasthasya dauṣmanter devakramaṇaḥ ||

1.36 Wishing to test their mettle among the elephants and big cats,
They emulated the god-like deeds of the forest-dwelling son of Duṣyanta.

tān dṛṣṭvā prakṛtiṃ yātān vṛddhān vyāghraśiśūn iva |
tāpasās tadvanarh hitvā himavantarh siṣevire ||

1.37 Seeing their natural character emerge as those lads grew, like tiger cubs,
The ascetics abandoned that forest and retreated to the Himālayas.

tatas tadāśramasthānaṃ śūnyarh taiḥ śūnyacetasaḥ |
paśyanto tadāśramasthānarṃ śūnyaṃ taiḥ niśaśvasuḥ ||

1.38 Then, seeing the ashram [without ascetics,] desolate, the princes were desolate in their hearts.
In the red-hot anger of their indignation, they hissed like snakes.

atha te puṇyakarmāṇaḥ pratyupasthiravṛddhayaḥ |
tatra tajjñair upākhyātān avāpur mahato nidhīn ||

1.39 In time, through good conduct, they came to a maturity
In which they could obtain the great treasures that are disclosed through acts of knowing them.

alaṃ dharmārthakāmānāṃ nikhilānām svāptaye |
nidhayo naikavidhayo bhūrayas te gatārayaḥ ||

1.40 Sufficient for full enjoyment of dharma, wealth, and pleasure;
Abundant; and of many kinds: these were treasures beyond the reach of enemies..

tatas tatpratilambhāc ca pariṇāmāc ca karmaṇaḥ |
tasmin vāstuni vāstujñāḥ puraṃ śrīman nyaveśayan ||

1.41 On the grounds of what they thus acquired, and of the fading influence of their past karma,
They who knew building, at that site, founded a splendid city.

saridvistīrṇaparikhaṃ spaṣṭāñcitamahāpatham |
śailakalpamahāvapraṃ givirajam ivāparam ||

1.42 It had a moat as broad as a river, a main street that straightened and curved,
And great ramparts rising like mountains, as if it were another Giri-vraja.

pāṇḍurāṭṭālasumukhaṃ suvibhaktāntarāpaṇam |
harmyamālāparikṣiptaṃ kukṣiṃ himagirer iva ||

1.43 With its fine frontage of white watchtowers, and a well-apportioned central market
Overlooked by crescents of large houses, it was like a Himālayan valley.

vedavedāṅgaviduṣas tasthuṣaḥ ṣaṭsu karmasu |
śāntaye vṛddhaye caiva yatra viprān ajītjapan ||

1.44 Brahmins versed in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, and engaged in the six occupations,
There they caused to pray, for peace and for prosperity.

tadbhūmer abhiyoktṝṇāṃ prayuktān vinivṛttaye |
yatra svena prabhāvena bhṛtyadaṇḍān ajītjapan ||

1.45 The regular soldiers they employed there to repel assailants from their territory
They caused, with their sovereign power, to be victorious in battle.

cāritradhansaṃpannān salajjān dīrghadarśinaḥ |
arhato ’tiṣṭhipan yatra śūrān dakṣān kuṭumbinaḥ ||

1.46 Householders of character and means, who were modest, far-sighted,
Worthy, stout and able, they caused to settle there..

vyastais tais tair guñair yuktān mativāgvikramādibhiḥ |
karmasu patirūpeṣu saicāṃs tān nyayūyujan ||

1.47 Individuals possessed of particular strong points such as thinking, talking, and taking steps,
They installed in corresponding offices as counsellors and ministers.

vasumadbhir avibhrāntair alaṃvidyair avismitaiḥ |
yad babhāse naraiḥ kīrṇaṃ mandaraḥ kinnarair iva ||

1.48 Thronged by men who were wealthy but not wanton, and cultured but not conceited,
[The city] seemed like Mt. Mandara, thronged by kiṁnaras.

yatra te hṛṣṭamanasaḥ pauraprītickīrṣayā |
śrīmanty udyānasaṃjñāni yaśodhāmāny acīkaran ||

1.49 There with glad hearts, Desiring to bring joy to the citizens,
They commissioned those glorious abodes of beauty that we call ‘gardens’.

śvāḥ puṣkariṇīś caiva paramāgryaguṇāmbhasaḥ |
nājñāyā cetanotkarṣād dikṣu sarvāsv acīkhanan ||

1.50 And lovely lotus pools of finest quality water,
Not at anybody’s behest, but because of being uplifted, they had dug in all directions.

manojñāḥ śrīmatiḥ praśṭhīḥ pathiṣūpavaneṣu ca |
sabhāḥ kūpavatīś caiva samantāt pratyatiṣṭhipan ||

1.51 Rest-houses of the first rank, welcoming and splendid, on the roads and in the woods,
Complete even with wells, they caused to go up on all sides.

hastyaśvarathasakīrṇam asaṃkīrṇam anākulam |
anigūḍhārthivibhavaṃ nigūḍhajñānapauruṣam ||

1.52 Crowded with elephants, horses, and chariots, [the city] was crammed with people who did not crowd each other.
Material wealth was available to the needy, not secreted; but learning and spirit ran secret and deep.

saṃnidhānam ivārthānām ādhānam iva tejasām |
niketam iva vidyānāṃ saṃketam iva saṃpadām ||

1.53 Like a place where goals converge, where energies are focused,
Where learning activities are housed together, and where achievements come together,

vāsavṛkṣaṃ guṇavatām āśrayaṃ śaraṇaiṣiām |
ānartaṃ kṛtaśāstrāṇām ālānaṃ bābhuśālinām ||

1.54 It was a homing tree for high flyers, a refuge for those seeking a place of rest,
An arena for those skilled in scientific endeavour, and a tethering post for the mighty.

samājair utsavair dāyaiḥ kriyāvidhibhir eva ca |
alañcakrur alaṃvīryās te jagaddhāma tatpuram ||

1.55 By means of meetings, festivals, and acts of giving, and by means of traditional observances,
The heroes brought that city, the light of the world, to a glorious readiness

yasmād anyāyatas te ca kaṃ cin nācīkaran karam |
tasmād alpena kālena tat tadāpūpuran puram ||

1.56 Since they never levied any tax that was not just,
Therefore in a short time they caused the city to be full.

kapilasya ca tasyarṣes tasminn āśramavāstuni |
yasmāt te tatpuraṃ cakrus tasmāt kapilavāstu tat ||

1.57 And since, on the site of the ashram of the seer Kapila,
They had built that city, therefore it was called Kapilavāstu.

kakandasya makandasya kuśāmbasyeva cāśrame |
puryo yathā hi śrūyante tathaiva kapilasya tat ||

1.58 Just as cities sited on the ashrams of Kakanda, Makanda and Kuśāmba
Were called after them, so that city was called after Kapila.

āpuḥ puraṃ tatpuruhūtakalpās te tejasāryeṇa na vismayena |
āpur yaśogandham ataś ca śaśvat sutā yayāter iva kīrtimantaḥ ||

1.59 Those equals of Indra took charge of that city with noble ardour but without arrogance;
And they thus took on forever the fragrance of honour, like the celebrated sons of Yayāti.

tannāthavṛttair api rājaputrair arājakaṃ naiva rarāja rāṣṭram |
tārāsahasrair api dīpyamānair anutthite candra ivāntarīkṣam ||

1.60 But under the sons of kings, active though they were as protectors, that kingless kingdom lacked kingly lustre –
Like the sky, though stars are shining in their thousands, before the moon has risen.

yo jyāyān atha vayasā guṇaiś ca teṣāṃ bhrātṝṇāṃ vṛṣabha ivaujasā vṛṣāṇām |
te tatra priyaguruvas tam abhyaṣiñcann ādityā daśaśatalocanaṃ divīva ||

1.61 So the senior among those brothers, in age and in merits, like the bull which is chief among bulls in bodily power,
They anointed there, attaching to the important, like the Ādityas in heaven anointing thousand-eyed Indra.

ācāravān vinayavān nayavān kriyāvān dharmāya nendriyadukhāya dhṛtātparaḥ |
tadbhrātṛbhiḥ parivṛtaḥ sa jugopa rāṣṭraṃ saṃkrandano divam ivānuṣrto marudbhiḥ ||

1.62 Possessed of good conduct, discipline, prudence and industry,
Bearing the big umbrella for duty’s sake, not to pander to the power of the senses,
He guarded that realm, surrounded by his brothers,
Like roaring Indra guarding heaven with his retinue of storm-gods.

saundaranande mahākāvye kapilavāstuvarṇano nāma prathamaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 1st Canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Portrait of Kapilavāstu.”

tataḥ kadā cit kālena tad avāpa kulakramāt |
rāja śuddhodhano nāma śuddhakarmā jitendriyaḥ ||

2.1 Some time thereafter that [realm] passed, through familial succession,
To a king named Śuddodhana who, being pure in his actions, had conquered the power of the senses.

yaḥ sasañje na kāmeṣu śrīpāptau na visismiye |
nāvamene parānṛddhyā parebhyo nāpi vivyathe ||

2.2 Neither stuck in his desires nor conceited about gaining sovereignty,
He did not, as he grew, look down on others, and nor did he shrink from others in fear.

balīyān sattvasaṃpannaḥ śrutavān buddhimān api |
vikrānto nayvāṃś caiva dhīraḥ sumukha eva ca ||

2.3 Strong and strong-minded; learned as well as intelligent,
Daring and yet prudent; determined, and cheerful with it,

vapuṣmāṃś ca na ca stabdho dakṣiṇo na ca nārajavaḥ |
tejasvī na ca na kṣāntaḥ kartā ca na ca vismitaḥ ||

2.4 He had a fine form without being stiff; was dexterous but not dishonest;
Was energetic but not impatient; and active but never flustered.

ākṣiptaḥ śatrubhiḥ saṃkhye suhṛdbhiś ca vyapāśritaḥ |
abhavad yo na vimukhas tejasā ditsayaiva ca ||

2.5 Challenged by his enemies in battle, and petitioned by friends,
He was not backward in responding with an intense energy, and with a willingness to give.

yaḥ pūrvai rājabhir yātāṃ yiyāsur dharmapaddhatim |
rājyaṃ dīkṣām iva vahan vṛttetānvagamat pitṝn ||

2.6 Wishing to tread the dutiful path of dharma trodden by previous kings,
And bearing his kingship like a call to total dedication, he emulated the ancestors through his conduct.

yasya suvyahārāc ca rakṣanāc ca sukhaṃ prajāḥ |
śiśyire vigatodvegāḥ pitur aṅkagatā iva ||

2.7 Due to his good governance, and under his protection, his subjects rested at ease,
Free from anxiety, as if in a father’s lap.

kṛtaśāstraḥ kṛtāstro vā jāto vā vipule kule |
akṛtārtho na dadṛśe yasya darśanameyivān ||

2.8 Whether skilled in use of book, or in use of sword; whether born into an eminent family, or not;
Anybody who came into his presence was seen to be useful.

hitaṃ vipriyam apy ukto yaḥ śuśrāva na cukṣubhe |
duṣkṛtaṃ bahv api tyaktvā sasmāra kṛtam aṇv api ||

2.9 When given good advice, however disagreeable, he listened and did not react;
He let go of a wrong done to him, however great, and remembered a service rendered, however small.

praṇatān anujagrāha vijagrāha kuladviṣaḥ |
āpannān parijagrāha nijagrāhāsthitān pathi ||

2.10 The meek and mild he befriended; tribal foes he apprehended;
Sufferers he comprehended; waverers he reprehended.

prāyeṇa viṣaye yasya tacchīlam anuvartinaḥ |
arjayanto dadṛśire dhanānīva guṇān api ||

2.11 As the general rule in his dominion those influenced by his integrity
Seemed to take possession of virtues as if they were securing treasures.

adhyaiṣṭa yaḥ paraṃ brahma na vyaiṣṭa satataṃ dhṛteḥ |
dānān yadita pātrebhyaḥ pāpaṃ nākṛta kiṃ cana ||

2.12 He minded the supreme sacred word; in fortitude, he never failed;
He gave fitting gifts to deserving recipients; and no evil did he do at all.

dhṛtyāvākṣīt pratijñāṃ sa sadvājivodyatāṃ dhuram |
na hy avānchīc eyutaḥ satyān muhūrtam api jīvitam ||

2.13 He resolutely carried out a promise undertaken, like a good horse carrying a load;
For he did not desire, apart from truthfulness, even a moment of life.

viduṣaḥ paryupāsiṣṭa vyakāśiṣṭātmavattayā |
vyarociṣta ca śiṣṭebhyo māsīṣe candramā iva ||

2.14 For the intellectually bright, he was there; with his own self-containment, he shone;
And on people in the directed state, he positively beamed – like the moon in the last month of the rains.

avedīd buddhiśāstrābhyām iha cāmutra ca kṣamam |
arakṣīd dhairyavīryābhyām indriyāṇy api ca prajāḥ ||

2.15 Through intelligence and learning, he knew what was fitting, both in here and out there;
He guarded, with constancy and energy, both his senses and his subjects

ahārṣīd duḥkham ārtānāṃ dviṣatāṃ corjitaṃ yaśaḥ |
acaiṣte ca nayair bhūmiṃ bhūyasā yaśasaiva ca ||

2.16 He bore away the suffering of the oppressed and the boastful fame of the cruel,
And covered the earth with guiding principles and a much greater glory.

apy āsīd duḥkhitān paśyan prakṛtyā karuṇātmakaḥ |
nāhauṣte ca yaśo lobhād anyāyādhigatair dhanaiḥ ||

2.17 Seeing people suffering he overflowed with his original emotion as a man of compassion;
But he did not, through eager desire, undermine his honour by unprincipled acquisition of treasured objects.

sauhārdaṛḍhabhaktitvān maitreṣu viguṇeṣv api |
nādidāsīdaditsīt tu saumukhvāt svaṃ svam arthavat ||

2.18 In his kind-hearted iron devotion even to imperfect friends,
He had no will to take, but willingly gave, cheerful-faced, to each according to his need.

anivedyāgram arhadbhyo nālikṣat hiṃ cid aplutaḥ |
gām adharmeṇa nādhukṣat kṣīratarṣeṇa gām iva ||

2.19 Without offering the first portion to revered beings, and without bathing, he did not eat anything;
Neither did he milk the earth unjustly, as a cow is milked by a man thirsting for milk.

nāsṛkṣad balim aprāptaṃ nārukṣan mānam aiśvaram |
āgamair buddhim āhikṣad dharmāya na tu kīrtaye ||

2.20 He never scattered the food offering except when due; he never developed lordly arrogance;
Committing of the scriptures to his mind, he did for dharma, not for praise.

kleśārhān api kāṃś ci tu nākliṣṭa kliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ |
āryabhāvāc ca nāghukṣad dviṣato ’pi sato guṇān ||

2.21 A few doers of harsh deeds, though they deserved harsh treatment, he did not treat harshly;
And due to his noble nature he never cast a veil over the virtues of a true man, even one who defied him.

ākṛṣad vapuṣā dṛṣṭīḥ prajānāṃ candramā iva |
parasvaṃ bhuvi nāmṛkṣan mahāviṣam ivoragam ||

2.22 With his fine form he ripped away, as does the moon, people’s views;
He never touched, in an act of becoming, what belonged to others, any more than he would touch a venomous snake slithering on the earth.

nākrukṣad viṣaye tasya kaś cit kaiś cit kva cit kṣataḥ |
adikṣat tasya hastastham ārtebhyo hy abhayaṃ dhanuḥ ||

2.23 Nowhere in his dominion did anyone hurt by anyone lament;
For the bow in his hand bestowed peace upon the afflicted.

kṛtāgaso ’pi praṇatān prāg eva priyakāriṇaḥ |
adarśat snighayā dṛṣṭyā ślakṣṇena vacasāsicat ||

2.24 Even those who transgressed, if they were submissive (and before them, of course, those who acted agreeably),
He surveyed with an affectionate eye, and steeped in loving speech

bahvīr adhyagamad vidyā viṣayeṣv akutūhalaḥ |
adarśat kārtayuge dharme dharmāt kṛcchre ’pi nāsrasat ||

2.25 He studied many subjects without being interested in objects;
Abiding in dharma as it was in the golden age, he did not drift, even in a predicament, from dharma.

avardhiṣṭa guñaiḥ śaśvad avṛdhan mitrasaṃpadā |
avartiṣṭa ca vṛddheṣu nāvṛtad garhite pathi ||

2.26 Because of his virtues, he continually grew; in his joy at the success of friends, he kept growing;
In the stream of forebears long since grown old, again he kept going… but go he did not, on a blameworthy path.

śarair aśīśam acchatrūn guṇair bandhūn arīramat |
randhrair nācūcudad bhṛtyān karair nāpīpiḍat prajāḥ ||

2.27 He quietened his enemies, using arrows; he gladdened his friends, using virtues;
His servants, when there were faults, he did not goad; the offshoots who were his subjects he did not, with doing hands, overtax.

rakṣaṇāc caiva śauryāc ca nikhilāṃ gām avīvapat |
spaṣṭayā daṇḍanītyā ca rātrisattrān avīvapat ||

2.28 Under his protection, and because of his heroism, seeds were planted over the whole earth;
And by the transparent working of his judicial system, sessions were sat into the dark stillness of night.

kulaṃ rājarṣivṛttena yaśogandham avīvapat |
dīptyā tama ivādityas tejasārīn avīvapat ||

2.29 By the conduct of a royal seer, he propagated through his house the fragrance of honour;
Like the son of Aditi shining light into darkness, he with the intensity of his energy caused the enemies to scatter.

apaprathat pitṝṃś caiva satputradaṛśair guṇaiḥ |
salileneva cāmbhodo vṛttenājihṇadat prajāḥ ||

2.30 Using virtues that befitted a good son, he caused the ancestors, again, to disseminate their light;
And, like a raincloud using rain, he enlivened his offshoots, his subjects, using conduct.

dānair ajasravipulaiḥ somaṃ viprān asūṣavat |
rājadharmasthiatvāc ca kāle sasyam asūṣavat ||

2.31 With inexhaustible and great acts of giving, he caused the brahmins to press out their soma;
And by dutifully adhering to his kingly dharma, he caused corn, at the right moment, to ripen.

adharmiṣṭhām acakathan na kathām akathaṅkataḥ |
cakravartīva ca parān dharmāyābhyudasīṣahat ||

2.32 He talked no talk that went against dharma, being free in himself of doubts and questions;
And, like a wheel-rolling king, he caused others to be courageous in service of dharma.

rāṣṭram anyatra ca baler na sa kiṅ cid dadīdapat |
bhṛtyair eva ca sodyogaṃ dviṣaddarpam adīdapat ||

2.33 No special tribute did he cause the kingdom to pay him;
But with sustained endeavour, and using only regulars, he caused enemy pride to be cut down.

svair evādīdapac cāpi bhūyo bhūyo guṇaiḥ kulam |
prajā nādīdapac caiva sarvadharmavyavasthayā ||

2.34 Again and again, he caused his own house to be pure, using just his own virtues;
At the same time, he did not let his offshoots decay, for all were established in all dharmas.

aśrāntaḥ samaye yajvā vajñabhūmim amīmapat |
pālanāc ca cvijān brahma nirduvignān amīmapat ||

2.35 A man of tireless sacrifice when the time was right, he caused sacrificial ground to be measured out;
And he enabled twice-born men, who under his protection were unburdened by anxiety, to know the weight of the sacred word.

gurubhir vidhivatkāle saumyaḥ somam amīmapat |
tapasā tejasā caiva dviṣatsainyam amīmapat ||

2.36 In the presence of gurus, and obeying the rule, he caused the soma to be measured out on time, as a cool, mild man of soma,
And yet, with intense ardour, with fiery energy, he saw the enemy army cut down to size.

prajāḥ paramadharmjñaḥ sūkṣmaṃ dharmam avīvasat |
darśanāc caiva dharmasya kāle svargam avīvasat ||

2.37 As knower of the dharma that is paramount, he caused his offshoots to abide in dharma in a small way,
And yet caused them, because of experiencing dharma, to let heaven wait.

vyaktam apy arthakṛcchreṣu nādharmiṣṭham atiṣṭhipat |
priya ity eva cāśaktaṃ na saṃrāgād avīvṛdhat ||

2.38 Even the obvious candidate in a crisis, he did not appoint if it went against dharma;
Nor, out of nothing more than fondness, did he dotingly promote incompetence.

tejasā ca tviṣā caiva ripūn dṛptān abhībhasat |
yaśodīpena dīptena pṛthivīṃ ca vyabhībhasat ||

2.39 With his intense energy and his light he exposed to view his enemies, the conceited;
And with the blazing lantern of his brightness, he caused the world to shine.

ānṛśaṃsyān na yaśase tenādāyi sadārthine |
dravyaṃ mahad api tyaktvā na caivākīrti kiṃ cana ||

2.40 He gave out of kindness, not for his glorification, and always to meet a need;
Giving up even a thing of great substance, he mentioned nothing of it.

tenārir āpi duḥkhārto nātyāji śaraṇāgataḥ |
jitvā dṛptān api ripūn na tenākāri vismayaḥ ||

2.41 He did not shun one afflicted by suffering, even an enemy, who had taken refuge;
And having conquered his enemies, the conceited, he did not become proud on that account.

na tenābhedi māryādā kāmād dveṣād bhayād api |
tena satsv api bhogeṣu nāsevīndriyavṛttitā ||

2.42 No rule did he break, out of love, hate, or fear;
Even while abiding in pleasurable circumstances, he did not remain in thrall to the power of the senses.

na tenārdarśi viṣamaṃ kāryaṅ kva cana kiṃ cana |
vipriyapriyayoḥ kṛtye na tenāgāmi nikriyāḥ ||

2.43 He was never seen to do shoddily anywhere that needed to be done;
When required by friend and non-friend to act, he did not fall into inaction.

tenāpāyi yathākalpaṃ somaś ca yaśa eva ca |
vedaś cāmnāyi satataṃ vedokto dharma eva ca ||

2.44 He drank and guarded, as prescribed, the soma and his honour;
And he was constantly mindful of the Vedas, as well as the dharma proclaimed in the Vedas.

evamādibhir atyakto babhūvāsulabhair guṇaiḥ |
aśakyaśakyasāmantaḥ śākyarājaḥ sa śakravat ||

2.45 Not eschewed by such uncommon virtues as these
Was he who on no side could be vanquished – the unshakable Śākya King, like Śakra.

atha tasmin tathā kāle dharmakāmā divaukasaḥ |
vicerur diśi lokasya dharmacaryā didṛkṣavaḥ ||

2.46 Now at that time Dharma-loving denizens of the heavens
Moved into the orbit of the human world, wishing to investigate dharma movements.

dharmātmānaś carantas te dharmajijñāsayā jagat |
dadṛśus taṃ viśeṣeṇa dharmātmānaṃ narādhipam ||

2.47 Those essences of dharma, moving, with the desire to know dharma, over the earth,
Saw that leader of men whose essence was particularly given over to dharma.

devebhyas tuṣitebhyo ’tha bodhisattvaḥ kṣitiṃ vrajan |
upapattiṃ praṇidadhe kule tasya mahīpateḥ ||

2.48 Then the bodhisattva came down to earth, and rather than among Tuṣita gods,
He put down birth-roots in the family of that earth-lord.

tasya devī nṛdevasya māyā nāma tadābhavat |
vītakrodhatamomāyā māyeva divi devatā ||

2.49 That man-god at that time had a goddess, A queen whose name was Māyā;
She was as devoid of anger, darkness and the māyā which is deceit as was the goddess Māyā in heaven.

svapne ’tha samaye garbham āviśantaṃ dadarśa sā |
ṣaḍdantaṃ vāraṇaṃ śvetam airāvatam ivaujasā ||

2.50 In a dream during that period she saw entering her womb
A white six-tusked elephant, mighty as Airāvata.

taṃ vinirdidiṣuḥ śrutvā svapnaṃ svapnavido dvijāḥ |
tasya janma kumārasya lakṣmīdharmayaśobhṛtaḥ ||

2.51 When they heard this dream, brahmins who knew dreams predicted
The birth of a prince who would bring honour, through wealth or through dharma.

tasya sattvaviśeṣasya jātau jātikṣayaiṣinaḥ |
sācalā pracacālorvī taraṅgābhihateva nauḥ ||

2.52 At the birth of this exceptional being whose mission was the end of re-birth
The earth with its immoveable mountains moved, like a boat being battered by waves.

sūryaraśmibhir akliṣṭaṃ puṣpavarṣaṃ papāta khāt |
digvāraṇakarādhūtād vanāc caitrarathād iva ||

2.53 A rain of flowers, unwilted by the sun’s rays, fell from the sky
As if shaken from the trees of Citra-ratha’s forest by the trunks of the elephants of the four quarters.

divi dundubhayo nedur dīvyatāṃ marutām iva |
didīpe ’bhyadhiaṃ sūryaḥ śivaś ca pavano vavau ||

2.54 Drums sounded in heaven, as though the storm-gods were rolling dice;
The sun blazed inestimably, and the wind blew benignly.

tutuṣus tuṣitāś caiva śuddhāvāsāś ca devatāḥ |
saddharmabahumānena sattvānāṃ cānukampayā ||

2.55 Gods in Tuṣita Heaven became calm and content, as did gods of the clear Śuddhāvāsa yonder,
Through thinking highly of true dharma and through fellow feeling among sentient beings.

samāyayau yaśaḥketuṃ śreyaḥketukaraḥ paraḥ |
babhrāje śāntayā lakṣmyā dharmo vigrahavān iva ||

2.56 To one who was a lamp of honour came a supreme bringer of the brightness of betterment:
He shone with tranquil splendour like dharma in a separate bodily form.

devyām api yavīyasyām araṇyām iva pāvakaḥ |
nando nāma suto jajñe nityānandakaraḥ kule ||

2.57 To the king’s younger queen, also, ;ike fire in the notch of a fire-board,
A son was born named Nanda, Joy, a bringer of constant joy to his family.

dīrghabāhur mahāvakṣāḥ siṃhāṃso vṛsabhekṣanaḥ |
vapuṣāgryeṇa yo nāma sundaropapadaṃ dadhe ||

2.58 Long in the arm, broad in the chest, with shoulders of a lion and eyes of a bull,
He because of his superlative looks bore the epithet “handsome.”

madhumāsa iva prāptaś candro naa ivoditaḥ |
aṅgavān iva cānaṅgaḥ sa babhau kāntayā śriyā ||

2.59 Like a first month in spring having arrived, like a new moon having risen;
Again, like the non-physical having taken a physical form, he radiated sheer loveliness.

sa tau saṃvardhayāmāsa narendraḥ parayā mudā |
arthaḥ sajjanahastastho dharmakāmau mahān iva ||

2.60 The king with exceeding gladness brought up the two of them,
As great wealth in the hands of a good man promotes dharma and pleasure.

tasya kālena satputrau vavṛdhāte bhavāya tau |
āryasyārambhamahato darmārthāv iva bhūtaye ||

2.61 Those two good sons, in time, grew up to do the king proud,
Just as, when his investment is great, dharma and wealth pay a noble person well.

tayoḥ satputrayor madhye śākyarājo rarāja saḥ |
madhyadeśa iva vyakto himavatpāripātrayoḥ ||

2.62 Being in the middle, with regard to those two good sons, the Śākya king reigned resplendent,
Like the Madhya-deśa, the Middle Region, adorned by the Himālaya and Pāriyātra mountains.

tatas tayoḥ saṃskṛtayoḥ krameṇa narendrasūnvoḥ kṛtavidyayoś ca |
kāmeṣv ajasraṅ pramamāda nandaḥ sarvārthasiddhas tu na saṃrarañja ||

2.63 Then, gradually, those two sons of the king became educated, in practical arts and in learning.
Nanda frittered all his time on idle pleasures; but Sarvārtha-siddha, Accomplisher of Every Aim, was not mottled by the redness of passions.

sa prekśyaiva hi jīrṇam āturaṅ ca mṛtaṅ ca vimṛśan jagadanbhijñam ārtacittaḥ |
hṛdayagataparaghṛṇo na viṣayaratim agamaj jananamaraṇabhayam abhito vijighāṃsuḥ ||

2.64 For he had seen for himself an old man, a sick man, and a corpse,
After which, as with a wounded mind he witnessed the unwitting world,
He was disgusted to the core and found no pleasure in objects
But wished totally to terminate the terror of being born and dying.

udvegād apunarbhave manaḥ praṇidhāya sa yayau śayitavarāṅganādanāsthaḥ |
niśi nṛpatinilayanād vanagamankṛtmanāḥ sarasa iva mathitanalināt kalahaṃsaḥ ||

2.65 Having focused his agitated mind on the end of becoming,
He fled the king’s palace, indifferent to the most beautiful of women sleeping there;
Determined to go to the forest, he fled in the night,
Like a goose from a lake of ruined lotuses.

saundaranande mahākāvye rājavarṇano nāma dvitīyaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 2nd canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Portrait of the King.”

tapase tataḥ kapilavāstu hayagarathaughasaṃkulam |
śrīmad abhayam anuraktajanaṃ sa vihāya viścitamanā vanaṃ yayau ||

3.1 For ascetic practice, then, he left Kapilavāstu – a teeming mass of horses, elephants and chariots,
Majestic, safe, and loved by its citizens. Leaving the city, he started resolutely for the forest.

vividhāgmāṃs tapasi tāṃś ca vividhaniyamāśrayān munīn |
prekṣya sa viṣayatṛākṛpaṇān anavasthitaṃ tapa iti nyavartata ||

3.2 In the approach to ascetic practice of the various traditions, and in the attachment of sages to various restraints,
He observed the miseries of thirsting for an object. Seeing asceticism to be unreliable, he turned away from it.

atha mokṣavādinam arāḍam upaśamamatiṃ tathoḍrakam |
tattvakṛtamatir upāsya jahāvayam apy amārga iti māgakovidaḥ ||

3.3 Then Ārāda, who spoke of freedom, and likewise Uḍraka, who inclined towards quietness,
He served, his heart set on truth, and he left. He who intuited the path intuited: “This also is not it.”

sa vicārayan jagati kiṃ nu paramam iti taṃ tam āgamam |
niścayam anadhigataḥ parataḥ paramaṃ cacāra tapa eva duṣkaram ||

3.4 Of the different traditions in the world, he asked himself, Which one was the best?
Not obtaining certainty elsewhere, he entered after all into ascetic practice that was most severe.

atha naiṣa mārga iti vikṣya tad api vipulaṃ jahau tapaḥ |
dhyānaviṣayam avagamya paraṃ bubhuje varānnam amṛtatvabuddhaye ||

3.5 Then, having ascertained that this was not the path, he abandoned that extreme asceticism too.
Understanding the realm of meditation to be supreme, he ate good food in readiness to realise the deathless.

sa suvarṇapīnayugabāhur ṛṣabhagatir āyatekṣaṇaḥ |
plakṣam avaniruham abhyagamat paramasya niścayavidher bubhutsayā ||

3.6 With golden arms fully expanded and as if in a yoke, with lengthened eyes, and bull-like gait,
He came to a fig tree, growing up from the earth, with the will to awakening that belongs to the supreme method of investigation.

upaviśya tatra kṛtabuddhir acaldhṛtir adrirājavat |
mārabalam ajayad ugram atho bubudhe padaṃ śivam ahāryam avyayam ||

3.7 Sitting there, mind made up, as unmovingly stable as the king of mountains,
He overcame the grim army of Māra and awoke to the step which is happy, irremovable, and irreducible.

avagamya taṃ ca kṛtakāryam amṛtamanaso divaukasaḥ |
harṣam atulam agaman muditā vimukhī tu mārapariṣat pracukṣubhe ||

3.8 Sensing the completion of his task, the denizens of heaven whose heart’s desire is the deathless nectar
Buzzed with unbridled joy. But Māra’s crew was downcast and trembled.

sanagā ca bhūḥ pravicāla hutavahasakaḥ śivo vavau |
nedur api ca suradundubhayaḥ pravavarṣa cāmbudharavarjitaṃ nabhaḥ ||

3.9 The earth with its mountains shook, that which feeds the fire blew benignly,
The drums of the gods sounded, and from the cloudless sky rain fell.

avabudhya caiva paramārtham ajaram anukampayā vibhuḥ |
nityam amṛtam upadarśyituṃ sa varāñasīparikarām ayāt purīm ||

3.10 Awake to the one great ageless purpose, and universal in his compassion,
He proceeded, in order to display the eternal deathless nectar, to the city sustained by the waters of the Varaṇā and the Asī – to Vārāṇasī.

atha dharmacakram ṛtanābhi dhṛtimatisamādhinemimat |
tatra vinayanimāram ṛṣir jagato hitāya pariṣady avartayat ||

3.11 And so the wheel of dharma – whose hub is uprightness, whose rim is constancy, determination, and balanced stillness,
And whose spokes are the rules of discipline – there the Seer turned, in that assembly, for the welfare of the world.

iti duḥkham etad iyam asya samudayalatā pravartikā |
śāntir iyam ayam upāya iti pravibhāgaśaḥ param idaṃ catuṣṭayam ||

3.12 “This is suffering; this is the tangled mass of causes producing it;
This is cessation; and here is a means.” Thus, one by one, this supreme set of four,

abhidhāya ca triparivartam atulam anivartyam uttamam |
dvādaśaniyatavikalpam ṛṣir vinināya kauṇḍinasagotram āditaḥ ||

3.13 The seer set out, with its the three divisions of the unequalled, the incontrovertible, the ultimate,
And with its statement of twelvefold linkage; after which he instructed, as the first follower, him of the Kauṇḍinya clan.

sa hi doṣasāgaram agādham upadhijalam ādhijanutkam |
krodhamadabhayatarṅgacalaṃ pratatāra lokam api vyatārayat ||

3.14 For the fathomless sea of faults, whose water is falsity, where fish are cares,
And which is disturbed by waves of anger, lust, and fear; he had crossed, and he took the world across too.

sa vinīya kāśiṣu gayeṣu bahujanam atho girivraje |
pitryam api paramakāruṇiko nagaraṃ yayāv anujighṛkṣayā tadā ||

3.15 Having instructed many people at Kāśi and at Gaya As also at Giri-vraja,
He made his way then to the city of his fathers, in his deeply compassionate desire to include it.

viṣayātmakasya hi ianasya bahuvividhamārgasevinaḥ |
sūryasadṛśavapur abhyudito vijahāra sūrya iva gautamas tamaḥ ||

3.16 To people possessed by ends, serving many and various paths,
Splendour had arisen that seemed like the sun: Gautama was like the sun, dispelling darkness.

abhitas tataḥ kapilavāstu paramaśubhavāstusaṃstutam |
vastumatiśuci śivopavanaṃ sa dadarśa niḥspṛhatayā yathā vanam ||

3.17 Seeing then all sides of Kapilavāstu – which was famed for its most beautiful properties,
And was pure and clean in substance and design, and pleasantly wooded – he looked without longing, as though at a forest.

aparigrahaḥ sa hi babhūva niyatamatir ātmanīśvaraḥ |
naikavidhabhayakareṣu kim-u svajanasvadeśajanamitravastuṣu ||

3.18 For he had become free of belonging: he was sure in his thinking, the master of himself.
How much less did he belong to those causes of manifold worry – family, countrymen, friends and property?

pratipūjayā na sa jaharṣa na ca śucam avajñayāgamat |
niścitamatir asicandanayor na jagāma duḥkhasukhayoś ca vikriyām ||

3.19 Being revered gave him no thrill, and neither did disrespect cause him any grief.
His direction was decided, come sword or sandalwood, and whether the going was tough or easy he was not diminished.

atha pārthivaḥ samupalabhya sutam upagataṃ tathāgatam |
tūrṇam ababhuturagānugataḥ sutadarśanotsukatayābhiniryayau ||

3.20 And so the king learned that his son had arrived as the Tathāgata, the One Arrived Thus;
With but a few horses straggling behind him, out the king charged, in his eagerness to see his son.

sugatas tathāgatam avekṣya narapatim adhīram āśayā |
śeṣam api ca janam aśrumukhaṃ vinīṣaya gaganam utpapāta ha ||

3.21 The Sugata, the One Gone Well, saw the king coming thus, composure lost in expectation,
And saw the rest of the people too, with tearful faces; wishing to direct them, up he took himself, into the sky.

sa vicakrame divi bhuvīva punar upaviveśa tasthivān |
niścalamatir aśayiṣṭa punar bahudhābhavat punar abhūt tathaikadhā ||

3.22 He strode over heaven as if over the earth; and sat again, in the stillness of having stopped.
Without changing his direction, he lay down; he showed many changing forms while remaining, in this manner, all of one piece.

salile kṣitāv iva cacāra jalam iva viveṣa medinīm |
megha iva divi vavarṣa punaḥ punar ajvalan nava ivodito raviḥ ||

3.23 He walked over water as if on dry land, immersed himself in the soil as though it were water,
Rained as a cloud in the sky, and shone like the newly-risen sun.

yugapaj jvalan jvalanavac ca jalam avasṛhaṃś ca meghavat |
taptakanakasadṛśaprabhayā sa babhau pradīpta iva sandhyayā ghanaḥ ||

3.24 Simultaneously glowing like a fire and passing water like a cloud,
He gave off a light resembling molten gold, like a cloud set aglow by daybreak or by dusk.

tam udīkṣya hemamaṇijālavalayinam ivotthitaṃ dhvajam |
prītim agamad atulāṃ nṛpatir janatā natāś ca bahumānam abhyayuḥ ||

3.25 Looking up at him in the network of gold and pearls that seemed to wrap around him like an upraised flag,
The king became joyful beyond measure and the assembled people, bowing down, felt deep appreciation.

atha bhājanīkṛtam avekṣya manujapatim ṛddhisaṃpadā |
paurajanam api ca tatpravaṇaṃ nijagāda dharmavinayaṃ vināyakaḥ ||

3.26 So, perceiving that he had made a vessel of the ruler of men, through the wealth of his accomplishments,
And that the townsfolk also were favourably disposed, the Guide gave voice to the dharma and the discipline.

nṛpatis tataḥ prathamam āpa phalam amṛtadharmasiddhayoḥ |
dharmam atulam adhigamya muner munaye nanāma sa yato gurāv iva ||

3.27 Then the royal hero reaped the first fruit For the fulfillment of the deathless dharma.
Having obtained unthinkable dharma from the sage, he bowed accordingly in the sage’s direction, as to a guru.

bahavaḥ prasannamanaso ’tha jananamaraṇārtibhīravaḥ |
śākyatanayavṛṣabhāḥ kṛtino vṛṣabhā invānalabhayāt pravavrajuḥ ||

3.28 Many then who were clear in mind – alert to the agony of birth and death –
Among mighty Śākya-born men of action, went forth into the wandering life, like bulls that had been startled by fire.

vijahus tu ye ’pi na gṛhāṇi tanayapitṛmātrapekṣayā |
te ’pi niyamavidhimāmaraṇāj jagṛhuś ca yuktamanasaś ca daghrire ||

3.29 But even those who did not leave home, out of regard for children or father or mother:
They also, until their death, embraced the preventive rule and, with ready minds, they held to it:

na jihiṃsa sūkṣmam api jantum api paravadhopajīvanaḥ |
kiṃ bata vipulaguñaḥ kulajaḥ sadayaḥ sadā kimu muner upāsayā ||

3.30 No living creature, no matter how small, was subjected to violence, even by a person who killed for a living,
Still less by a man of great virtue, good family and unfailing gentleness – and how much less by a servant of the Sage?

akṛśodhyamaḥ kṛśadhano ’pi paraparibhavāsaho ’pi san |
nānyadhanam apajahāra tathā bhujagād ivānyavibhavād dhi vivyathe ||

3.31 The man not shy of hard work and yet still short of money, though he could not bear the other’s slights,
Did not, even so, carry off the other’s goods; for he shrank from others’ riches as from a snake.

vibhavānvito ’pi taruṇo ’pi viṣayacapalendriyo ’pi san |
naiva ca parayuvatīr agamat paramaṃ hi tā dhanato ’py amanyata ||

3.32 Even the man of money and youth with senses excited by objects of his affection –
Even he never approached others’ wives, for he deemed them to be more dangerous than a burning fire.

anṛtaṃ jagāda na ca kaś cid ṛtam api jajalpa nāpriyam |
ślakṣṇam api ca na jagāv ahitaṃ hitam apy uvāca na ca paiśunāya yat ||

3.33 Nobody told an untruth, nor made true but nasty gossip,
Nor crooned slick but malicious words, nor spoke kindly words that had a backbiting motive

manasā lulobha na ca jātu paravasuṣu gṛddhamānasaḥ |
kāmasukham asukhato vimṛśan vijahāra tṛpta iva tatra sajjanaḥ ||

3.34 No greedy-minded person, in his heart, had any designs on the treasures of others;
Seeing sensual happiness to be no happiness, the wise went freely on their way, as if satisfied in that area already.

na parasya kaś cid apaghātam api ca sgṛṇo vyacintayat |
mātṛpiṛsutasuhṛsadṛśaṃ sa dadarśa tatra hi paras paraṃ janaḥ ||

3.35 Nobody showed any hostility towards the other; rather, they looked on others with positive warmth,
As mother, father, child or friend: for each person there saw in the other himself.

niyataṃ bhaviṣyati paratra bhavad api ca bhūtam apy atho |
karmaphalam api ca lokagatir niyateti darśanam avāpa sādhu ca ||

3.36 That the fruit of conduct, inevitably, will be realized in the future, is being realized now, and has been realized in the past;
And that thus is determined how one fares in the world: this is an insight that, again, each experienced unerringly.

iti karmañā daśavidhena paramakuśalena bhūriṇā |
bhraṃśini śitahilaguṇo ’pi yuge vijahāra tatra munsaṃśrayaj janaḥ ||

3.37 By this most skillful and powerful tenfold means, by the means of their conduct,
Although virtue was lax in a declining age, the people there, with the Sage’s help, fared well

na ca tatra kaś cid upapattisukham abhilalāṣa tair guṇaiḥ |
sarvam aśivam avagamya bhavaṃ bhavasaṃkṣayāya vavṛte na janmane ||

3.38 But nobody there, because of his virtues, expected happiness in a resulting birth;
Having learned that all becoming is pernicious, people worked to eradicate becoming, not to become something.

akathaṅkathā gṛhiṇa eva paramapariśuddhadṛṣtayaḥ |
srotasi hi vavṛtire bahavo rajasas tanutvam api cakrire pare ||

3.39 Even householders were free from endless doubting, their views washed spotlessly away:
For many had entered the stream, and others had reduced the passions to a trickle.

vavṛte ’tra yo ’pi viṣameṣu vibhavadṛśeṣu kaś cana |
tyāgavinayaniyamābhirato vijahāra so ’pi na cacāla satpathāt ||

3.40 Even one there who had been given over to ends like wealth
Was now content with free giving, discipline, and restraint: he also fared well, not straying from the true path.

api ca svato ’pi parato ’pi na bhayam abhavan na daivataḥ |
tatra ca susukhasubhikṣaguṇair jahṛṣuḥ prajāḥ kṛtayuge manor iva ||

3.41 Neither from within the self, nor from without, did any terror arise; nor from fate.
By dint of their true happiness and material plenty and practical merits, the citizens there rejoiced as in the golden age of Manu.

iti muditam anāmayaṃ nirāpat kururaghupurupuropamaṃ puraṃ tat |
abhavad abhayadaiśike maharṣau viharati tatra śivāya vītarāge ||

3.42 Thus exulting in freedom from disease and calamity, that city was the equal of Kuru, Raghu and Pūru,
With the great dispassionate Seer serving there, for the good of all, as a guide to peace.

iti saundaranande mahākavye tathāgatavarṇano nāma tṛtīyaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 3rd Canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Portrait of the Tathāgata.”

munau bruvāñe ’pi tu tatra dharmaṃ dharmaṃ prati jñātiṣu cādṛteṣu |
prāsādasaṃstho madanaikakāryaḥ priyāsahāyo vijahāra nandaḥ ||

4.1 But even when the Sage was there speaking the dharma, and even though other family members heeded the dharma,
Nanda passed the time in the company of his wife, staying in the palace penthouse, solely occupied with love.

sa cakravākyeva hi cakravākas tayā sametaḥ priyayā priyārhaḥ |
nācintayad vaiśrmaṇaṃ na śakraṃ tasthānahetoḥ kuta eva dharmam ||

4.2 For joined with his wife like a greylag gander with a greylag goose, and fitted for love,
He turned his thoughts neither to Vaiśravaṇa nor to Śakra: how much less, in that state, did he think about dharma?

lakṣmyā ca rūpeṇa ca sundarīti stambhena garveṇa ca māninīti |
dīptyā ca mānena ca bhāminīti yato babhāṣe trividhena nāmnā ||

4.3 For her grace and beauty, she was called Lovely Sundarī; for her headstrong pride, Sulky Māninī;
And for her sparkle and spirit, Beautiful Bhāminī. So that she was called by three names.

sā hāsahaṃsā nayandvirephā pīnastanātyunnatapadmakośā |
bhūyo babhāse svakuloditena strīpadminī nandadivākareṇa ||

4.4 She of smiles like the bars of a bar-headed-goose, of eyes like black bees, and swelling breasts like the upward jutting buds of a lotus,
Shimmered all the more, a lotus-pool in female form, with the rising of a kindred luminary, the sun-like Nanda.

rūpeṇa cātyantamanohareṇa rūpānurūpeṇa ca ceṣṭitena |
manuṣyaloke hi tadā babhūva sā sundarī strīṣu nareṣu nandaḥ ||

4.5 For, with inordinately good looks, and moves to match those heart-stealing looks,
There was in the human world at that time, among women, [only] Sundarī, and among men, Nanda.

sā devatā nandanacāriṇīva kulasya nandījananaś ca nandaḥ |
atītya martyān anupetya devān sṛṣṭāv abhūtām iva bhūtadhātrā ||

4.6 She, like a goddess wandering in Indra’s Gardens of Gladness, and Nanda, the bringer of joy to his kin,
Seemed, having gone beyond mortals, and yet not become gods, to be a Creator’s creation in progress.

tāṃ sundarīṃ cen na labheta nandaḥ sā vā niṣeveta na taṃ natabhrūḥ |
dvandaṃ dhruvaṃ tad vikalaṃ na śobhetānyonyahīnāv iva rātricandrau ||

4.7 If Nanda had not won Sundarī, or if she of the arched eyebrows had not gone to him,
Then, deprived of each other, the two would surely have seemed impaired, like the night and the moon.

kandarparatyor iva lakṣyabhūtaṃ pramodanāndyor iva nīḍabhūtam |
praharṣatuṣṭyor iva pātrabhūtaṃ dvandaṃ sahāraṃsta madāndhabhūtam ||

4.8 As though a target of the god of Love and his mistress Pleasure; as though a nest of Ecstasy and Joy;
As though a bowl of Excitement and Contentment; blindly the couple took their pleasure together.

parasparodvīkṣaṇatatparākṣaṃ parasparavyāhṛtasaktacittam |
parasparāśleṣahṛtāṇgarāgaṃ parasparaṃ tan mithunaṃ jahāra ||

4.9 Having eyes only for each other’s eyes, minds hanging on each other’s words,
Mutual embraces rubbing away the pigments that scented their bodies, the couple carried each other away.

bhāvānuraktau girinirjharasthau tau kiṃnarīkiṃpuruṣāv ivobhau |
cikrīḍatuś cābhivirejatuś ca rūpaśriyānyonyam ivākṣipantau ||

4.10 Like a kiṁnara meeting a kiṁnarī by a cascading mountain torrent, in love with love,
The two of them flirted and shone, as if vying to outdo one another in alluring radiance.

anyonyasaṃrāgavivardhanena tad dvandvam anyonyam arīramac ca |
klamāntare ’nyonyavinodanena salīlam anyonyam amīmadac ca ||

4.11 By building up each other’s passion, the pair gave each other sexual satisfaction;
And by playfully teasing each other during languid intervals, they gladdened each other again.

vibhūṣayām āsa tataḥ priyāṃ sa siṣeviṣus tāṃ na mṛjāvahārtham |
svenaiva rūpeṇa vibhūṣitā hi vibhūṣaṇānām api bhuṣaṇaṃ sā ||

4.12 Wishing to cherish his beloved, he bedecked her there in finery, but not with the aim of making her beautiful –
For she was so graced already by her own loveliness that she was rather the adorner of her adornments.

dattvātha sā darpaṇam asya haste mamāgrato dhāraya tāvad enam |
viśeṣakaṃ yāvad ahaṃ karomīty uvāca kāntaṃ sa ca taṃ babhāra ||

4.13 She put a mirror in his hand; “Just hold this in front of me
While I do my face,” she said to her lover, and up he held it.

bhartus tataḥ śmaśru nirīkṣamāṇā viśeṣakaṅ sāpi cakāra tādṛk |
niśvāsavātena ca darpañasya cikitsayitvā nijaghāna nandaḥ ||

4.14 Then, beholding her husband’s stubble she began to paint her face just like it,
But, with a breath on the mirror, Nanda soon took care of that.

sā tena ceṣṭālalitena bhartuḥ śāṭhyena cāntarmanasā jahāsa |
bhavec ca ruṣṭā kila nāma tasmai lalāṭajihmāṃ bhṛkuṭiṃ cakāra ||

4.15 At this wanton gesture of her husband, and at his wickedness, she inwardly laughed;
But, pretending to be furious with him, she cocked her eyebrows and frowned.

cikṣepa karṇotpalam asya cāṃse kareña savyena madālasena |
pattrāṅguliṃ cārdhanimīlitākṣe vaktre ’sya tām eva vinirdudhāva ||

4.16 With a left hand made languid by love, she took a flower from behind her ear and threw it at his shoulder;
Again, as he kept his eyes half-shut, she sprinkled over his face the scented make-up she had been using to powder herself.

tataś calannūpurayoktritābhyāṃ nakhaprabhodhāsitarāṅgulibhyām |
padhyāṃ priyāyā nalinopamābhyāṃ mūrdhnā bhayān nāma nanāma nadaḥ ||

4.17 Then, at his wife’s lotus like feet, which were girt in trembling ankle bracelets,
Their toes sparkling with nail gloss, Nanda bowed his head, in mock terror

sa muktapuṣponmiṣitena mūrdhnā tataḥ priyāyāḥ priyakṛd babhāse |
suvarṇavedyām anilāvabhagnaḥ puṣpātibhārād iva nāgavṛkṣaḥ ||

4.18 As his head emerged from beneath the discarded flower, he made as if to regain his lover’s affections;
He looked like an ornamental nāga tree, overburdened with blossoms, that had toppled in the wind onto its golden pedestal.

sā taṃ stanodvartitahāraṣṭir utthāpayām āsa nipīḍya dorbhyām |
kathaṃ kṛto ’sīti jahāsa coccair mukhena sācīkṛtakuṇḍalena ||

4.19 Pressing him so close in her arms that her pearls lifted off from her swelling breasts, she raised him up;
“What are you doing!?” she cried laughingly, as her earrings dangled across her face.

patyus tato darpaṇasaktapāṇer muhurmuhur vaktram avekṣamāṇā |
tamālapattrārdratale kapole samāpayāmāsa viśeṣakaṃ tat ||

4.20 Then, looking repeatedly at the face of her husband, whose hand had clung to the mirror,
She completed her face-painting, so that the surface of her cheeks was wet with tamāla juice.

tasyā mukhaṅ tat satamālapattraṅ tāmrādharauṣṭhaṃ cikurāyatākṣam |
raktādhikāgraṃ patitadvirephaṅ saśaivalaṅ padmam ivābabhāse ||

4.21 Framed by the tamāla smudges, her face with its cherry red lips, and wide eyes extending to her hair,
Seemed like a lotus framed by duck-weed, with crimson tips, and two big bees settled on it.

nandas tato darpaṇam ādareṇa bibhrat tadāmaṇḍanasākṣibhūtam |
viśeṣakāvekṣaṇakekarākṣo laḍat priyāyā vadanaṃ dadarśa ||

4.22 Attentively now, Nanda held the mirror, which was bearing witness to a work of beauty.
Squinting to see the flecks she had painted, he beheld the face of his impish lover.

tat kuṇḍalādaṣṭaviśeṣakāntaṃ kāraṇḍavakliṣṭam ivāravindam |
nandaḥ priyāyā mukham īkṣamāṇo bhūyaḥ priyānandakaro babhūva ||

4.23 The make-up was nibbled away at its edges by her earrings so that her face was like a lotus that had suffered the attentions of a kāraṇḍava duck.
Nanda, by gazing upon that face, became all the more the cause of his wife’s happiness.

vimānakalpe sa vimānagarbhe tatas tathā caiva nandana nandaḥ |
tathāgataś cāgatabhaikṣakālo bhaikṣāya tasya praviveṣa veśma ||

4.24 While Nanda, inside the palace, in what almost amounted to a dishonour, was thus enjoying himself,
The Tathāgata, the One Thus Come, come begging time, had entered the palace, for the purpose of begging.

avāṅmukho niṣpraṇayaś ca tasthau bhrātu gṛhe ’nyasya gṛhe yathaiva |
tasmād atho preṣyajanapramādād bhikṣām alabdhaiva punar jagāma ||

4.25 With face turned down, he stood, in his brother’s house as in any other house, not expecting anything;
And then, since due to the servants’ oversight, he received no alms, he went again on his way.

kā cit pipeṣāṅgavilepanaṃ hi vāso ’ṅganā kā cid avāsayac ca |
ayojayat snānavidhiṃ tathānyā jagranthur anyāḥ surabhīḥ srajaś ca ||

4.26 For one woman was grinding fragrant body oils; another was perfuming clothes;
Another, likewise, was preparing a bath; while other women strung together sweet-smelling garlands

tasmin gṛhe bhartur ataś carantyaḥ krīḍānurūpaṃ lalitaṃ niyogam |
kāś cin na buddhaṃ dadṛśur yuvatyo buddhasya vaiṣā niyataṅ manīṣā ||

4.27 The girls in that house were thus so busy doing work to promote their master’s romantic play
That none of them had seen the Buddha – or so the Buddha inevitably concluded.

kā cit sthitā tatra tu harmyapṛṣṭhe gavākṣapakṣe praṇidhāya cakṣuḥ |
viniṣpatantaṃ sugataṃ dadarśa payodagarbhād iva dīptam arkam ||

4.28 One woman there, however, on glancing through a round side-window on the upper storey of the palace,
Had seen the Sugata, the One Gone Well, going away – like the blazing sun emerging from a cloud.

sā gauravaṃ tatra vicārya bhartuḥ svayā ca bhaktyārhatayārhataś ca |
nandasya tasthau purato vivakṣus tadājñayā ceti tadācacakṣe ||

4.29 Thinking in that moment of the importance of the Worthy One to the master of the house, and through her own devotion to the Worthy One,
She stood before Nanda, intending to speak. And then, with his permission, up she spoke:

anugrahāyāsya janasya śaṅke gurur gṛhaṃ no bhagavān praviṣṭaḥ |
bhikṣām alabdhvā giram āsanaṃ vā sūnyād araṇyād iva yāti bhūyaḥ ||

4.30 “To show favour to us, I suppose, the Glorious One, the Guru, came into our house;
Having received neither alms, nor welcoming words, nor a place to sit, he is going away, as if from an empty forest.”

śrutvā maharṣeḥ sa gṛhapraveśaṃ satkārahīnaṃ ca punaḥprayāṇam |
cacāla citrābharaṇāmbarasrak kalpadrumo dhūta ivānilena ||

4.31 When he heard that the great Seer had entered his house and departed again without receiving a welcome,
[Nanda] in his brightly-coloured gems and garments and garlands, flinched, like a tree in Indra’s paradise shaken by a gust of wind.

kṛtvāñjaliṃ mūrdhani padmakalpaṃ tataḥ sa kāntāṃ gamanaṃ yayāce |
kartuṃ gamiṣyāmi gurau praṇāmaṃ mām abhyanujñātum ihārhasīti ||

4.32 He brought to his forehead hands joined in the shape of a lotus bud, and then he begged 13 his beloved to be allowed to go:
“I would like to go and pay my respects to the Guru. Please permit me, this once.”

sā vepamānā parisasvaje taṃ śālaṃ latā vātasamīriteva |
dadarśa cāśuplutalolanetrā dīrghaṃ ca niśvasya vaco ’bhyuvāca ||

4.33 Shivering, she twined herself around him, like a wind-stirred creeper around a teak tree;
She looked at him through unsteady tear-filled eyes, took a deep breath, and told him:

nāhaṃ yiyāsor gurudarśanārtham arhāmi kartuṃ tava dharmapīḍām |
gacchāryaputraihi ca śīghram eva viśeṣako yāvad ayaṅ na śuṣkaḥ ||

4.34 “Since you wish to go and see the Guru, I shall not stand in the way of your dharma-duty.
Go, noble husband! But come quickly back, before this paint on my face is dry.

saced bhaves tvaṃ khalu dīrghasūtro daṇdaṃ mahāntaṃ tvayi pātayeyam |
muhurmuhus tvāṃ śayitaṃ kucābhyāṃ vibodhayeyaṃ ca na cālapeyam ||

4.35 If you dawdle, I will punish you severely:
As you sleep I shall with my breasts, repeatedly wake you, and then not respond.

athāpy anāśyānaviśeṣakāyāṃ mayy eṣyasi tvaṃ tvaritaṃ tatas tvām |
nipīḍayiṣyāmi bhujadvayena nirbhūṣañenārdravilepanena ||

4.36 But if you hurry back to me before my face-paint is dry,
Then I will hold you close in my arms with nothing on except fragrant oils.”

ity evam uktaś ca nipīḍitaś ca tayāsavarṇasvanayā jagāda |
evaṃ kariṣyāmi vimuñca caṇḍi yāvad gurur dūragato na me saḥ ||

4.37 Thus implored, and squeezed, by a dissonant-sounding [Sundarī], [Nanda] said:
“I will, my little vixen. Now let me go, before the Guru has gone too far.”

tataḥ stanodvartitacandanābhyāṃ mukto bhujābhyāṃ na tu mānasena |
vihāya veṣaṃ madanānurūpaṃ satkārayogyaṃ sa vapur babhāra ||

4.38 And so, with arms made fragrant by her swollen sandal-scented breasts, she let him go – but not with her heart.
He took off clothes that were suited to love and took on a form that befitted his task.

sā taṃ prayāntaṃ ramaṇaṃ pradadhyau pradhyānaśūnyasthitaniścalākṣī |
sthitoccakarṇā vyapaviddhaśaṣpā bhrāntasṃ mṛgaṃ bhrāntaṃ mṛgaṅ bhrāntaṃ mukhī mṛgīva ||

4.39 She contemplated her lover leaving with brooding, empty, unmoving eyes,
Like a doe standing with ears pricked up as she lets grass drop down; and as, with a perplexed expression, she contemplates the stag wandering away.

didṛkṣayākṣiptamanā munes tu nandaḥ prayāṇaṃ prati tatvare ca |
vivṛttadṛṣṭiś ca śanair yayau tāṃ karīva paśyan sa laḍatkareñum ||

4.40 With his mind gripped by desire to set eyes upon the Sage, Nanda hurried his exit;
But then he went ponderously, and with backward glances – like an elephant looking back at a playful she-elephant.

chātodariṃ pīnapayodharoruṃ sa sundarīṃ rukmadarīm ivādreḥ |
kākṣeṇa paśyan na tatarpa nandaḥ pibann ivaikena jalaṃ kareṇa ||

4.41 Between her swelling cloud-like breasts and [the buttresses] of her full thighs, Sundarī’s lean abdomen was like a golden fissure in a rock formation:
Looking at her could satisfy Nanda no better than drinking water out of one hand.

taṅ gauravaṃ buddhagataṃ cakarṣa bhāryānurāgaḥ punar ācakarṣa |
sa ’niścayān nāpi yayau na tasthau turaṃs taraṅgeṣv iva rājahaṃsaḥ ||

4.42 Reverence for the Buddha drew him on; love for his wife drew him back:
Irresolute, he neither stayed nor went, like a king-goose pushing forwards against the waves.

adarśanaṃ tūpagataś ca tasyā harmyāt tataś cāvatatāra tūrṇam |
śrutvā tato nūpuranisvanaṃ sa punar lalambe hṛdaye gṛhītaḥ ||

4.43 Once she was out of sight, he descended from the palace quickly –
Then he heard the sound of ankle bracelets, and back he hung, gripped in his heart again.

sa kāmarāgeña nigṛhyamāṇo dharmānurāgeña ca kṛṣyamāṇaḥ |
jagāma duḥkhena vivartyamānaḥ plavaḥ pratisrota ivāpagāyāḥ ||

4.44 Held back by his love of love, and drawn forward by his love for dharma,
He struggled on, being turned about 15 like a boat on a river going against the stream.

tataḥ kramair dīrghatamaiḥ pracakrame kataṃ nu yāto na gurur bhaved iti |
svajeya tāṃ caiva viśeṣakapriyāṃ kathaṃ priyām ārdraviśeṣakām iti ||

4.45 Then his strides became longer, as he thought to himself, “Maybe the Guru is no longer there!”
“Might I after all embrace my love, who is so especially loveable, while her face-paint is still wet?”

atha sa pathi dadarśa muktamānaṃ pitṛnagare ’pi tathāgatābhimānam |
daśabalam abhito vilambamānaṃ dhvajam anuyāna ivaindram arcyamānam ||

4.46 And so on the road [Nanda] saw the One in Whom Absence Was Thus, the Tathāgata, devoid of pride and – even in his father’s city – haughtiness thus absent;
Seeing the Possessor of Ten Powers stopping and being honoured on all sides, [Nanda] felt as if he were following Indra’s flag.

saundaranande mahākāvye bhāryāyācitako nāma caturthaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 4th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Wife’s Appeal.”

athāvatīryāśvarathadvipebhyaḥ śākyā yathāsvarddhi gṛhītaveṣāḥ |
mahāpaṇebhyo vyavahāriṇaś ca mahāmunau bhaktivaśāt praṇemuḥ ||

5.1 Then the Śākyas, each clothed in accordance with his wealth and accomplishments, got down from their horses, chariots, and elephants,
And the traders came out of their big shops: by dint of their devotion, they bowed down before the great Sage.

ke cit praṇamyānuyayur mhūrtaṅ ke cit praṇamyārthavaśena jagmuḥ |
ke cit svakeṣv āvastheṣu tastuḥ kṛtvāñjalīn vikṣaṇatatparākṣāḥ ||

5.2 Some bowed and then followed for a while; some bowed and went, being compelled to work.
But some remained still at their own dwelling-places, their hands joined and eyes observing him in the distance.

buddhas tatas tatra narendramārga sroto mahadbhaktimato janasya |
jagāma duūkhena vigāhamāno jalāgame srota ivāpagāyāḥ ||

5.3 The Buddha then, and there, on the royal road, struggled on
Into the gushing throng of the greatly devoted, as if entering the torrent of a river in the rains.

atho mahadbhiḥ pathi saṃpatadbhiḥ saṃpūjyamānāya tathāgatāya |
kartuṃ prañāmaṃ na śaśāka nandas tenābhireme tu guror mahimnā ||

5.4 And so, with the great and the good rapidly converging on the road, to honour the Tathāgata,
Nanda was unable to make a bow; but still he could delight in the Guru’s greatness.

svaṃ cāvasaṅgaṃ pathi nirmumukṣur bhaktiṃ janasyānyamateś ca rakṣan |
nandaṃ ca gehābhimukhaṃ jighṛkṣan mārgaṃ tato ’nyaṃ sugataḥ prapede ||

5.5 Wishing to shake off adherents to him on the road, while tending the devotion of people who were differently minded,
And wishing to take Nanda in hand, who was turning for home, the One Gone Well therefore took a different path.

tato viviktaṃ ca viviktacetāḥ sanmārgavin mārgam abhipratasthe |
gatvāgrataś cāgryatamāya tasmai nāndīvimuktāya nanāma nadnaḥ ||

5.6 He of the solitary and separate mind, a knower of the true path, took a solitary and separate path;
And Nanda whose name was Joy, going out in front, could bow to him, the One gone beyond joy, who was furthest out in front.

śanair vrjann eva sa gauraveṇa paṭāvṛtāṃso vinatārdhakāyaḥ |
adhonibaddhāñjalir ūrdhvanetraḥ sagadgadaṃ vākyam idaṃ babhāṣe ||

5.7 Walking forward meekly, with respectful seriousness, with cloak over one shoulder, body half-stooped,
Hands held down and eyes raised up, Nanda stuttered these words:

prāsādasaṃstho bhagavantam antaḥpraviṣṭam aśrauṣam anugrahāya |
atas tvarāvān aham abhyupeto gṛhasya kakṣyā mahato ’bhasūyan ||

5.8 “While I was in the palace penthouse, Glorious One, I learned that you came in for our benefit;
And so I have come in a hurry, indignant with the many members of the palace household.

tat sādhu sādhupriya matpriyārthaṃ tatrāstu bikṣūttama bhaikṣakālsaḥ |
asau hi madhyaṃ nabhaso yiyāsuḥ kālaṃ pratismārayatīva sūryaḥ ||

5.9 Therefore, rightly, O Favourer of the Righteous, and as a favour to me, be there [at the palace], O Supreme Seeker of Alms, at the time for eating alms,
For the sun is about to reach the middle of the sky, as if to remind us of the time.”

ity evam uktaḥ praṇatena tena snehābhimānonmukhalocanena |
tādṛṅnimittaṃ sugataś cakāra nāhārakṛtyaṃ sa yathā viveda ||

5.10 Thus addressed by the bowing [Nanda], whose expectant eyes looked up with tender affection,
The One Gone Well made a sign such that Nanda knew he would not be taking a meal.

tataḥ sa kṛtvā munaye praṇāmaṃ gṛhaprayāṇāya matiṃ cakāra |
anugrahārthaṃ sugatas tu tasmai pātraṃ dadau puṣkarapattranetraḥ ||

5.11 Then, having made his bow to the Sage, he made up his mind to head home;
But, as a favour, the One Gone Well, with lotus petal eyes, handed him his bowl.

tataḥ sa loke dadataḥ phalārthaṃ pātrasya tasyāpratimasya pātram |
jagrāha cāpagrahaṇakṣaṃābhyāṃ padmopamābhyāṃ prayataḥ karābhyām ||

5.12 The Incomparable Vessel was offering his own vessel, to reap a fruit in the human world,
And so Nanda, outstretched, held the bowl with lotus-like hands, which were better suited to the holding of a bow.

parāṅmukhas tv anyamanaskam ārād vijñāya nandaḥ sugataṃ gatāstham |
hastasthapātro ’pi gṛha yiyāsuḥ sasāra mārgān munim īkṣamāṇaḥ ||

5.13 But as soon as he sensed that the mind of the One Gone Well had gone elsewhere and was not on him, Nanda backtracked;
Wanting, even with the bowl in his hands, to go home, he sidled away from the path – while keeping his eye on the Sage.

bhāryānurāgeṇa yadā gṛhaṃ sa pātraṃ gṛhītvāpi yiyāsur eva |
vimohayām āsa munis tatas taṃ rathyāmukhasyāvaraṇena tasya ||

5.14 Then, at the moment that he in his yearning for his wife, despite holding the bowl, was about to head for home,
Just then the Sage bamboozled him, by blocking his entrance to the highway.

nirmokṣabījaṃ hi dadarśa tasya jñanaṃ mṛdu kleśarajaś ca tīvram |
kleśānukūlaṃ viṣayātmakaṅ ca nandaṃ yatas taṃ munir ācakarṣa ||

5.15 For he saw that in Nanda the seed of liberation, which is wisdom, was tenuous; while the fog of the afflictions was terribly thick;
And since he was susceptible to the afflictions and sensual by nature, therefore the Sage reined him in.

saṃkleśapakṣo dvividhaś ca dṛṣṭas tathā dvikalpo vyavadānapakṣaḥ |
ātmāśrayo hetubalādhikasya bāhyāśrayaḥ pratyayagauravasya ||

5.16 There are understood to be two aspects to defilement; correspondingly, there are two approaches to purification:
In one with stronger motivation from within, there is self-reliance; in one who assigns weight to conditions, there is outer-dependence.

ayatnato hetubalādhikas tu nirmucyate ghaṭṭitamātra eva |
yatnena tu pratyayaneyabuddhir vimokṣam āpnoti parāśrayeṇa ||

5.17 The one who is more strongly self-motivated loosens ties without even trying, on receipt of the slightest stimulus;
Whereas the one whose mind is led by conditions struggles to find freedom, because of his dependence on others.

nandaḥ sa ca pratyayaneyacetā yaṃ śiśriye tanmayatām avāpa |
yasmād imaṃ tatra cakāra yatnaṃ taṃ snehapaṅkān munir ujjihīrṣam ||

5.18 And Nanda, whose mind was led by conditions, became absorbed into whomever he depended on;
The Sage, therefore, made this effort in his case, wishing to lift him out of the mire of love.

nandas tu duḥkhena viceṣṭamānaḥ śanair agatyā gurum anvagacchat |
bhāryāmukhaṃ vīkṣaṇalolanetraṃ vicintayann ādraviśeṣakaṃ tat ||

5.19 But Nanda followed the Guru meekly and helplessly, squirming with discomfort,
As he thought of his wife’s face, her eyes looking out restlessly, and the painted marks still moist.

tato munis taṃ priyamālyahāraṃ vasantamāsena kṛtābhihāram |
nināya bhagnapramadāvihāraṃ vidyāvihārābhimataṃ vihāram ||

5.20 And so the Sage led him, lover of garlands of pearls and flowers, whom the month of Spring, [Love’s friend,] had appropriated,
To a playground where women were a broken amusement – to the vihāra, beloved as a pleasure-ground of learning.

dīnaṃ mahākāruṇikas tatas taṃ dṛṣṭvā muhūrtaṃ karuṇāyamānaḥ |
kareṇa cakdrāṅkatalena mūrdhni pasparśa caivedam uvāca cainam ||

5.21 Then the Greatly Compassionate One, watching him in his moment of misery and pitying him,
Put a hand, with wheel-marked palm, on his head and spoke to him thus:

yāvan na hiṃsraḥ samupaiti kālaḥ śamāya tāvat kuru saumya buddhim |
sarvāsv avasthāsv iha vartamānaḥ sarvābhisāreṇa nihanti mṛtyuḥ ||

5.22 “While murderous Time has yet to come calling, set your mind, my friend, in the direction of peace.
For operating in all situations, using all manner of attacks, Death kills.

sādhāraṇāt svapnanibhādasārāl lolaṃ manaḥ kāmasukhān niyaccha |
havyair ivāgneḥ pavaneritasya lokasya kāmair na hi tṛptir asti ||

5.23 Restrain the restless mind from sensual pleasures, which are common, dream-like, and insubstantial;
For no more than a wind-fanned fire is sated by offerings are men satisfied by pleasures.

śraddhādhanaṃ śreṣṭhatamaṃ dhanebhyaḥ prajñārasas tṛptir rasebhyaḥ |
pradhānamadhyātmasukhaṃ sukhebhyo ’vidyāratir duḥkhatatmā ratibhyaḥ ||

5.24 Most excellent among gifts is the gift of confidence. Most satisfying of tastes is the taste of real wisdom.
Foremost among comforts is being comfortable in oneself. The bliss of ignorance is the sorriest bliss.

hitasya vaktā pravaraḥ suṛdbhyo dharmāya khedo guṇavān śramebhyaḥ |
jñānāya kṛtyaṃ paramaṃ kriyābhyaḥ kim indriyāṇām upagamya dāsyam ||

5.25 The kindest-hearted friend is he who tells one what is truly salutary. The most meritorious effort is to exhaust oneself in pursuit of the truth.
Supreme among labours is to work towards true understanding. Why would one enter into service of the senses?

tan niścitaṃ bhīklamaśugviyuktaṃ pareṣv anāyattam ahāryam anyaiḥ |
nityaṃ śivaṃ śāntisukhaṃ vṛṇīṣva kim indriyārthārtham anartham ūḍhvā ||

5.26 Select then that which is conclusive, which is beyond fear, fatigue and sorrow, and which is neither dependent on others nor removable by others:
Select the lasting and benign happiness of extinction. What is the point of enduring disappointment, by making an object of sense-objects?

jarāsamā nāsty amṛjā prajānāṃ vyādheḥ samo nāsti jagaty anarthaḥ |
mṛtyoḥ samaṃ nāsti bhayaṃ pṛthivyām etat trayaṃ khalv avaśena sevyam ||

5.27 Nothing takes away people’s beauty like aging, there is no misfortune in the world like sickness,
And no terror on earth like death. Yet these three, inevitably, shall be obeyed.

snehena kaś cin na samo ’sti pāśaḥ sroto na tṛṇāsamam asti hāri |
rāgāgninā nāsti samas tathāgnis tac cet trayaṃ nāsti sukhaṃ ca te ’sti ||

5.28 There is no fetter like love, no torrent that carries one away like thirst,
And likewise no fire like the fire of passion. If not for these three, happiness would be yours.

avaśyabhāvi priyaviprayogas tasmāc ca śoko niyataṃ viṣevyaḥ |
śokena conmādam upeyivāṃso rājarṣayo ’nye ’py avaśā viceluḥ ||

5.29 Separation from loved ones is inevitable, on which account grief is bound to be experienced.
And it is through grief that other seers who were princes have gone mad and fallen helplessly apart.

prajñāmayaṃ varma badhāna tasmān no kṣāntinighnasya hi śokabāṇāḥ |
mahac ca dagdhuṃ bhavakakṣajālaṃ saṃdhukṣayālpāgnim ivātmatejaḥ ||

5.30 So bind on the armour whose fabric is wisdom, for the arrows of grief are as naught to one steeped in patience;
And kindle the fire of your own energy to burn up the great tangled web of becoming, just as you would kindle a small fire to burn up undergrowth collected into a great heap.

yathauṣadhair hastagataiḥ savidyo na daśyate kaś cana pannagena |
tathānapekṣo jitalokamoho na daśyate śokabhujaṅgamena ||

5.31 Just as a man concerned with science, herbs in hand, is not bitten by any snake,
So a man without concern, having overcome the folly of the world, is not bitten by the snake of grief.

āsthāya yogaṃ parigamya tattvaṃ na trāsam āgacchati mṛtyukāle |
ābaddhavarmā sudhanuḥ kṛtāstro jigīṣayā śūra ivāhavasthaḥ ||

5.32 Staying with practice and fully committed to what is, at the hour of death he is not afraid –
Like a warrior-hero standing in battle, clad in armour, and equipped with a good bow, with skill in archery, and with the will to win.”

ity evam uktaḥ sa tathāgatena sarveṣu bhūteṣv anukampakena |
dhṛṣṭaṃ girāntarhṛdayena sīdaṃs tatheti nandaḥ sugataṃ babhāṣe ||

5.33 Addressed thus by the One Thus Come, the Tathāgata, in his compassion for all living beings,
Nanda while sinking inside said boldly to the Sugata, the One Well Gone: “So be it!”

atha pramādāc ca tam ujjihīrṣan matvāgamasyaiva ca pātrabhūtam |
pravrājayānanda śamāya nandam ity abravīn maitramanā maharṣiḥ ||

5.34 And so wishing to lift him up out of heedlessness, and deeming him to be a vessel worthy of the living tradition,
The Great Seer, with kindness in his heart, said: “Ānanda! Let Nanda go forth towards tranquillity.”

nandaṃ tato ’ntarmanasā rudantam ehīti vaidehamunir jagāda |
śanais tatas taṃ samupetya nando na pravrajiṣyāmy aham ity uvāca ||

5.35 Then the sage of Videha said to Nanda, who was weeping inside: “Come!”
At this Nanda approached him meekly and said “I won’t go forth.”

śrutvātha nandasya manīṣitaṃ tad buddhāya vaidehamuniḥ śaśaṃsa |
saṃśrutya tasmād api tasya bhāvaṃ mahāmunir nandam uvāca bhūyaḥ ||

5.36 On hearing Nanda’s idea, the Videha sage related it to the Buddha;
And so, after hearing from him also as to Nanda’s actual state, the Great Sage spoke to Nanda again:

mayy agraje pravrajite ’jitātman bhrātṣṛv anupravrajiteṣu cāsmān |
jñātīṃś tasmād api tasya bhāvaṃ mahāmunir nandam uvāca bhūyaḥ ||

5.37 “O you who have yet to conquer yourself! Given that I, your elder brother, have gone forth, and your cousins have gone forth after me,
And seeing that our relatives who remain at home are committed to practice, are you minded to be conscious of consciousness, or are you not?

rājarṣayas te viditā na nūnaṃ vanāni ye śiśriyire hasantaḥ |
niṣṭhīvya kāmān upaśāntikāmāḥ kāmeṣu naivaṃ kṛpaṇeṣu saktāḥ ||

5.38 Evidently the royal seers are unbeknown to you who retreated smiling into the forests;
Having spat out desires, they were desirous of tranquillity and thus not stuck in lower order desires.

bhūyaḥ samālokya gṛheṣu doṣān niśāmya tattyāgakṛtaṃ ca śarma |
naivāsti moktuṃ maitrālayaṃ te deśaṃ mumūrṣor iva sopasargam ||

5.39 Again, you have experienced the drawbacks of family life and you have observed the relief to be had from leaving it,
And yet you, like a man in a disaster area who is resigned to his death, have no intention of giving up and leaving house and home.

saṃsārakāntāraparāyaṇasya śive kathaṃ te pathi nārurukṣā |
āropyamāṇasya tam eva mārgaṃ bhraṣṭasya sārthād iva sārthikasya ||

5.40 How can you be so devoted to the wasteland of saṁsāra and so devoid of desire to take the auspicious path
When – like a desert trader who drops out from a caravan – you have been set on that very path?

yaḥ sarvato veśmani dahyamāne śayita mohān na tato vyapeyāt |
kālāgninā vyādhijarāśikhena loke pradīpte sa bhavet pramattaḥ ||

5.41 One who in a house burning on all sides, instead of getting out of there, would lie down in his folly to sleep,
Only he might be heedless, in a world burning in the fire of Time, with its flames of sickness and aging.

prañīyamānaś ca yathā vadhāya matto hasec ca pralapec ca vadhyaḥ |
mṛtyau tathā tiṣṭhati pāśahaste śocyaḥ pramādyan viparītacetāḥ ||

5.42 Again, like the condemned man being led, drunkenly laughing and babbling, to the stake,
Equally to be lamented is one whose mind is upside-down, cavorting while Death stands by, with noose in hand.

yadā narendrāś ca kuṭumbinaś ca vihāya badhūṃś ca parigrahāṃś ca |
yayuś ca yāsyanti ca yānti caiva priyeṣv anityeṣv kuto ’nurodhaḥ ||

5.43 When kings and humble householders, leaving relations and possessions behind,
Have gone forth, will go forth, and even now are going forth, what is the point of pandering to fleeting fondnesses?

kiṃ cin na paśyāmi ratasya yatra tad anyabhāvena bhaven na duḥkham |
tasmāt kva cin na kṣamate prasktir yadi kṣamas tadvigamān na śokaḥ ||

5.44 I do not see any pleasure which might not, by turning into something else, become pain.
Therefore no attachment bears scrutiny – unless the grief is bearable that arises from the absence of its object.

tat saumya lolaṃ parigamya lokaṃ māyopamaṃ citram ivendrajālam |
priyābhidhāntaṃ tayja mohajālaṃ chettuṃ matis te yadi duḥkhajālam ||

5.45 So, my friend, knowing the human world to be fickle, a net of Indra, a web of fictions, like a gaudy magic show,
Abandon the net of delusion you call ‘my love,’ if you are minded to cut the net of suffering.

varaṃ hitodarkam aniṣṭam annaṃ na svādu yat syād ahitānubaddham |
yasmād ahaṃ tvā viniyojayāmi śive śucau vartmani vipriye ’pi ||

5.46 Unfancied food that does one good is better than tasty food that may do harm:
On that basis I commend you to a course which, though unpalatable, is wholesome and honest.

bālasya dhārtrī vinigṛhya loṣṭaṃ yathoddharaty āsyapuṭapraviṣṭam |
tathojjihīrṣuḥ khalu rāgaśalyaṃ tat tvām avocaṃ paruṣaṃ hitāya ||

5.47 Just as a nurse keeps firm hold of an infant while taking out soil it has put in its mouth,
So, wishing to draw out the dart of passion, have I spoken to you sharply for your own good.

aniṣṭam apy auṣadham āturāya dadāti vaidyaś ca yathā nigṛhya |
tadvan mayoktaṃ pratikūlam etat tubhyaṃ hitodarkam anugrahāya ||

5.48 And just as a doctor restrains a patient then gives him bitter medicine;
So have I given you, in order to help you, this disagreeable advice with beneficial effect.

tad yāvad eva kṣañasaṃnipāto na mṛtyur āgacchati yāvad eva |
yāvad vayo yogavidhau samarthaṃ buddhiṃ kuru śreyasi tāvad eva ||

5.49 Therefore, while you are meeting the present moment, while death has yet to come,
So long as you have the energy for practice, decide on better.

ity evam uktaḥ sa vināyakena hitaiṣinā kāruṇikena nandaḥ |
kartāsmi sarvaṃ bhagavan vacas te tathā yathājñāpaysīty uvāca ||

5.50 Addressed thus by his benevolent and compassionate guide,
Nanda said, “I shall do, Glorious One, all that you say, just as you teach it.”

ādāya vaidehamunis tatas taṃ nināya saṃśliṣya viceṣṭamānam |
vyayojayac cāsrupariplutākṣaṃ keśaśriyaṃ chattranibhasya mūrdhnaḥ ||

5.51 At this the sage of Videha reclaimed him, and held him close as he led him off writhing,
And then, while [Nanda’s] eyes welled with tears, he separated the crowning glory of his hair from the royal umbrella of his head.

atho nataṃ tasya mukhaṃ sabāṣpaṃ pravāsyamāneṣu śiroruheṣu |
vakrāgranālaṃ nalinaṃ taḍāge varṣodakalinnam ivābabhāse ||

5.52 As his hair was thus being banished, his tearful downcast face
Resembled a rain-sodden lotus in a pond with the top of its stalk sagging down.

nandas tatas tarukaṣāyaviraktavāsāś cintāvaśo navagṛhita iva dvipendraḥ |
pūrṇaḥ śaśī bahulapakṣagataḥ kṣapānte bālātpena pariṣikta ivābabhāse ||

5.53 Thence, in drab garb with the dull yellow-red colour of tree bark, and despondent as a newly-captured elephant,
Nanda resembled a waning full moon at night’s end, sprinkled by the powdery rays of the early morning sun.

saundaranande mahākāvye nandapravrājano nāma pañcamaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 5th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Nanda Is Caused to Go Forth.”

tato hṛte bhartari gauraveṇa prītau hṛtāyām aratau kṛtāyām |
tatraiva harmyopari vartamānā na sundarī saiva tadā babhāse ||

6.1 And so, with her husband riven away through his respect for the Guru, bereft of her happiness, left joyless,
Though she remained at the same spot, high up in the palace, Sundarī no longer seemed to be herself.

sā bhartur abhyāgamanapratīkṣā gavākṣam ākramya payodharābhyām |
dvāronmukhī calayoktrakā lalambe mukhena tiryaṅnatakuṇḍalena ||

6.2 Anticipating her husband’s approach, she leant forward, her breasts invading the bulls-eye window.
Expectantly she looked out from the palace roof towards the gateway, her earrings dangling down across her face.

vilambhaārā calayoktrakā sā tasmād vimānād vinatā cakāśe |
tapaḥksayād apsarasāṃ vareva cyutaṃ vimānāt priyam īkṣamāṇā ||

6.3 With her pearl necklaces hanging down, and straps dishevelled, as she bent down from the palace,
She looked like the most gorgeous of the heavenly nymphs (the apsarases) gazing from her celestial abode at her lover, as he falls down, having used up his ascetic credit.

sā khedasaṃsvinnalalāṭakena niśvāsanīṣpītaviśeṣakeṇa |
cintācalākṣeṇa mukhena tasthau bartāram anyatra viśaṅkamānā ||

6.4 With a cold sweat on her beautiful brow, her face-paint drying in her sighs,
And her eyes restless with anxious thoughts, there she stood, suspecting her husband, somewhere else.

tataś cirasthānaparśrameña sthitaiva paryaṅkatale papāta |
tiryak ca śiśye pravikīrṇahārā sapādukaikārthavilambapādā ||

6.5 Tired out by a long time standing in that state, she dropped, just where she stood, onto a couch,
And lay across it with her necklaces scattered and a slipper half hanging off her foot.

athātra kā cit pramadā sabāṣpāṃ tāṃ duḥkhitāṃ draṣṭum anīpsamānā |
prāsādasopānatalapraṇādaṃ cakāra padbhyāṃ sahasā rudantī ||

6.6 One of her women, not wishing to see Sundarī in such tearful distress,
Was making her way down from the palace penthouse, when she burst into tears, and made a commotion with her feet on the stairs.

tasyāś ca sopānatalapraṇādaṃ śrutaiva tūrṇaṃ punar utpapāta |
prītyā prasaktaiva ca saṃjaharṣa priyopayānaṃ pariśaṅkamānā ||

6.7 Hearing the sound on the stairs of that woman’s feet [Sundarī] quickly jumped up again;
Transfixed with joy, she bristled with excitement, believing it to be the approach of her beloved.

sā trāsayantī valabhīpuṭasthān pārāvatān nūpuranisvanena |
sopānakukṣiṅ prasasāra harṣād bhraṣṭaṃ dukūlāntam acintayantī ||

6.8 Scaring the pigeons in their rooftop roosts with the jangling of her ankle bracelets,
She dashed to the stairwell, without worrying, in her excitement, about what extremity of her diaphonous raiments might be falling off.

tām aṅganāṃ prekṣya ca vipralabdhā niśvasya bhūyaḥ śayanaṃ prapede |
vivarṇavaktrā na rarāja cāśu vivarṇacandreva himāgame dyauḥ ||

6.9 On seeing the woman she was crestfallen; she sighed, threw herself again onto the couch,
And no longer shone: with her face suddenly 01 pallid she was as grey as a pale-mooned sky in early winter.

sā duḥkhitā bhartur adarśanena kāmena kopena ca dahyamānā |
kṛtvā kare vaktram upopaviṣṭā cintānadīṃ śokajalāṃ tatāra ||

6.10 Distressed at not seeing her husband, burning with desire and fury,
She sat down with face in hand and steeped herself in the river of worries, whose water is sorrow.

tasyā mukhaṃ padmasapatnabhūtaṃ pāṇau sthitaṅ pallavarāgatāmre |
chāyāmayasyāmbhasi paṅkajasya babhau nataṃ padmam ivopariṣṭāt ||

6.11 Her lotus-rivalling face, resting on the hennaed stem of her hand,
Was like a lotus above the reflection in the water of its mud-born self, drooping down.

sā strīsvabhāvena vicintya tat tad dṛṣṭānurāge ’bhimukhe ’pi patyau |
dharmāśrite tattvam avindamānā saṃkalpya tat tad vilalāpa tat tat ||

6.12 She considered various possibilities, in accordance with a woman’s nature; then, failing to see the truth that her husband had taken refuge in the dharma, while obviously still impassioned and in love with her, she constructed various scenarios and uttered various laments:

eṣyāmy anāśyānaviśeṣakāyāṃ tvayīti kṛtvā mayi tāṃ pratijñām |
kasmān nu hetor dayitapratijñaḥ so ’dya priya me vitathapratijñaḥ ||

6.13 “He promised me: ‘I’ll be back before your make-up is dry’;
From what cause would such a cherisher of promises as my beloved is, be now a breaker of promises?

āryasya sādhoḥ karuṇātmakasya mannityabhīror atidakṣiṇasya |
kuto vikāro ’yam abhūtapūrvaḥ svenāparāgeṇa mamāpacārāt ||

6.14 In him who was noble, good, compassionate, always in awe of me, and all too honest,
How has such an unprecedented transformation come about? Through a loss of passion on his part? From a mistake of mine?

ratipriyasya priyavartino me priyasya nūnaṃ hṛdayaṃ viraktam |
tathāpi rāgo yadi tasya hi syān maccittarakṣī na sa nāgataḥ syāt ||

6.15 The heart of my lover – lover of sexual pleasure and of me – has obviously waned in its passion,
For if he did still love me, having regard for my heart, he would not have failed to return.

rūpeṇa bhāvena ca madviśiṣtā priyeṇa dṛṣṭā niyataṃ tato ’nyā |
tathā hi kṛtvā mayi moghasāntvaṃ lagnāṃ satīṃ mām agamad vihāya ||

6.16 Another woman, then, in beauty and in nature better than me, my beloved has surely beheld;
For, having soothed me as he did with empty words, the guy has gone and left me, attached to him as I am.

bhaktiṃ sa buddhaṃ prati yām avocat tasya prayātuṃ mayi sopadeśaḥ |
munau prasādo yadi tasya hi syān mṛtyor ivogrād anṛtād bibhīyāt ||

6.17 As for that devotion to Buddha of which he spoke, it was just a line to me for leaving;
For if he were clearly settled on the Sage he would fear untruth no less than a grisly death.

lekārtham ādarśanam anyacitto vibhūṣayantya mama dhārayitvā |
bibharti so ’nyasya janasya taṅ cen namo ’stu tasmai calasauhṛdāya ||

6.18 While I put my make-up on, he held the mirror as a service to me, and thought of another!
If he holds it now for that other so much for his fickle affection!

necchanti yāḥ śokam avāptum evaṃ śraddhātum arhanti na tā narāṇām |
kva cānuvṛttir mayi sāsya pūrvaṃ tyāgaḥ kva cāyaṃ janavat kṣaṇena ||

6.19 Any woman who does not wish to suffer grief like this should never trust a man.
How could he treat me before with such regard and then in a twinkling leave me like this, like anybody?”

ity evamādi priyaviprakutā priye ’nyad āśaṅkya ca sā jagāda |
saṃbhrāntam āruhya ca tad vimānaṃ tāṃ strī sabāṣpā giram ity uvāca ||

6.20 This she said and more, love-lorn, and suspecting her love of loving another.
Then the giddy weeping woman, having dizzily climbed the palace stairs, tearfully told her these words:

yuvāpi tāvat priyadarśano ’pi saubhāgyabhāgvyābhijanānvito ’pi |
yas tvāṃ priyo nābhyacarat kadā cit tam anyathā yāsyatikātarāsi ||

6.21 “Though he may be young, good-looking, full of noble ancestry, and filled with charm and fortune,
Never did your husband cheat on you. You are being silly, and judging him amiss.

mā svāminaṃ svāmini doṣato gāḥ priyaṃ priyārhaṃ priyakāriṇaṃ tam |
na sa tvad anyāṃ pramadām avaiti svacakravākyā iva cakravākaḥ ||

6.22 Ma’am! Do not accuse your loving husband, a doer of loving deeds who merits your love;
He never even looks at any woman other than you, like greylag gander with kindred greylag goose.

sa tu tvadarthaṃ gṛhavāsam īpsan jijīviṣus tvatparitoṣahetoḥ |
bhrātrā kilāryeṇa tathāgatena pravrājito netrajalārdravaktraḥ ||

6.23 For you, he wished to stay at home; for your delight, he wished to live;
But his noble brother, the Tathāgata, so they say, has banished him, his face made wet by tears, into the wandering life.

śrutvā tato bhartari tāṃ pravṛttiṃ savepathuḥ sā sahasotpapāta |
pragṛhya bāhū virurāva coccair hṛdīva digdhābhihatā kareṇuḥ ||

6.24 Then, on hearing what had happened to her husband, all of a sudden, up she leapt, shaking;
She clasped her arms and screamed out loud like a she-elephant shot in the heart by a poisoned arrow.

sā rdoanāroṣitaraktadṛṣṭiḥ saṃtāpasaṃkṣobhitagātrayaṣṭiḥ |
papāta śīrṇākulahārayaṣṭiḥ phalātibhārād iva cūtayaṣṭiḥ ||

6.25 Her eyes puffed-up and reddened by tears, the slender trunk of her body trembling with anguish,
She broke and scattered strings of pearls, as down she fell, like a mango branch weighed down by too much fruit.

sā padmarāgaṃ vasanaṃ vasānā padmānanā padmadalāyatākṣī |
padmā vipadmā patiteva lakṣmīḥ śuśoṣa padmasrag ivātapena ||

6.26 Wearing clothes suffused with lotus colours, with lotus face, and eyes as long as lotus petals,
She was like a Lotus-Hued Lakṣmī, who had fallen from her lotus [pedestal]. And she withered like a lotus-garland left in the sun.

saṃcintya saṃcintya guṇāṃś ca bhartur dīrghaṃ niśaśavāsa tatāma caiva |
vibhūṣaśrīnihite prakoṣṭhe tāmre karāgre ca vinirdudhāva ||

6.27 She thought and thought about her husband’s good points, sighing long and hard and gasping
As out she flung the arms that bore her gleaming jewels and [hennaed] hands, with reddened fingertips.

na bhuṣaṇārtho mama saṃpratīti sā dikṣu cikṣepa vibhūṣaṇāni |
nirbhuṣaṇā sā patitā cakāśe viśīrṇapuṣpastabakā lateva ||

6.28 “Now I don’t have any need for ornaments!” she cried, as she hurled her jewels in all directions.
Unadorned and drooping, she resembled a creeper shorn of blossoms.

dhṛtaḥ priyeṇāyam abhūn mameti rukmatsaruṃ darpaṇam āliliṅge |
yatnāc ca vinyastatamālapattrau ruṣṭeva dhṛṣṭaṃ pramamārja gaṇḍau ||

6.29 She clasped the golden-handled mirror, and reflected, “My husband held this up for me.”
And the tamāla paint she had applied so carefully, she rubbed aggressively off her cheeks, as if the paint had angered her.

sā cakravākvīka bhṛśaṃ cukūja śyenāgrapakṣakṣatacakravākā |
vispardhamāneva vimānasaṃstahiḥ pārāvataiḥ kūjanalokaṇṭhaiḥ ||

6.30 Like a greylag goose, when a hawk has wounding talons on the gander’s wing, she hooted mightily,
As if in competition with the cooing pigeons on the palace roof, whose throats were all atremble.

vicitramṛdvāstaraṇe ’pi suptā vaiḍūryavajrapratimaṇḍite ’pi |
rukmāṅgapāde śayane mahārhe na śarma lebhe pariceṣṭamānā ||

6.31 She lay down to sleep in soft and gorgeous bedclothes, on a bed bedecked with cats-eye gems and diamonds,
But in her costly crib with golden legs, she tossed and turned, and no respite did she obtain.

saṃdṛṣya bhartuś ca vibhūṣañāni vāsāṃsi vīṇāprabhṛtiṃś ca līlāḥ |
tamo viveśābhinanāda coccaiḥ paṅkāvatīrṇeva ca saṃsasāda ||

6.32 She eyed her husband’s ornaments; his clothes, guitar and other items of amusement;
Thus she entered deeply into darkness: she raised a shriek, and then, as if descending into a mire, sank down.

sā sundarī śvāsacalodarī hi vajrāgnisaṃbhinnadarīguheva |
śokāgnināntardhṛdi dahyamānā vibhrāntacitteva tadā babhūva ||

6.33 Her belly trembled out of breathlessness, like a cave being rent inside by fiery thunderbolts.
As, in her innermost heart, she burned with the fire of grief, Sundarī seemed at that moment to be going out of her mind.

ruroda mamlau virurāva jaglau babhrāma tasthau vilalāpa dadhyau |
cakāra roṣaṃ vicakāra mālyaṃ cakarta vaktraṃ vicakarṣa vastram ||

6.34 She howled, then wilted, screamed, then swooned; she reeled, stood rooted, wailed then brooded.
She vented anger and rended garlands; she scratched her face and slashed her clothes.

tāṃ cārudantīṃ prasabhaṃ rudantīṃ saṃśrutya nāryaḥ paramābhitaptāḥ |
antargṛhād āruruhur vimānaṃ trāsena kiṃnarya ivādripṛṣṭham ||

6.35 Hearing the howling of the lovely-toothed one – for O, how lovely were her teeth! – the ladies-in-waiting suffered utmost torment;
They climbed from inside the palace up to the roof, like nervous kiṁnarīs ascending a mountain peak.

bāṣpeṇa tāḥ klinnaviṣaṇṇavaktrā varṣeṇa padminya ivārdrapadmāḥ |
sthānānurūpeṇa yathābhimānaṃ nililyire tām anu dahyamānāḥ ||

6.36 Their despondent faces wet with tears, like lotus ponds with rain-soaked lotus buds,
They settled down along with her, according to rank and as they wished, and along with her they burned in grief.

tābhir vṛtā harmyatale ’ṅganābhiś cintātanuḥ sā sutanur babhāse |
śatahradābhiḥ pariveṣṭiteva śaśāṅkalekhā śaradbhramadhye ||

6.37 On the palace roof, enfolded by her women, the slender Sundarī, gaunt with worry,
Seemed like a streak of crescent moon enshrouded among the autumn clouds by a hundred rays of lightning.

yā tatra tāsāṃ vacasopapannā mānyā ca tasyā vayasādhikā ca |
sā pṛṣṭhatas tāṃ tu samāliliṅge pramṛhya cāśrūṇi vacāṃsy uvāca ||

6.38 There was one among them there, however, who was senior in years, and good with words, a well-respected woman:
Holding Sundarī from behind in a firm embrace and wiping tears away, she spoke as follows:

rājarṣivadhvās tava nānurūpo dharmāśrite bhartari jātu śokaḥ |
ikṣvākuvaṃśe hy abhikāṅkṣitāni dāyādyabhūtāni tapovanāni ||

6.39 “Grief does ill become you, the wife of a royal seer, when your husband has taken refuge in dharma;
For in the lineage of Ikṣvāku, an ascetic forest is a desired inheritance

prāyeṇa mokṣāya viniḥsṛtānāṃ śākyarṣabhāṇāṃ viditāḥ striyas te |
tapovanānīva gṛhāṇi yāsāṃ sādhvīvrataṃ kāmavadāsritānām ||

6.40 Well you know of wives of Śākya bulls gone forth in search of freedom:
As a rule, they turn their houses almost into ascetic groves and they observe the vow of chastity, as if it were a pleasure.

yady anyayā rūpaguṇādhikatvād bhartā hṛtas te kuru bāṣpamokṣam |
manasvinī rūpavatī guṇādhyā hṛdi kṣate kātra hi nāśru muñcet ||

6.41 If your husband had been stolen by another, due to her superior looks and qualities, then tears you should let flow;
For how could any beautiful and virtuous wife, who abounds in excellence, refrain from shedding teardrops when her heart was broken?

athāpi kiṃ cid vyasanaṃ prapanno mā caiva tad bhūt sadṛśo ’tra bāṣpaḥ |
ato viśiṣṭaṃ na hi duḥkham asti kulodgatāyāḥ patidevatāyāḥ ||

6.42 Or had he met with some disaster – and may no such thing ever be! – then yes, tears;
Because there is no greater sorrow for a woman of noble birth who dignifies her husband as if he were a god.

atha tv idānīṃ laḍitaḥ sukhena svasthaḥ phalastho vyasnāny adṛṣtvā |
vītaspṛho dharmam anuprapannaḥ kiṃ viklave rodiṣi harṣakāle ||

6.43 But on the contrary, he now is roving happily, meeting no disasters, but enjoying a healthy and fruitful life.
Free from eager longing, he is following dharma: at a time for celebration, why are you in such a state of weeping consternation?”

ity evam uktāpi bahuprakāraṃ snehāt tayā naiva dhṛtiṃ cakāra |
athāparā tāṃ manaso ’nukūlaṃ kālopapannaṃ praṇayād uvāca ||

6.44 Though this woman, with her [unctious] kindness, thus put forward many sorts of argument, [Sundarī] could not be satisfied at all.
Then another woman, with a sense of intimacy, said what helped her mind and fit the occasion.

bravīmi satyaṃ suviniścitaṃ me prāptaṃ priyaṃ drakṣyasi śīghram eva |
tvayā vinā sthāsyati tatra nāsau sattvāṣrayaś cetanayeva hīnaḥ ||

6.45 “Truly and categorically, I am telling you that soon enough you’ll see your husband back again.
Dispossessed of you, the fellow will survive out there no longer than living things survive when dispossessed of consciousness.

aṅke ’pi lakṣmyā na sa nirvṛtaḥ syāt tvaṃ tasya pārśve yadi tatra na syāḥ |
āpatsu kṛcchrāsv api cāgatāsu tvāṃ paśyatas tasya bhaven na duḥkham ||

6.46 Even in the lap of luxury he could not be happy, lacking you there by his side;
And even in the direst pickle, not a thing could trouble him, as long as you were in his sight.

tvaṃ nirvṛtiṃ gaccha niyaccha bāṣpaṃ taptāśrumokṣāt parirakṣa cakṣuḥ |
yas tasya bhāvas tvayi yaś ca rāgo na raṃsyate tvadvirahāt sa dharme ||

6.47 Be happy. Don’t keep crying. Spare your eyes from shedding molten tears.
The way he feels for you, and his passion, are such that he, bereft of you, will find no pleasure in the dharma.

syād atra nāsau kulasattvagoyāt kāṣāyam ādāya vihāsyatīti |
anātmanādāya gṛhonmukhasya punar vimoktuṃ ka ivāsti doṣaḥ ||

6.48 Some might say that having worn the ochre robe, he won’t relinquish it, by dint of noble birth combined with strength of character.
But, he put it on unwillingly, while looking forward to going home: what fault is there in taking it back off?”

ity yuvatijanena sāntvyamānā hṛtahṛdayā ramaṇena sundarī sā |
dramiḍam abhimukhī pureva rambhā kṣitim agamat parivāritāpsarobhiḥ ||

6.49 Thus consoled by her little women when her husband had purloined her heart,
Sundarī came to earth, just as Rambhā, 08 with her heart turned towards Dramiḍa, came once upon a time, enfolded in the midst of sister apsarases.

saundaranande mahākāvye bhāryāvilāpo nāma ṣaṣṭaḥ sargah || ||

The 6th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Wife’s Lament.”

liṅgaṃ tataḥ śāstṛvidhipradiṣṭaṃ gātreṇa bibhran na tu cetasā tat |
bhāryāgatair eva manovitakair jehrīyamāṇo na nananda nandaḥ ||

7.1 Bearing the insignia, then, whose form was fixed by his teacher – bearing it with his body but not with his mind –
And being constantly carried off by thoughts of his wife, he whose name was joy was not joyful.

sa puṣpamāsasya ca puṣpalakṣmyā sarvābhisāreṇa ca puṣpaketoḥ |
yānīyabhāvena ca yauvanasya vihārasaṃstho na śamaṃ jagāma ||

7.2 Amid the wealth of flowers of the month of flowers, assailed on every side by the flower-bannered god of love,
And with feelings that are familiar to the young, he stayed in a vihāra but found no peace.

sthitaḥ sa dīnaḥ sahakāravīthyām ālīnasaṃmūrchitaṣatpadāyām |
bhṛśaṃ jajṛmbhe yugadīrghabāhur dhyātvā priyāṃ cāpam ivācakarṣa ||

7.3 Standing, distraught, by a row of mango trees amid the numbing hum of hovering insects,
He with his lengthy arms and yoke-like shoulders, thought of his beloved and forcibly stretched himself open, as if drawing a bow.

sa pitakṣodam iva pratīcchan cūtadrumbheyas tanupuṣpavarṣam |
dīrghaṃ niśaśvāsa vicintya bhāryāṃ navagraho nāga ivāvaruddhaḥ ||

7.4 Receiving from the mango trees a rain of tiny flowers like saffron powder,
He thought of his wife and heaved long sighs, like a newly-captured elephant in a cage.

śokasya hartā śaraṇāgatānāṃ śokasya kartā pratigarvitānām |
aśokam ālambya sa jātaśokaḥ priyāṃ priyāśokavanāṃ śuśoca ||

7.5 He had been, for those who came to him seeking refuge, an abater of sorrow, and, for the conceited, a creator of sorrow,
Now he leant against ‘the tree of freedom from sorrow,’ the a-śoka tree, and he became a sorrower: he sorrowed for a lover of a-śoka groves, his beloved wife.

priyāṃ priyāyāḥ pratanuṃ priyaṇguṃ niśāmya bhītām iva niṣpatantim |
sasmāra tām aśrumukhīṃ sabāṣpaḥ priyāṃ priyaṅguprasavāvadātām ||

7.6 A slender priyaṅgu creeper, beloved of his beloved, he noticed shying away, as if afraid,
And tearfully he remembered her, his lover with her tearful face, as pale as a priyaṅgu flower.

puṣpāvanaddhe tilakadrumasya dṛṣṭvānyapuṣṭāṃ śikhare niviṣṭām |
saṃkalpayām āsa śikhāṃ priyāyāḥ śuklāṃśuke ’ṭṭālam apāsritāyāḥ ||

7.7 Seeing a cuckoo resting on the flower-covered crest of a tilaka tree,
He imagined his lover leaning against the watchtower, her curls and tresses resting on her white upper garment.

latāṃ praphullām atimuktakasya cūtasya pārśve parirabhya jātām |
niśāmya cintām agamat tadaivaṃ śliṣṭābhavan mām api sundarīti ||

7.8 A vine with ‘flowers whiter than pearls,’ the ati-muktaka, having attached itself to the side of a mango tree, was thriving:
Nanda eyed the blossoming creeper and fretted “When will Sundarī cling to me like that?”

puṣpotkarālā api nāgavṛkṣā dāntaiḥ samudgair iva hemagarbhaiḥ |
kāntāravṛkṣā iva duḥkhitasya na cakṣur ācikṣipur asya tatra ||

7.9 The budding teeth of yawning nāga trees erupted there like ivory caskets filled with gold,
But they drew his anguished eye no better than desert scrub.

gandhaṃ vasanto ’pi ca gandhaparṇā gandharvaveṣyā iva gandhapūrṇāḥ |
tasyānyacittasya śugātmakasya ghrāṇaṃ na jahrur hṛdayaṃ pratepuḥ ||

7.10 The gandha-parṇa trees emitted their fragrance like a gandharva’s girlfriend, brimming with perfume,
But for him whose mind was elsewhere, and who was sorrowful to the core, they did not win the nose: they pained the heart.

saṃraktakaṇṭhaiś ca vinīlakaṇṭhais tuṣṭaiḥ prahṛṣṭair api cānyapuṣṭaiḥ |
lelihyamānaiś ca madhu dvirepaiḥ svanadvanaṃ tasya mano nunoda ||

7.11 Resounding with the throaty cries of impassioned peacocks, with the satisfied celebrating of cuckoos,
And with the relentless supping of nectar by bees, the forest encroached upon his mind.

sa tatra bhāryāraṇisaṃbhavena vitarkadhūmena tamaḥśikhena |
kāmāgnināntarhṛdi dahyamāno vihāya dhairyaṃ vilalāpa tat tat ||

7.12 As there he burned with a fire arisen from the fire board of his wife, a fire with fancies for smoke and darkest hell for flames,
As he burned in his innermost heart with a fire of desire, fortitude failed him and he uttered various laments:

adyāvagacchāmi suduṣkaraṃ te cakruḥ kariṣyanti ca kurvate ca |
tyaktvā priyām aśrumukhīṃ tapo ye ceruś cariṣyanti caranti caiva ||

7.13 “Now I understand what a very difficult thing those men have done, will do, and are doing
Who have walked, will walk, and are walking the way of painful asceticism, leaving behind their tearful-faced lovers.

tāvad dṛḍhaṃ bandhanam asti loke na dāravaṃ tāntavam āyasaṃ vā |
yāvad dṛḍhaṃ bandhanam etad eva mukhaṃ calśkṣaṃ lalitaṃ ca vākyam ||

7.14 There is no bond in the world, whether of wood or rope or iron,
As strong as this bond: an amorous voice and a face with darting eyes.

chittvā ca bhittvā ca hi yānti tāni svapauruṣāc caiva suhṛdbalāc ca |
jñānāc ca raukṣyāc ca vinā vimoktuṃ na śakyate snehamayas tu pāśaḥ ||

7.15 For having been cut or broken – by one’s own initiative or by the strength of friends – those bonds cease to exist;
Whereas the fetter made of love, except through wisdom and toughness, cannot be undone.

jñānaṃ na me tac ca śamāya yat syān na cāsti raukṣyaṃ karuṇātmako ’smi |
kāmātmakaś cāsmi guruś ca buddhaḥ sthito ’ntare cakragater ivāsmi ||

7.16 That wisdom is not in me which might make for peace, and since I am of a kindly nature, toughness also is lacking.
I am sensual by nature and yet the Buddha is my guru: I am stuck as if inside a moving wheel.

ahaṃ gṛhītvāpi hi bhikṣuliṅgaṃ bhrātṝṣiṇā dvirguruṇānuśiṣṭaḥ |
sarvāsv avasthāsu labhe na śāntiṃ priyāviyogād iva cakravākaḥ ||

7.17 For though I have adopted the beggar’s insignia, and am taught by one who is twice my guru, as elder brother and enlightened sage,
In every circumstance I find no peace – like a greylag gander separated from its mate.

adyāpi tan me hṛdi vartate ca yad darpaṇe vyākulite mayā sā |
kṛtānṛtakrodhakam abravīn māṃ kathaṃ kṛto ’sīti śaṭhaṃ hasantī ||

7.18 Even now it continues to run through my mind how after I clouded the mirror
She pretended to be angry and said to me, as she wickedly laughed, ‘What are you doing!’

yathaiṣy anāśyānaviśeṣakāyāṃ mayīti yan mām avadac ca sāśru |
pāriplavākṣeṇa mukhena bālā tan me vaco ’dyāpi mano ruṇaddhi ||

7.19 Again, the words she spoke to me, while her girlish eyes were swimming with tears, ‘Before this paint on my face is dry, come back’: those words, even now, block my mind.

baddhvāsanaṃ parvatanirjharasthaḥ svastho yathā dhyāyati bhikṣur eṣaḥ |
saktaḥ kva cin nāham ivaiṣa nūnaṃ śāntas tathā tṛpta ivopaviṣṭaḥ ||

7.20 This beggar meditating at ease, who has crossed his legs in the traditional manner, and is of the waterfall, arising out of the foot [of the hill]:
Surely he is not as attached as I am to anybody, since he sits so calmly, with an aura of contentment.

puṃskokilānām avicintya ghoṣaṃ vasantalakṣmyām avicārya cakṣuḥ |
śāstraṃ yathābhyasyati caiṣa yuktaḥ śaṅke priyākarṣati nāsya cetaḥ ||

7.21 Deaf to the cuckoos’ chorus, his eyebulls never grazing upon the riches of spring,
This fellow concentrates so intently upon the teaching, that I suspect no lover is tugging at his heart.

asmai namo ’stu sthiraniścayāya nivṛttakautūhalavismayāya |
śāntātmane ’ntargatamānasāya caṅkramyamāṇāya nirutsukāya ||

7.22 Credit to him who is firm in his resolve, who has retreated from curiosity and pride,
Who is at peace in himself, whose mind is turned inward, who does not strive for anything, as he walks up and down…

nirīkṣamāṇāya jalaṃ sapadmaṃ vanaṃ ca phullaṃ parapuṣṭajuṣṭam |
kasyāsti dhairyaṃ navayauvanasya māse madhau dharmasapatnabhūte ||

7.23 ... And beholds the lotus-covered water and the flowering forest where cuckoos come calling!
What man in the prime of youth could keep such constancy in those months of spring which are, as it were, the rival of dharma?

bhāvena garveṇa gatena lakṣmyā smitena kopena madena vāgbhiḥ |
jahruḥ striyo devanṛparṣisaṃghān kasmād dhi nāsmadvidham āṣipeyuḥ ||

7.24 With their way of being, their pride, their way of moving, their grace; with a smile or show of indignation, with their exuberance, with their voices,
Women have captivated hosts of gods and kings and seers: how then could they fail to bewilder a bloke like me?

kāmābhibhūto hi hiraṇyaretāḥ svāhāṃ siṣeve maghavān ahalyām |
sattvena sargeña ca tena hīnaḥ strīnirjitaḥ kiṃ bata mānuṣo ’ham ||

7.25 Overcome by desire, the fire god Hiraṇya-retas, ‘Golden Sperm,’ succumbed to sex with his wife ‘Oblation,’ Svāhā, as did ‘The Bountiful’ Indra with nymph Ahalyā;
How much easier to be overwhelmed by a woman am I, a man, who lacks the strength and resolve of the gods.

sūryaḥ saraṇyūṃ prati jātarāgas tatprītaye taṣṭa iti śrutaṃ naḥ |
yām aśvabhūto ’śvavadhuṃ sametya yato ’śvinau tau janayāṃ babhūva ||

7.26 Our tradition has it that the sun god Sūrya, roused to passion for the dawn goddess Saraṇyū, let himself be diminished for the sake of pleasure with her;
He became a stallion so as to cover her as a mare, whereby she conceived the two charioteers.

strīkāraṇaṃ vairaviṣaktabuddhyor vaivasvatāgnyoś calitātmadhṛtyoḥ |
bahūni varṣāṇi babhūva yuddhaṃ kaḥ strīnimittaṃ na caled ihānyaḥ ||

7.27 When the mind of Vaivasvata, son of the Sun, and the mind of the fire god Agni turned to enmity, when their grip on themselves was shaken,
There was war between them for many years, because of a woman. What lesser being, here on earth, would not be caused to stray by a woman?

bheje śvapākīṃ munir akṣamālāṃ kāmād vaiṣṭhaś ca sa sadvariṣṭaḥ |
yasyāṃ vivasvān iva bhūjalādaḥ sutaḥ prasūto ’sya kapiñjalādaḥ ||

7.28 And through desire the sage Vasiṣṭha, who even among the upstanding was eminent, had his way with an outcaste, Akṣa-mālā, ‘String of Beads,’
To whom was born his son Kapiñjalāda, an eater of earth and water to rival the Sun.

parāśaḥ śāpaśaras taharṣiḥ kālīṃ siṣeve jhaṣagarbhayonim |
suto ’sya yasyāṃ suṣuve mahātmā dvaipāyano vedavibhāgakartā ||

7.29 So too did the seer Parāśara, user of curses as arrows, have intercourse with Kālī, who was born from the womb of a fish;
The son he conceived in her was the illustrious Dvaipāyana, classifier of the Vedas.

dvaipāyano dharmaparāyañaś ca reme samaṃ kāśiṣu veśyavadhva |
yayā hato ’bhūc calanūpureña pādena vidyullatayeva meghaḥ ||

7.30 Dvaipāyana, equally, while having dharma as his primary object, enjoyed a woman at a brothel in Kāśi;
Struck by her foot, with its trembling ankle bracelet, he was like a cloud being struck by a twist of lightning.

tathāñgirā rāgaparītacetāḥ sarasvatīṃ brahmasutaḥ siṣeve |
sārasvato yatra suto ’sya jajñe naṣṭasya vedasya punaḥpravaktā ||

7.31 So too did brahma-begotten Aṅgiras, when his mind was seized by passion, have sex with Sarasvatī;
To her was born his son Sārasvata, who gave voice again to missing Vedas.

tathā nṛparṣer dilipasya yajñe svargastriyāṃ kāśyapa āgatāsthaḥ |
srucaṃ gṛhītvā sravad ātmatejaś cikṣepa vahnāv asito yato ’bhūt ||

7.32 Likewise Kāśyapa, at a sacrifice under the aegis of the royal seer Dilipa, while fixated on a celestial nymph,
Took the ceremonial ladle and cast into the fire his own streaming semen, whence was conceived Asita.

tathāṅgado ’ntaṃ tapaso ’pi gatvā kāmābhibhūto yamunām agacchat |
dhīmattaraṃ yatra rahītaraṃ sa sāraṅgajuṣṭaṃ janayāṃ babhūva ||

7.33 Aṅgada, equally, though he had gone to the ends of ascetic practice, went overwhelmed by desire to Yamunā
And in her he begat the super-bright Rathītara, ‘The Super Charioteer,’ and friend of the spotted deer.

niśāmya śāntāṃ naradevakanyāṃ vane ’pi śānte ’pi ca vartamānaḥ |
cacāla dhairyān munir ṛṣyaṣṛṅgaḥ śailo mahīkampa ivoccaśṛṅgaḥ ||

7.34 Again, on catching sight of the princess Śāntā, ‘Tranquillity,’ though he had been living in tranquillity in the forest,
The sage Ṛṣya-śṛṅga, ‘Antelope Horn,’ was moved from steadfastness, like a high-horned mountain in an earthquake.

brahmarṣibhāvārtham apāsya rājyaṃ bheje vanaṃ yo viṣayeṣv anāsthaḥ |
sa gādhijaś cāpahṛto ghṛtācyā samā daśaikaṃ divasaṃ viveda ||

7.35 And the son of Gādhin who, in order to become ‘the Brahman Seer,’ renounced his kingdom and retired to the forest, having become indifferent to sensual objects:
He was captivated by the nymph Ghṛtācī, reckoning a decade with her as a single day.

tathaiva kandarpaśarābhimṛṣṭo rambhāṃ prati stuḥilaśirā mumūrcha |
yaḥ kāmaroṣātmatayānapekṣaḥ śaśāpa tām apratigṛhyamāṇaḥ ||

7.36 So too, when hit by an arrow fired by Love, did Sthūla-śiras, ‘Thick Head,’ lose his senses over Rambhā.
He with his libidinous and wrathful nature was reckless: when she refused him he cursed her.

pramadvarāyāṃ ca ruruḥ priyāyāṃ bhujaṅgamenāpahṛtendriyāyām |
saṃdṛśya saṃdṛśya jaghāna sarpān priyaṃ na roṣeṇa tapo rarakṣa ||

7.37 And Ruru, after his beloved Pramadvarā had been robbed of her senses by a snake,
Exterminated snakes wherever he saw them: he failed, in his fury, to maintain his reserve or his ascetic practice.

naptā śaśāṅkasya yaśoguṇāṅko budhasya sūnur vibhudhaprabhāvaḥ |
tathorvaśīm apsarasaṃ vicintya rājarṣir unmādam agacchad aiḍaḥ ||

7.38 As grandson of the hare-marked moon, as son of ‘The Learned’ Budha and the goddess Iḍā, and as one marked by personal honour and virtue, [Purū-ravas] had the special powers of the lunar and the very learned;
But thinking of the apsaras Urvaśī, this royal seer also went mad.

rakto girer mūrdhani menakāyāṃ kāmātmakatvāc ca sa tāljaṅghaḥ |
pādena viśvāvasunā saroṣaṃ vajreṇa hintāla ivābhijaghne ||

7.39 And when ‘Long Shanks’ Tāla-jaṅgha, on top of a mountain, was reddened, in his libidinous state, with passion for the apsaras Menakā,
From the foot of ‘All-Beneficent’ Viśvā-vasu he got an angry kick, like a thunderbolt striking a hin-tāla palm.

nāśaṃ gatāyāṃ paramāṅganāyāṃ gaṅgājale ’naṅgaparītacetāḥ |
jahnuś ca gaṅgāṃ nṛpatir bhujābhyāṃ rurodha maināka ivācalendraḥ ||

7.40 When his favourite female drowned in the waters of the Ganges, King Jahnu, his mind possessed by disembodied Love,
Blocked the flow of the Ganges with his arms, as if he were Mount Maināka, the paragon of non-movement.

nṛpaś ca gaṅgāvirahāj jughūrṇa gaṅgāmbhasā sāla ivāttamūlaḥ |
kulapradīpaḥ pratipasya sūnuḥ śrīmattanuḥ śantanur asvatantraḥ ||

7.41 And King ‘Good Body’ Śan-tanu, when separated from goddess Gaṅgā, shook like a śāla tree whose roots the Ganges was washing away:
The son of Pratipa and light of his family, he of the body beautiful, became uncontrollable.

hṛtāṃ ca saunandakinānuśocan prāptām invorvīṃ striyam urvaśīṃ tām |
sadvṛttavarmā kila somavarmā babhrāma cittodhavabhinnavarmā ||

7.42 Again, when the avatar Saunandakin took away his Urvaśī, “She of the Wide Expanse,” the wife whom, like the wide earth, Soma-varman had made his own,
‘Moon-Armoured’ Soma-varman whose armour, so they say, had been virtuous conduct, roamed about grieving, his armour pierced by mind-existent Love.

bhāryāṃ mṛtāṃ cānumamāra rājā bhīmaprabhāvo bhuvi bhīmakaḥ saḥ |
balena senāka iti prakāśaḥ senāpatir deva ivāttasenaḥ ||

7.43 A king who followed his departed wife in death was ‘The Dreaded’ Bhīmika – he who was dread power on earth;
He who was famed, because of his military might, as Senāka, ‘The Missile of War’; he who was, with his war machine, like a God of War.

svargaṃ gate bhartari śantanau ca kālīṃ jihirṣan janamejayaḥ saḥ |
avāpa bhīṣmāt samavetya mṛtyuṃ na tadgataṃ manmhatham utsasarje ||

7.44 Again, when Kālī’s husband Śan-tanu had gone to heaven, Jana-mejaya, ‘Causer of Trembling among Men,’ in his desire to marry Kālī,
Came up against Bhīṣma ‘The Terrible,’ and accepted death from him, rather than relinquish his love for her.

śaptaś ca pāṇḍur madanena nūnaṃ strīṇāṃ vaśaṃ kāmavaśena jagmuḥ |
jagāma mādrīṃ na maharṣiśāpād asevyasevī vimamarśa mṛtyum ||

7.45 And Pāṇḍu ‘The Pale One’ having been cursed by Passion to die on coupling with a woman,
Went nonetheless with Mādrī: he heeded not the death that would result from the great seer’s curse, when he tasted what he was forbidden to taste.

evaṃvidhā devanṛparṣisaṅghaḥ strīṇāṃ vaśaṃ kāmavaśena jagmuḥ |
dhiyā ca sāreṇa ca durbalaḥ san priyām apaśyan kimu viklavo ’ham ||

7.46 Hordes of gods and kings and seers such as these have fallen by dint of desire into the thrall of women.
Being weak in understanding and inner strength, all the more discouraged, when I cannot see my beloved, am I.

yāsyāmi tasmād gṛham eva bhūyaḥ kāmaṃ kariṣye vidhivat sakāmam |
na hy anyacittasya calendriyasya liṅgaṃ kṣamaṃ dharmapathāc cyutasya ||

7.47 Therefore I shall go back home again and properly make love, as I please!
For the insignia do not sit well upon a backslider from the path of dharma, whose senses are restless and whose mind is elsewhere.

pāṇau kapālam avadhāya vidhāya mauṇḍyaṃ māna nidhāya vikṛtaṃ paridhāya vāsaḥ |
yasyoyoddhavo na dhṛtir asti na śānti asti citrapradīpa iva so ’sti ca nāsti caiva ||

7.48 When a man has taken the bowl in his hand, has shaved his head, and, putting pride aside, has donned the patched-together robe,
And yet he is given to pleasure and lacking in firmness and tranquillity, then like a lamp in a picture, he is there and yet he is not.

yo niḥsṛtaś ca na ca niḥsṛtakāmarāgaḥ kāṣāyam udvahati yo na ca niṣkasāyaḥ |
pātraṃ bibharti ca guṇair na ca pātrabhūto kiṅgaṃ vahann api sa naiva gṛhī na bhikṣuḥ ||

7.49 When a man has gone forth, but the red taint of desire has not gone forth from him; when he wears the earth-hued robe but has not transcended dirt;
When he carries the bowl but is not a vessel for the virtues; though he bears the insignia, he is neither a householder nor a beggar.

na nyāyyam anvayavataḥ parigṛhya liṅgaṃ bhūyo vimoktum iti yo ’pi hi me vicāraḥ |
so ’pi praṇaśyati vicintya nṛpapravīrāṃs tān ye tapovanaṃ apāsya gṛhāṇy atīyuḥ ||

7.50 I had thought it improper for a man with noble connections, having adopted the insignia, to discard them again:
But even [such a scruple] fades away, when I think about those royal heroes who abandoned an ascetic grove and went home.

śālvādhipo hi sasuto ’pi tathāmbarīṣo rāmo ’ndhva eva sa ca sāṃkṛtir antidevaḥ |
cīrāṇy apāsya dadhire punar aṃśukāni chittvā jaṭāṣ ca kuṭilā mukuṭāni babhruḥ ||

7.51 For the Śālva king, along with his son; and likewise Ambarīṣa and Rāma and Andha, and Rantideva, son of Saṁkṛti
Cast off their rags and clothed themselves again in finest fabrics; they cut their twisted dreadlocks off and put their crowns back on.

tasmād bhikṣārthaṃ mama gurur ito yāvad eva prayātas tyaktvā kāṣāyaṃ gṛham aham itas tāvad eva prayāsye |
pūjyaṃ liṅgaṃ hi skalitamanaso bibhrataḥ kliṣṭabuddher nāmutrārthaḥ syād upahatamater nāpy ayaṃ jīvalokaḥ ||

7.52 Therefore as soon my guru has gone from here to beg for alms, I will give up the ochre robe and go from here to my home;
Because, for a man who bears the honoured insignia with unsound judgement, stammering mind and weakened resolve, no ulterior purpose might exist, nor even the present world of living beings.”

saundarananda mahākāvye nandavilāpo nāma saptamaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 7th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Nanda’s Lament.”

atha nandam adhīralocanaṃ gṛhayānotsukam utsukotuskam |
abhigamya śivena cakṣuṣā śramaṇaḥ kaś cid uvāca maitrayā ||

8.1 Then, while Nanda was looking forward, with unsteady eyes and the eagerest of expectations, to going home,
A certain striver with a benevolent air approached him and said, in a friendly way:

kim idaṃ mukham aśrudurinaṃ hṛdayasthaṃ vivṛṇoti te tamaḥ |
dhṛtim ehi niyaccha vikriyāṃ na hi bāṣpaś ca śamaś ca śobhate ||

8.2 “Why this face so clouded with tears, that reveals a darkness in your heart?
Come to constancy, restrain your emotion, for tears and tranquillity do not sit well together.

dvividhā samudeti vedanā niyataṃ cetasi deha eva ca |
śrutavidhyupacārakovidā dvividhā eva tayoś cikitsakāḥ ||

8.3 Pain invariably arises in two ways: in the mind and in the body.
And for those two kinds of pain, there are healers skilled in education and in medicine.

tad iyaṃ yadi kāyikī rujā bhiṣaje tūrṇam anūnam ucyatām |
viniguhya hi rogam āturo nacirāt tīvram anartham ṛcchati ||

8.4 So if this pain is physical be quick to tell a doctor all about it,
For when a sick man conceals his illness it turns before long into something serious.

atha duḥkham idaṃ manomayaṃ vada vakṣyāmi yad atra bheṣajam |
manaso hi rajastamasvino bhiṣajo ’dhyātmavidaḥ parīkṣakāḥ ||

8.5 But if this suffering is mental tell me, and I will tell you the cure for it;
Because, for a mind enshrouded in gloom and darkness, the healer is a seeker who knows himself.

nikhilena ca satyam ucyatāṃ yadi vācyaṃ mayi saumya manyaste |
gatayo vividhā hi cetasāṃ bahuguhyāni madākulāni ca ||

8.6 Tell the whole truth, my friend, if you think it fit to be told, to me;
For minds have many ways of working and many secrets, wherein concealment is complicated by conceit.”

iti tena sa coditas tadā vyavasāyaṃ pravivakṣur ātmanaḥ |
avalambya kare kareṇa taṃ pravivakṣur ātmanaḥ ||

8.7 Pressed in this way by [the striver], while wanting to explain his own decision,
[Nanda] clung to him, with hand in his hand, and went into another corner of the forest.

atha tatra śucau latāgṛhe kusumodgāriṇi tau niṣedatuḥ |
mṛdubhir mṛdumāruteritair upagūdhāv iva bālapallavaiḥ ||

8.8 And so there the two of them sat in a vibrant bower of flower-spewing creepers
Whose soft young shoots, stirring in a soft breeze, seemed to be hiding them away.

sa jagāda tataś cikīṣitam ghananiśvāsagṛhītam antarā |
śrutavāgviśadāya bhikṣave viduṣā pravrajitena durvacam ||

8.9 Then, in between the heavy sighs that intermittently gripped him, he expressed his intention,
Which was a hard one for a man who has knowingly gone forth to express. He told it to the beggar who was so adept at hearing and talking.

sadṛśaṃ yadi dharmacāriṇaḥ satataṃ prāṇiṣu maitracetasaḥ |
adhṛtau yad iyaṃ hitaiṣitā mayi te syāt karuṇātmanaḥ sataḥ ||

8.10 “Evidently, it befits a devotee of dharma who is always friendly towards any living being,
That the benevolence inherent in your compassionate nature might be shown to me in my inconstancy!

ata eva ca me viśeṣataḥ pravivakṣā kṣamavādini tvayi |
na hi bhāvam imaṃ calātmane kathayeyaṃ bruvate ’py asādhave ||

8.11 And that is why I would like especially to speak to you who preach propriety;
For what I am feeling now I would not tell to a man who was out of balance in himself and who, though a good talker, was not a true person.

tad idaṃ śṛṇu me samāsato na rame dharavidhāv ṛte priyām |
girisānuṣu kāminīm ṛte kṛtaretā iva kiṃnaraś caran ||

8.12 Hear me then when I say, in short, that without my beloved I do not enjoy the practice of dharma;
I am like a kiṁnara without his lover roaming about, his semen ready, over mountain peaks.

vanavāsasukhāt parāṅmukhaḥ prayiyāsā gṛham eva yena me |
na hi śarma labhe tayā vinā nṛpatir hīna ivottamaśriyā ||

8.13 I am averse to the happiness of the forest life, and simply want to go home;
For without her I obtain no comfort, like a king without his sovereignty.”

atha tasya niśamya tadvacaḥ priyabhāryābhimukhasya śocataḥ |
śramaṇaḥ sa śiraḥ prakampayan nijagādātmagataṃ śanair idam ||

8.14 When he heard those words of Nanda who, with his mind on his beloved wife, was burning with pain,
The striver, softly, while allowing his head to shake, said to himself:

kṛpaṇaṃ bata yūthalālaso mahato vyādhabhayād viniḥsṛtaḥ |
pravivikṣati vāgurāṃ mṛgaś capalo gītaraveṇa vañcitaḥ ||

8.15 “What a pity! In its longing for the herd, a rushing stag that has escaped the mortal danger of the hunter’s arrow,
Is about to enter the hunter’s trap, deceived by a call that the hunter sang.

vihagaḥ khalu jālasaṃvṛto hitakāmena janena mokṣitaḥ |
vicaran phalapuṣpavadvanaṃ pravivikṣuḥ svayam eva pañjaram ||

8.16 Truly, a bird that was caught in a net and set free by a benevolent person,
Desires, as it flits about the fruiting and blossoming forest, to fly of its own volition into a cage.

kalabhaḥ kariṇā khalūddhṛto bahupaṅkād viṣamān nadītalāt |
jalatarṣavaśena tāṃ punaḥ saritaṃ grāhavatī titīrṣati ||

8.17 A baby elephant, truly, after an adult elephant has pulled it up out of the deep mud of a dangerous riverbed,
Is wishing, in its thirst for water, to enter again that crocodile-infested creek.

śaraṇe sabhujaṅgame svapan pratibuddhena pareña bodhitaḥ |
taruṇaḥ khalu jātavibhramaḥ svayam ugraṃ bhujagaṃ jighṛkṣati ||

8.18 In a shelter where slithers a snake, a sleeping boy, awoken by an elder who is already awake,
Has become agitated and, truly, he is about to grab the horrible reptile himself.

mahatā khalu jātavedasā jvalitād utpatito vanadrumāt |
punar icchati nīḍatṛṣṇayā patituṃ tatra gatavyatho dvijaḥ ||

8.19 Truly, having flown up and away from a tree that is blazing in a great forest fire,
A chick in its longing for the nest is wishing to fly there again, its former alarm forgotten.

avaśaḥ khalu kāmamūrchayā priyayā śyenabhayād vinākṛtaḥ |
na dhṛtiṃ samupaiti na hriyaṃ karuṇaṃ jīvati jīvajīvakaḥ ||

8.20 Truly, a pheasant separated from its mate through fear of a hawk, and so stupefied by desire as to be helpless,
Is lacking in resolve and lacking in reserve: the pathetic little beggar is living a pitiful life.

akṛtātmatayā tṛṣānvito ghṛṇayā caiva dhiyā ca varjitaḥ |
aśanaṃ khalu vāntam ātmanā kṛpañaḥ śvā punar attum icchati ||

8.21 Greedy and untrained, devoid of decency and intelligence,
Truly, a wretched dog is wishing to eat again some food that he himself has vomited.”

iti manmathaśokakarṣitaṃ tam anudhyāya muhur nirīkṣya ca |
śramaṇaḥ sa hitābhikāṅkṣayā guṇavadvākyam uvāca vipriyam ||

8.22 So saying, the striver contemplated [Nanda] for a while, beholding him tormented by the sorrows of love.
Then in his eagerness to be of benefit, the striver spoke fine words, which were unpleasant to hear.

avicārayataḥ śubhāśubhaṃ viṣayeṣv eva niviṣṭacetasaḥ |
upapannam alabdhacakusuṣo na ratiḥ śreyasi ced bhavet tava ||

8.23 “For you who draws no distinction between good and bad, whose mind is settled on objects of the senses,
And who is without the eye of attainment, naturally, no delight could there be in being better.

śravaṇe grahaṇe ’tha dhāraṇe paramārthāvagame manaḥśame |
aviṣaktamateś calātmano na hi dharme ’bhiratir vidhīyate ||

8.24 Again, to him whose thinking is not firmly fixed – in the matters of hearing, grasping, retaining and understanding the supreme truth, and in the matter of mental peace –
To him who easily changes his mind, joy in dharma is not apportioned.

viṣayeṣu tu doṣadarśinaḥ parituṣṭasya śucer amāninaḥ |
śamakarmasu yuktacetasaḥ kṛtabuddher na ratir na vidyate ||

8.25 But that joy is certainly known to one who sees the faults in objects of the senses, who is contented, pure, and unassuming,
Whose mind is versed in the religious acts that generate peace and whose understanding therein is formed.

ramate tṛṣito dhanaśriyā ramate kāmasukhen bāliśaḥ |
ramate praśamena sajjanaḥ paribhogān paribhūya vidyayā ||

8.26 A covetous man delights in opulence; a fool delights in sensual pleasure;
A true person delights in tranquillity, having transcended sensual enjoyments by virtue of his knowledge.

api ca prathitasya dhīmataḥ kulajasyārcitaliṅgadhāriṇaḥ |
sadṛśī na gṛhāya cetanā praṇatir vāyuvaśād girer iva ||

8.27 What is more, when a man of good repute, a man of intelligence and breeding, bears the honoured insignia
His consciousness inclines towards home no more than a mountain bends in the wind.

spṛhyet parasaṃśritāya yaḥ paribhūyātmavaśāṃ svatantratām |
upaśāntipathe śive sthitaḥ spṛhayed doṣavate gṛhāya saḥ ||

8.28 Only a man who aspires to dependence on another, spurning autonomy and self-reliance,
Would yearn, while he was on the auspicious path to peace, for life at home with all its faults.

vyasanābhihato yathā viśet parmuktaḥ punar eva bandhanam |
samupetya vanaṃ tathā punar gṛhasaṃjñaṃ mṛgayeta bandhanam ||

8.29 Just as a man released from prison might, when stricken by some calamity, betake himself back to prison,
So might one who has retired to the forest seek out again that bondage called home.

puruṣaś ca vihāya yaḥ kaliṃ punar icchet kalim eva sevitum |
sa vihāya bhajeta bāliṣaḥ kalibhūtām ajitendriyaḥ priyām ||

8.30 The man who has left his strife behind and yet would like nothing better than to go back again to his strife:
He is the fool who would leave behind and then return, with his senses still unconquered, to the strife that is a wife.

saviṣā iva saṃśritā latāḥ parimṛṣṭā iva soragā guhāḥ |
vivṛtā iva cāsayo dhṛtā vyasanāntā hi bhavanti yoṣitaḥ ||

8.31 Like poisonous clinging creepers, like swept-out caves still harbouring snakes,
Like uncovered blades being held in the hand, women are calamitous in the end.

pramadāḥ samadā madapradāḥ pramadā vītamadā bhayapradāḥ |
iti doṣabhayāvahāś ca tāḥ katham arhanti niṣevanaṃ nu tāḥ ||

8.32 Sexy members of the female gender engender sexual desire, whereas unsexy ones are fearsome.
Since they bring with them either a fault or fear, in what way do they merit attention?

svajanaḥ svajanena bhidyate suhṛdaś cāpi suhṛjjanena yat |
paradoṣavikṣaṇāḥ śaṭhās tadanāryāḥ pracaranti yoṣitaḥ ||

8.33 So that kinsman breaks with kinsman and friend with friend,
Women, who are good at seeing faults in others, behave deceitfully and ignobly.

kulajāḥ kṛpaṇībhavanti yad yad ayuktaṃ pracaranti sāhasam |
praviśanti ca yac camūmukhaṃ rabhasās tatra nimittam aṅganāḥ ||

8.34 When men of good families fall on hard times, when they rashly do unfitting deeds,
When they recklessly enter the vanguard of an army, women in those instances are the cause.

vacanena haranati valgunā niśitena praharanti cetasā |
madhu tiṣṭhati vāci yoṣitāṃ hṛdaye hālahalaṃ mahadviṣam ||

8.35 They beguile with lovely voices, and attack with sharpened minds:
There is honey in women’s speech, and lethal venom in their hearts.

pradahan dahano ’pi gṛhyate viśarīraḥ pavano ’pi gṛhyate |
kupito bhujago ’pi gṛhyate pradānāṃ tu mano na gṛhyate ||

8.36 A burning fire can be held, the bodiless wind can be caught,
An angry snake can be captured, but the mind of women cannot be grasped.

na vapur vimṛśanti na śriyaṃ na matiṃ nāpi kulaṃ na vikramam |
praharanty aviśeṣataḥ striyaḥ sarito grāhakulākulā iva ||

8.37 Without pausing to consider looks or wealth, or intelligence or breeding or valour,
Women attack no matter what, like a ragged assortment of crocodiles in a river.

na vaco madhuraṃ na lālanaṃ smarati strī na ca suahṛdaṃ kva cit |
kalitā vanitaiva cañcalā tad ihāriṣv iva nāvalambyate ||

8.38 No charming speech, nor soothing caresses, nor any affection do women ever remember.
The female, even when cajoled, is flighty: so rely on one no more than you would your enemies in this world.

adadatsu bhavanti narmadāḥ pradadatsu praviśanti vibhramam |
praṇateṣu bhavanti garvitāḥ pramadās tṛptatarāś ca māniṣu ||

8.39 Women flirt with men who give them nothing; with generous men, they get restless.
They look down with disdain on the humble, but towards the arrogant show simpering contentment.

guṇavatsu caranti bhartṛvad guṇahīneṣu caranti putravat |
dhanavatsu caranti tṛṣṇayā dhanahīneṣu caranty avajñayā ||

8.40 They lord it over men of merit, and submit like children to men who are devoid of merit.
When men with money are around, they act rapaciously; men who are short of money they treat with contempt.

viṣayād viṣayāntaraṃ gatā pracaraty eva yathā hṛtāpi gauḥ |
anavekṣitapūrvasauhṛdā ramate ’nyatra gatā tathāṅganā ||

8.41 Just as a cow, having gone from one pasture to another pasture, keeps right on grazing, however she’s restrained,
So a woman, without regard for any affection she felt before, moves on and takes her pleasure elsewhere.

praviśanty api hi striyaś citām anubhadhnanty api muktajīvtāḥ |
api bibhrati naiva yantraṇā na tu bhāvena vahanti sāhṛdam ||

8.42 For though women ascend their husband’s funeral pyre, though they follow at the cost of their own life,
Though the restraints placed upon them they can indeed bear, they are not truly capable of genuine friendship.

ramayanti patīn kathaṃ cana pramadā yāḥ patidevatāḥ kva cit |
calacittatayā sahasraśo ramayante hṛdayaṃ svan eva tāḥ ||

8.43 Women who sometimes, in some small way please their husband, by treating him like a god,
A thousand times more, in their fickle-mindedness, please their own heart.

śvapacaṃ kila senajitsutā cakame mīnaripuṃ kumudvatī |
mṛgarājam atho bṛhadrathā pramadānām agatir na vidyate ||

8.44 The daughter of Sena-jit the Conqueror, so they say, coupled with a cooker of dogs; Kumud-vatī, ‘the Lilly Pool,’ paired up with Mīna-ripu, ‘the Foe of Fishes’;
And Bṛhad-rathā, ‘the Burly Heroine,’ loved a lion: there is nothing women will not do.

kuruhaihayavṛṣṇivaṃśajā bahumāyākavaco ’tha śambaraḥ |
munir ugratapāś ca gautamaḥ samavāpur vanitoddhataṃ rajaḥ ||

8.45 Scions of the Kurus, Haihayas and Vṛṣṇis, along with Śambara whose armour was mighty magic,
And the sage Ugra-tapas Gautama – ‘the Gautama of Grim Austerities’ – all incurred the dust of passion which a woman raises.

akṛtajñam anāryam asthiraṃ vanitānām ida īdṛśaṃ manaḥ |
katham arhati tāsu paṇḍito hṛdayaṃ sañjayituṃ calātmasu ||

8.46 Ungrateful, ignoble, unsteady: such is the mind of women.
What man of wisdom could allow his heart to be fastened onto such fickle creatures?

atha sūkṣmamati dvayāśivaṃ laghu tāsāṃ hṛdayaṃ na paśyasi |
kimu kāyam asadgṛhaṃ sravad vaintānām aśuciṃ na paśyasi ||

8.47 So you fail to see how pernicious, in their intense duplicity, are their little lightweight hearts?
Do you not see, at least, that the bodies of women are impure, oozing houses of foulness?

anulepanam añjanaṃ srajo maṇimuktātapanīyam aṃśukam |
yad ahany ahani pradhāvanair vasanaiś cābharaṇaiś ca saṃskṛtam |
aśubhaṃ tamasāvṛtekṣaṇaḥ śubhato gacchasi nāvagacchasi ||

8.48 Day after day, by means of ablutions, garments, and jewels, they prettify an ugliness
Which you, with eyes veiled by ignorance do not see as ugliness: you see it as beauty.

atha vā samavaiṣi tattanūm aśubhāṃ tvaṃ na tu saṃvid asti te |
surabhiṃ vidadhāsi hi kriyām aśuces tatprabhavasya śāntaye ||

8.49 Or else you do see that their bodies are foul but intelligence is lacking in you:
For the fragrant task in which you are engaged is extinction of the impurity that originates in them.

malapañkadharā digambarā prakṛtisthair nakhadantaromabhiḥ |
yadi sādhu kim atra yoṣitāṃ sahajaṃ tāsu vicīyatāṃ śuci ||

8.50 Cosmetic paste and powder, garlands, gems and pearls, gold and fine fabric:
What have these fine things, if fine they are, got to do with women? Let us examine what inherently in women is so immaculate.

malapaṅkadharā digambarā prakṛtisthair nakhadantaromabhiḥ |
yadi sā tava sundarī bhaven niyataṃ te ’dya na sundarī bhavet ||

8.51 Dirty and unclothed, with her nails and teeth and body-hair in their natural state:
If she were like that, your Sundarī, whose name means ‘Beautiful Woman,’ surely wouldn’t be such a beautiful woman to you now.

sravatīm aśuciṃ spṛśec ca kaḥ saghuṇo jarjarabhāṇḍavat striyam |
yadi kevalayā tvacāvṛtā na bhaven makṣikapattramātrayā ||

8.52 What man who was capable of disgust would touch a woman, leaking and unclean like an old bucket,
If she were not scantily clad in skin as thin as a flying insect’s wing?

tvacaveṣṭhitam astipañjaraṃ yadi kāyaṃ samavaiṣi yoṣitām |
madanena ca kṛṣyase balād aghṛṇaḥ kāyaṃ samvaiṣi yoṣitām ||

8.53 If you see that women’s bodies are bony skeletons wrapped around with skin
And yet you are forcibly drawn by passion, truly then, Love is immune to disgust and lacking in all restraint.

śubhatām aśubheṣu kalpayan nakhadantatvacakeśaromasu |
avicakṣaṇa kiṃ na paśyasi prakṛtiṃ ca prabhavaṃ ca yoṣitām ||

8.54 In nails and in teeth, in skin, and in hair, both long and short, which are not beautiful, you are inventing beauty.
Dullard! Don’t you see what women originally are made of and what they originally are?

tad avetya manaḥśarīrayor vanitā doṣavatīr viśeṣataḥ |
capalaṃ bhavanotsukaṃ manaḥ pratisaṃkhyānabalena vāryatām ||

8.55 So then, reckon women, in mind and in body, to be singularly implicated with faults;
And hold back, by the power of this reckoning, the mind which strains so impulsively for home.

śrutavān matimān kulodgataḥ paramasya praśamasya bhājanam |
upagamya yathā tathā punar na hi behttuṃ niyamaṃ tvam arhasi ||

8.56 You are educated, intelligent, and well-bred – a fitting vessel for supreme tranquillity;
As such, you ought not in any way to break the contract into which you have entered.

abhijanamahato manasvinaḥ priyayaśaso bahumānam icchataḥ |
nidhanam api varaṃ sthirātmanaś cyutavinayasya na caiva jīvitam ||

8.57 For the man of spirit and noble birth; for the man who cherishes honour and strives to earn respect;
For the man of grit – better death for him than life as a backslider.

baddhvā yathā hi kavacaṃ pragṛhītacāpo nindyo bhavaty apasṛtaḥ samarād rathasthaḥ |
bhaikṣākam abhyupagataḥ parigṛhya liṅgaṃ nindyas tathā bhavati kāmarhṛtendriyāśvaḥ ||

8.58 For just as he is blameworthy who, having girded his armour on and taken up a bow, then flees in his warrior’s chariot away from the battle;
So he too is blameworthy who, having accepted the insignia and taken to begging, then allows the stallion of his senses to be carted away by desire.

hāsyo yathā ca paramābharaṇāmbarasrag bhaikṣaṃ caran dhṛtadhanuś calacitramauliḥ |
vairūpyam abhyupagataḥ paraiṇḍabhojī hāsyas tathā gṛhasukhābhimukhaḥ satṛṣṇaḥ ||

8.59 And just as it would be ridiculous to go begging, while bedecked in the finest ornaments, clothes and garlands, while holding an archer’s bow, and with a head full of passing fancies,
So too is it ridiculous to subsist on offerings, having consented to shapelessness, while longing thirstily for the comforts of home.

yathā svannaṃ bhuktvā paramaśyanīye ’pi śayito varāho nirmuktaḥ punar aśuci dhāvet paricitam |
tathā śreyaḥ śṛṇvan praśamasukham āsvādya guṇavad vanaṃ śāntaṃ hitvā gṛham abhilaṣet kāmatṛṣitaḥ ||

8.60 Just as a hog, though fed on the best of food and lain on the finest bedding, would, when set free, run back to his familiar filth;
So, having tasted the excellent pleasure of cessation while learning the better way, would a man of thirsting libido abandon the tranquil forest and yearn for home.

yatholkā hastasthā dahati pavanapreritaśikhā yathā pādākrānto daśati bhujagaḥ krodharabhasaḥ |
yathā hanti vyāghraḥ śiśur api gṛhīto gṛhagataḥ tathā strīsaṃsargo bhuvidham anarthāya bhavati ||

8.61 Just as a flaming torch, when fanned by the wind, burns the hand that holds it,
Just as a snake, being swift to anger, bites the foot that steps on it,
Just as a tiger, though caught as a cub, mauls the one who took it in,
So too does association with women, in many ways, make for disaster.

tad vijñāya manaḥśarīraniyatān nāriṣu doṣān imān matvā kāmasukhaṃ nadījalacalaṃ kleśāya śokāya ca |
dṛṣṭvā durbalam āmapatrasadṛśaṃ mṛtyūpasṛṣṭaṃ jagan nirmokṣāya kuruṣva buddhim atulām utkaṇṭhituṃ nārhasi ||

8.62 Therefore, know these faults to be mentally and physically bound up with women;
Understand how sensual pleasure, as it flows away like river water, makes for affliction and for sorrow;
See the world, in the shadow of Death, to be fragile as an unbaked pot;
And make the peerless decision that leads to release – instead of causing the neck to stiffen up through sorrowful yearning.”

saundaranande mahākāvye strīvighāto nāmāṣṭamaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 8th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Tirade against Women.”

athaivam ukto ’pi sa tena bhiṣuṇā jagāma naivopaśamaṃ priyāṃ prati |
tathā hi tām eva tadā sa cintayan na tasya śuśrāva visaṃjñavad vacaḥ ||

9.1 Though the beggar reproached him in such a manner, [Nanda] did not arrive at any kind of tranquillity with regard to his beloved;
So much did he think about her that he failed, as if he were unconscious, to hear a word the other said.

yathā hi vaidyasya cikīrṣataḥ śivaṃ vaco na gṛhnāti mumūrṣur āturaḥ |
tathaiva matto balarūpayauvanair hitaṃ na jagrādha sa tasya tadvacaḥ ||

9.2 For, just as an invalid who wants to die does not accept the kind advice of a doctor who intends to do him good;
So Nanda, bubbling with strength and looks and youth, did not accept that salutary advice of the striver.

na cātra citraṃ yadi rāgapāpmanā mano ’bhibhūyeta tamovṛtāmanaḥ |
narasya pāpmā hi tadā nivartate yadā bhavaty antagataṃ tamas tanu ||

9.3 It is not surprising, in such a case, that one whose mind is shrouded in darkness should be overpowered by the wrongness that arises out of a tainted desire;
For a person’s wrongness ceases only when the darkness of ignorance, having reached its limit, begins to diminish.

tatas tathākṣiptam avekṣya taṃ tadā balena rūpeṇa ca yauvanena ca |
gṛhaprayāṇaṃ prati ca vyavasthitaṃ śaśāsa nandaṃ śramaṇaḥ sa śantaye ||

9.4 And so, observing Nanda to be caught up, as he was, in his own strength and looks and youth,
Seeing him all set to go home, the striver chastised Nanda, in the name of tranquillity.

balaṃ ca rūpaṃ ca navaṃ ca yauvanaṃ tathāvagacchāmi yathāvagacchasi |
ahaṃ iv idaṃ te trayam avyavastitaṃ yathāvabuddho na tathāvabudhyase ||

9.5 “Your strength and looks and youthfulness I recognize as you do;
But that these three are impermanent you do not realise as I do.

idaṃ hi rogāyatanaṃ jarāvaśaṃ nadītaṭānokahavac calācalam |
na vetsi dehaṃ jalaphenadurbalaṃ balasthatām ātmani yena manyase ||

9.6 For this body is a domicile for disease and in the face of senility it teeters helplessly, like a tree with its roots on a riverbank.
Because you do not know it to be as fragile as froth on water, therefore you feel there to be abiding strength in you.

yadānnapānāsanayānakarmaṇām asevanād apy atisevanād api |
śarīram āsannavipatti dṛśyate bale ’bhimānas tava kena hetunā ||

9.7 When, through failure to eat and drink, or sit down, or move about, and also through over-indulgence in those acts,
The body manifestly goes to ruin, what reason is there for you to have the conceit of physical strength?

himātapavyādhijarākṣudādibhir yadāpy anarthair upamīyate jagat |
jalaṃ śucau māsa ivārkaraśmibhiḥ kṣayaṃ vrajan kiṃ baladṛpta manyase ||

9.8 By cold and heat, by sickness and aging, and by hunger and other such adversities, the living are being reduced
Like water in the hot season by the sun’s rays. In these circumstances, what are you thinking, O taker of pride in strength! as you wander towards your end?

tvagasthimāṃsakṣatajātmakaṃ yada śarīram āhāravaśena tiṣṭhati |
ajasram ārtaṃ satatapratikriyaṃ balānvito ’smīti kathaṃ vihanyase ||

9.9 When a body made of skin, bone, flesh and blood owes its very existence to the taking of food,
When it is always ailing, needing continuous intervention, how can you labour under an illusion like ‘I am inherently strong’?

yathā ghaṭaṃ mṛnmayam āmam āśrito naras titīrṣet kṣubhitaṃ mahārṇavam |
samucchrayaṃ tadvad asāram udvahan balaṃ vyavasyed viṣayārtham udyataḥ ||

9.10 Like a man who aspires to cross the stormy ocean in an unbaked earthen pot,
Is he who would assume the sapless accretion of his body to be strong as he carries it around, striving after an object.

śariram āmād api mṛnmayam āmam āśrito naras titīrṣet kṣubhitaṃ mahārṇavam |
citraṃ hi tiṣṭhed vidhivaddhṛto ghaṭād idaṃ nu niḥsāratmaṃ mataṃ mama ||

9.11 But even more fragile than an unbaked earthen pot, in my opinion, is this body;
For a pot that is properly kept might survive for many ages whereas this accretion crumbles even if well maintained.

yadāmbubhūvāyvanalāś ca dhātavaḥ sadā viruddhā viṣamā ivoragāḥ |
bhavanty anarthāya śarīram āśritāḥ kathaṃ balaṃ rogavidho vyavasyasi ||

9.12 When the elements of water, earth, wind and fire are in constant opposition, like antagonistic snakes,
When they meet in a body only to make for calamity, how can you, in your propensity to sickness, be convinced of your strength?

prāyanti mantraiḥ praśamaṃ bhujaṅgamā na mantrasādhyās tu bhavanti dhātavaḥ |
kva cic ca kiṃ cic ca daśanti pannagāḥ sadā ca sarvaṃ ca tudanti dhātavaḥ ||

9.13 Snakes are lulled by charms, but the elements are not apt to be charmed.
Snakes bite some people some of the time; the elements strike all people all of the time.

idaṃ hi śayyāsanapānabhojanair guṇaiḥ śariraṃ ciram apy avekṣitam |
na marṣayaty ekam api vytikramaṃ yato mahāśiviṣavat prakupyati ||

9.14 For this body, though long tended with good habits of sleeping and sitting, and of eating and drinking,
Does not forgive a single step too far – at which it rears up in anger, like a great venomous snake.

yadā himārto jvalanaṃ niṣevate himaṃ nidāghābhihato ’bhikāṅkṣati |
kṣudhānivto ’nnaṃ salilaṃ tṛṣānvito balaṃ kutaḥ kiṃ ca kathaṃ ca kasya ca ||

9.15 Pained by cold, one turns to fire; oppressed by heat, one longs for cold;
When hungry, one longs for food; when thirsty, for water. Where then is strength? What is it? How is it? Whose is it?

tad evam ajñāya śarīram āturaṃ balānvito ’smīti na mantum arhasi |
asāram asvantam aniścitaṃ jagaj jagaty anitye balam avyavasthitam ||

9.16 So see a body as ailing and do not think ‘I am possessed of strength.’
The world is insubstantial, inauspicious, and uncertain, and in an impermanent world, power is undependable.

kva kārtavīryasya balābhimāninaḥ shasrabāhor balam arjunasya tat |
cakarta bāhūn yudhi yasya bhārgavo mahānti śṛṅgāṇy aśanir girer iva ||

9.17 Where is the power of Kṛta-vīrya’s son, the thousand-armed Arjuna, who fancied himself to be so strong?
In battle, Bhārgava, ‘The Scion of the Bhṛgus,’ severed his arms like a thunderbolt lopping off the lofty horns of a mountain.

kva tadbalaṃ kaṃsavikarṣiṇo hares turaṅgarājasya puṭāvabhedinaḥ |
yam ekabāṇena nijaghinvān jarāḥ kramāgatā rūpam ivottamaṃ jarā ||

9.18 Where is the strength of Hari Kṛṣṇa, ‘The Kaṁsa-tormentor,’ who broke the Horse-King’s jaw?
With one arrow from Jaras he was brought down, like utmost beauty brought down, in due order, by old age.

diteḥ sutasyāmararoṣakāriṇaś camūrucer vā namuceḥ kva tadbalam |
yam āhave kruddham ivāntakaṃ sthitaṃ jaghāna phenāvayavena vāsavaḥ ||

9.19 Where is the strength of Namuci son of Diti, light of an army and provoker of the gods?
He stood his ground in battle, furious as death, but Indra slew him with a spattering of foam.

balaṃ kurūṇāṃ kva ca tat tadābhavad yudhi jvalitvā tarasaujasā ca ye |
samitsammidhā jvalanā ivādhvare hatāsavo bhasmani paryavasthitāḥ ||

9.20 And where is the power once possessed by the Kurus who blazed in combat with speed and stamina
And then lay in ashes, like sacrificial fires whose firewood has burned, their life-breath snuffed out?

ato viditvā balvīryamānināṃ balānvitānām avamarditaṃ balam |
jagaj jarāmṛtyuvaśaṃ vicārayan bale ’bhimānaṃ na vidhātum arhasi ||

9.21 Know, therefore, that the strength of powerful men, who fancy themselves imbued with strength and drive, is ground down;
And do not, as you survey a world in the sway of aging and death, take pride in strength.

balaṃ mahad vā yadi vā na manyase kuruṣva yuddhaṃ saha tāvad indriyaiḥ |
jayaś ca te ’trāsti mahac ca te balaṃ parājayaś ced vitathaṃ ca te balam

9.22 Whether or not you think your strength is great, just do battle against the senses!
If you are victorious in this, your strength is great; if you are defeated, your strength is nothing.

tathā matā vīratarā manīṣiṇo jayanti lohāni ṣaśindriyāṇi ye ||

9.23 Less heroic are those men thought who conquer enemies armed with horses, chariots and elephants,
Than those heroic thinkers are thought who conquer the restless six senses.

ahaṃ vapuṣmān iti yac ca manyase vicakṣaṇaṃ naitad idaṃ ca gṛhyatām |
kva tad vapuḥ sā ca vapuṣmatī tanur gadasya sāmyasya ca sāraṇasya ca ||

9.24 Again, that you think ‘I am good looking’ is not astute. Let this be grasped:
Where are the good looks, where the beautiful bodies, of Gada, Śāmba, and Sāraṇa?

yathā mayūraś calacitracandrako bibharti rūpaṃ guṇavat svabhāvataḥ |
śarīrasaṃskāraguṇād ṛte tathā bibharṣi rūpaṃ yadi rūpavān asi ||

9.25 Just as a peacock, flashing the eye in its tail, naturally carries its excellent looks,
That is how, without any distinction got from grooming the body, you must carry your looks – if after all you are good-looking.

yadi pratīpaṃ vṛṇuyān na vāsasā na śaucakāle yadi saṃspṛśed apaḥ |
mṛjāviśeṣaṃ yadi nādadīta vā vapur vapuṣman vada kīdṛśaṃ bhavet ||

9.26 If its unpleasantness were not covered with clothes, if it never touched water after excretion,
Or if it never received a good washing, tell me, O handsome one! what might a body be like?

navaṃ vayaś cātmagataṃ niśāmya yad gṛhonmukhaṃ te viṣayāptaye manaḥ |
niyaccha tac chailanadīrayopamaṃ drutaṃ hi gacchaty anvirati yauvanam ||

9.27 Again, perceiving the prime of life to be a personal belonging, your mind looks forward to going home and gaining its sensual end:
Curb that mind! for, like a river coursing down a rocky mountain, youth passes swiftly and does not return.

ṛtur vyatītaḥ parivartate punaḥ kṣayaṅ prayātaḥ punar eti candramāḥ |
gataṃ gataṃ naiva tu saṃnivartate jalaṃ nadīnāṃ ca nṛṇāṃ ca yauvanam ||

9.28 A season that has passed comes around again, the moon wanes and waxes again,
But gone, gone, never to return is the water of rivers, and the youth of men.

vivarṇitaśmaśru valīvikuñcitaṃ viśīrṇadantaṃ śithilabhru niṣprabham |
yadā mukhaṃ drakṣyasi jarjaraṃ tadā jarābhibhūto vimado bhaviṣyasi ||

9.29 When you are white whiskered and wrinkled, with broken teeth and sagging brows; when you are lacking in lustre;
When, humbled by age, you see your face grown old, then you will sober up.

niṣevya pānaṃ madanīyam uttamaṃ niśāvivāseṣu cirād vimādyati |
naras tu matto balarūpayauvanair na kaś cid aprāpya jarāṃ vimādyati ||

9.30 Having wasted nights and greeted dawns drinking the most intoxicating liquor, one finally comes around,
But drunk on strength, looks and youth, no man ever comes round – until he reaches old age.

yathekṣur atyantarasaprapīḍito bhuvi praviddho dahanāya śuṣyate |
tathā jarāyantraniīḍitā tanur nipītasārā maraṇāya tiṣṭhati ||

9.31 Just as sugar-cane, when all its juice has been squeezed out, is thrown on the ground to dry, ready for burning,
So, pressed in the vice of aging and drained of energy, does the body wait to die.

yathā hi nṛbhyāṃ karapattram īritaṃ samucchritaṃ dāru bhinatty anekadhā |
tathocchritāṃ pātayati prajām imām aharniśābhyām upasaṃhitā jarā ||

9.32 Just as a saw worked by two men cuts a tall tree into many pieces,
So old age, pushed and pulled by day and night, topples people here and now who are high and mighty

smṛteḥ pramoṣo vapuṣaḥ parābhavo rateḥ kṣayo vācchruticakṣuṣāṃ grahaḥ |
śramasya yonir balavīryayor vadho jarāsamo nāsti śarīriṇāṃ ripuḥ ||

9.33 Robber of memory; destroyer of looks; ender of pleasure; seizer of speech, hearing and sight;
Birthplace of fatigue; slayer of strength and manly vigour: for those with a body, there is no enemy to rival aging.

idaṃ viditvā nidhanasya daiśikaṃ jarābhidahānaṃ jagato mahadbhayam |
ahaṃ vapuṣmān balavān yuveti vā na mānam āroḍhum anāryam arhasi ||

9.34 Knowing this great terror of the world named ‘aging’ to be a pointer on the way to death,
Do not rise to the ignoble conceit of an ‘I’ that is beautiful, or young, or strong.

ahaṃ mamety eva ca raktacetasāṃ śarīrasaṃjñā tava yaḥ kalau grahaḥ |
tam utsṛjaivaṃ yadi śāmyatā bhaved bhayaṃ hy ahaṃ ceti mameti cārchati ||

9.35 With your mind tainted by ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ you are latching onto the strife called a body.
Let go of that, if peace is to come about, for ‘I’ and ‘mine’ usher in danger.

yadā śarīre na vaśo ’sti kasya cin nirasyamāne vividhair upaplavaiḥ |
kathaṃ kṣamaṃ vettum ahaṃ mameti vā śarīrasaṃjñaṃ gṛham āpadām idam ||

9.36 When no-one has dominion over a body that is ravaged by manifold misfortunes,
How can it be right to recognize as ‘I’ or as ‘mine’ this house of calamities called a body?

sapannage yaḥ kugṛhe sadāśucau rameta nityaṃ pratisaṃskṛte ’bale |
sa duṣṭadhātāv aśucau calācale rameta kāye viparītdarśanaḥ ||

9.37 One who would delight in a flimsy snake-infested hovel that was always unclean and constantly needing repair:
He is the man of perverted view who would delight in a body with its corrupted elements and unclean, unstable state.

yathā prajābhyaḥ kunṛpo balād balīn haraty aśeṣaṃ ca na cābhirakṣati |
tathaiva kāvyo vasanādisādhanaṃ haraty aśeṣaṃ ca na cānuvartate ||

9.38 Just as a bad king takes forcibly from his subjects his full toll of taxes, and yet does not protect;
So the body takes its full toll of provisions such as clothes and the like, and yet does not obey.

yathā prarohanti tṛṇāny ayatnataḥ kṣitau prayatnāt tu bhavnti śālayaḥ |
tathaiva duḥkhāni tṛñāny ayatnataḥ kṣitau pryatnāt tu bhavanti vā na vā ||

9.39 Just as in soil, grass sprouts readily but rice is grown through sustained effort,
So too does sorrow arise readily whereas happiness is produced with effort, if at all.

śarīram ārtaṃ parikarṣataś calaṃ na cāsti kiṃ cit paramārthataḥ sukham |
sukhaṃ hi duḥkhapratikārasevayā sthite ca duḥkhe tanuni vyasvasyati ||

9.40 For him who drags around a hurting, perishable body, there is no such thing, in the supreme sense, as happiness;
For what he determines to be happiness, by taking counter-measures against suffering, is only a condition wherein suffering remains minimal.

yathānapekṣyāgryam apīsitaṃ sukhaṃ prabādhate duḥkham upetam aṇv api |
tathānapekṣyātmani duḥkham āgataṃ na vidyate kiṃ cana kasya cit sukham ||

9.41 Just as the intrusion of even a slight discomfort spoils enjoyment of the greatest longed-for pleasure,
In a similar way, nobody ever enjoys any happiness by disregarding suffering that is upon him.

śarīram īdṛgbhahuduḥkham adhruvaṃ phalānurodhāh atha nāvagacchasi |
dravat phalebhyo dhṛtiraśmibhir mano nigṛhyatāṃ gaur iva śasyalālasā ||

9.42 You fail to see the body as it is – full of suffering and inconstant – because of fondness for its effects:
Let the mind that chases after effects, like a cow after corn, be restrained by the reins of steadfastness.

na kāmabhogā hi bhavanti tṛptaye havīṃṣi dīptasya vibhāvasor iva |
yathā yathā kāmasukheṣu vartate tathā tathecchā viṣayeṣu vardhate ||

9.43 For sensual enjoyments, like offerings fed into a blazing fire, do not make for satisfaction;
The more one indulges in sensual pleasures, the more the desire for sensual objects grows.

yathā ca kuṣṭhavyasanena duḥkhitaḥ pratāpanān naiva śamaṃ nigacchati |
tathendriyārtheṣv ajitendriyaś caran na kāmabhogair upaśāntim ṛcchati ||

9.44 Again, just as a man suffering from the blight of leprosy does not obtain a cure by way of application of heat,
Similarly, one who goes among sense objects with his senses unconquered does not tend towards peace by way of sensual enjoyments.

yathā hi bhaiṣajyasukhābhikāṅkṣayā bhajeta rogān na bhajeta tatkṣamam |
tathā śarīre bahuduḥkhabhājane rameta mohād viṣayābhikāṅkṣayā ||

9.45 For just as desire for pleasure from one’s medicine might cause one to accept one’s infirmity instead of taking proper measures against it,
So, because of desire for one’s object, might one ignorantly rejoice in that receptacle of much suffering which is a body.

anarthakāmaḥ puruṣasya yo janaḥ sa tasya śatruḥ kila tena karmaṇā |
anarthamūlā viṣayāś ca kevalā nanu praheyā viṣamā yathārayaḥ ||

9.46 One who wishes adversity on a man is said, because of that action, to be his enemy.
Should not sense objects, as the sole root of adversity, be shunned as dangerous enemies?

ihaiva bhūtvā ripavo vadhātmakāḥ prayānti kāle puruṣasya mitratām |
paratra caiveha ca duḥkhahetavo bhavanti kāmā na tu kasya cic chivāḥ ||

9.47 Those who were his deadly enemies in this world can in time become a man’s friend;
But not benign for anybody, in this or other worlds, are the desires which are the causes of suffering.

yathopayuktaṃ rasavarṇagandhavad vadhāya kiṃpākaphalaṃ na puṣṭaye |
niṣevyamāṇā viṣayāś calātmano bhavanty anarthāya tathā na bhūtaye ||

9.48 Just as eating a tasty, colourful and fragrant kiṁpāka fruit leads to death not nourishment,
So an imbalanced person’s devotion to objects makes for misfortune, and not for well-being.

tat etad ājñāya vipāpmanātmanā vimokṣadharmādyupasaṃhitaṃ hitam |
juṣasva me sajjanasaṃmataṃ mataṃ pracakṣva vā niścayam udgiran giram ||

9.49 As an innocent, then, heed this good advice pertaining to liberation, dharma, and so forth;
Affirm my opinion, with which the righteous concur. Or else speak up and state your agenda.”

iti hitam api bahv apīdam uktaḥ śrutamahatā śramaṇena tena nandaḥ |
na dhṛtim upayayau na śarma lebhe dvirada ivātimado madāndhacetāḥ ||

9.50 Though reproached at length in this salutary fashion by a striver so great in hearing what is heard,
Nanda neither found firmness nor took comfort: he was like a tusker in full rut, mind blinded by lust.

nandasya bhāvam avagamya tataḥ sa bhikṣuḥ pāriplavaṃ gṛhasukhābhimukhaṃ na dharme |
sattvāśayānuśayabhāvaparkṣakāya buddhāya tattvadiuṣe kathayāṃ cakāra ||

9.51 Then, having assured himself that Nanda’s being was not in the dharma but was turned unsteadily towards the comforts of home,
That beggar reported back to the investigator of living creatures’ dispositions, tendencies and ways of being, to the Buddha, knower of reality.

saundaranande mahākāvye madāpavādo nāma navamaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 9th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Negation of Vanity.”

śrutvā tataḥ sadvratam utsisṛkṣuṃ bhāryāṃ didṛkṣuṃ bhavanaṃ vivikṣum |
nandaṃ nirānandam apetadhairyam abhyujjihīrṣur munir ājuhāva ||

10.1 Thus did he hear about Nanda’s desire to abandon sincere practice, to see his wife, and to go home;
And so the Sage summoned the joyless and weak-willed Nanda, wishing to take him up.

taṃ prāptam aprāptavimokṣamārgaṃ papraccha cittaskhalitaṃ sucittaḥ |
sa hrīmate hrīvinato jagāda svaṃ niścayaṃ niścayakovidāya ||

10.2 When [Nanda], having not yet arrived at liberation’s path, arrived, he of the beautiful mind questioned him, whose mind was faltering.
Bowed down by humiliation, [Nanda] confessed to the one who was full of humility; he told his intention to a master intention-knower.

nandaṃ viditvā sugatas tatas taṃ bhāryābhidhāne tamasi bhramantam |
pāṇau gṛhītvā viyad utpapāta maṇiṃ jale sādhur ivojjihīrṣuḥ ||

10.3 And so the Sugata, the One Gone Well, seeing Nanda wandering in the darkness called “wife,”
Took his hand and flew up into the sky, wishing to take him up – like an honest man in the water bearing up a pearl.

kāṣāyavastrau kanakāvadātau virejatus tau nabhasi prasanne |
anyonyasaṃśliṣṭavikīrṇapakṣau saraḥprakīrṇāv iva cakravākau ||

10.4 A shining gold they shone with their ochre robes, in the clear sky,
Like a pair of greylag geese rising up from a lake, embracing one another with outstretched wings.

tau devadārūttamagandhavantaṃ nadīsaraḥprasravaṇaughavantam |
ājagmatuḥ kāñcanadhātumantaṃ devarṣimantaṃ himavantam āśu ||

10.5 Filled with the heady fragrance of the divine deodar, 03 full of rivers and lakes, and springs and gulches,
And filled with golden ore was the Himālayan mountain full of divine seers at which the two arrived, immediately.

tasmin girau cārañasiddhajuṣṭe śive havir dhūmakṛttottarīye |
āgamya pārasya nirāśrayasya tau tasthatur dvīpa ivāmbarasya ||

10.6 On that auspicious mountain – which was frequented by celestial singers and saints and blanketed in smoke from burnt offerings –
As if on an island in an unsupported sky, where no far shore is reached, the two stood.

śāntendriye tatra munau sthite tu savismayaṃ dikṣu dadarśa nandaḥ |
darīś ca kuñjāṃś ca vanaukasaś ca vibhūṣaṇaṃ rakṣaṇam eva cādreḥ ||

10.7 While the Sage, his sense-power stilled, remained there standing, Nanda looked all around in amazement
At the caverns and bowers and forest-dwellers that were the mountain’s jewels and its guardians.

bahvāyate tatra site hi śṛṅge saṃkṣiptabarhaḥ śayito mayūraḥ |
bhuje balasyāyatapīnabāhor vaiḍūryakeyūra ivābabhāse ||

10.8 For there on a great long horn of white rock, lay a peacock with its tail feathers arrayed
So as to resemble, on the long and muscular arm of Bala, an armlet of cat’s-eye gems.

manaḥśilādhātuśilāśrayeṇa pītākṛtāṃso virarāja siṃhaḥ |
saṃtaptacāmīkarabhaktcitraṃ rūpyāṅgadaṃ śīrṇam ivāmbikasya ||

10.9 A lion with shoulders made orange from contact with the orange-red ore of ‘the mind-rock,’ arsenic,
Looked like Āmbika’s crumpled armband of wrought silver streaked with refined gold.

vyāghraḥ klavyāyatakhelagāmī lāṅgūlacakreṇa kṛtāpasvyaḥ |
babhau gireḥ prasravaṇaṃ pipāsur ditsan pitṛbhyo ’mbha ivāvatirṇaḥ ||

10.10 A tiger moved unhurriedly and expansively, its tail curling around its right [shoulder],
As it went to drink at a mountain spring: it looked like an offering to the ancestors, being made by somebody who has arrived at water.

calatkadambe himvannitambe tarau pralambe camaro lalambe |
chettuṃ vilagnaṃ na śaśāka bālaṃ kulodgatāṃ prītim ivāryavṛttaḥ ||

10.11 A yak had got stuck in a dangling kadamba tree swaying on the Himālayan hillside:
Unable to free its tangled tail, it was like a man of noble conduct who cannot break away from a kindness that has been shown in his House.

suvarṇagaurāś ca kirātasaṃghā mayūrapattrojjvalagātralekhāḥ |
sārdūlapātapratimā guhābhayo niśeptur udgāra ivācalasya ||

10.12 Communities of golden mountain-men, the Kirātas, their limbs streaked with shining peacock gall,
Rushed out from their caves like flying tigers, as if spewed out of the unmoving mountain.

darīcarīṇām atisundariṇāṃ manoharaśroṇikucodharīṇām |
vṛdndāni rejur diśi kiṃnarīṇāṃ puṣpotkacānām iva vallarīṇām ||

10.13 Hanging out in nooks and crannies, and going beyond Beauty with their heart-stealing hips, breasts and bellies,
Were the bevies of kiṁnarīs who appeared in every quarter, like creepers with flowers in their upward winding curls.

nagān nagasyopari devadārūn āyāsayantaḥ kapayo viceruḥ |
tebhyaḥ phalaṃ nāpurato ’pajagmur moghaprasādebhya iveśvarebhyaḥ ||

10.14 Pestering the godly deodars, monkeys roved from peak to peak;
Obtaining from those trees no fruit, they went away, as if from powerful masters whose favour is futile.

tasmāt tu yūthād apasāryamāṇāṃ niṣpīditālaktakaraktavaktrām |
śākhāmṛgīm ekavipannadṛṣṭiṃ dṛṣṭvā munir nandam idaṃ babhāṣe ||

10.15 But lagging behind that troop was one whose face was red as pressed red resin –
A female monkey with one eye missing. Seeing her, the Sage spoke this to Nanda:

kā nanda rūpeṇa ca ceṣṭayā ca saṃpaśyataś cārutarā matā te |
eṣā mṛgī viakavipanndṛṣṭiḥ sa vā jano yatra gatā taveṣṭiḥ ||

10.16 “Which, Nanda, in beauty and in manner, is the lovelier in your eyes:
This one-eyed monkey, or the person who is the focus of your wishing?”

ity evam uktaḥ sugatena nandaḥ kṛtvā smitaṃ kiṃ cid idaṃ jagāda |
kva cottamastrī bhagavan badhūs te mṛgi nagakleśkarī kva caiṣā ||

10.17 Addressed thus by the One Gone Well, Nanda said, with a slight smirk:
“How can a gap be measured, Glorious One!, between that most excellent of women your sister-in-law, and this tree-tormenting monkey?”

tato munis tasya niśamya vākyaṃ hetvantaraṃ kiṃ cid avekṣamāṇaḥ |
ālambya nandaṃ prayayau tathaiva krīḍāvanaṃ vajradharasya rājñaḥ ||

10.18 Then the Sage, hearing his protestation, and having in mind a slightly unconventional means,
Took hold of Nanda as before and proceeded to the pleasure-grove of the royal bearer of the thunderbolt.

ṛtāv rtāv ākṛtim eka eke kṣaṇe kṣaṇe bibhrati yatra vṛkṣāḥ |
citrāṃ samastām api ke cid anye ṣaṇṇām ṛtūnāṃ śriyam udvahanti ||

10.19 There one by one, season by season, and moment by moment, trees convey their individual form;
While some odd ones also bring out the combined manifold glory of all six seasons.

puṣyanti ke cit surabhīr udārā mālāḥ srajaś ca grathitā vicitrāḥ |
karṇānukūlān avataṃsakāṃṣ ca pratyarthibhūtān iva kuṇḍalānām ||

10.20 Some produce garlands and wreaths which are fragrant and affecting, with variously interwoven strands,
And small round creations suited to the ear which are akin to earrings’ opponents.

raktāni phullāḥ kamalāni yatra pradīpavṛkṣā iva bhānti vṛkṣā |
praphullanīlotpalarohiṇo ’nye sonmīlitākṣā iva bhānti vṛkṣā ||

10.21 Trees there that abound in red lotuses look like trees ablaze.
Different trees, growing full-blown blue lotuses, seem to have their eyes open.

nānāvirāgāṇy atha pāṇḍarāṇi suvarṇabhaktivyavabhāsitāni |
atāntavāny ekaghanāni yatra sūkṣmāṇi vāsāṃsi phalanti vṛkṣā ||

10.22 In various colourless hues, or else white; beautifully illuminated with golden dividing lines;
Beyond the weaving together of strands, being nothing but a unity; are the exquisite robes that trees there bear as fruit.

hārān maṇīn uttamakuṇḍalāni keyūravaryāṇy atha nūpurāṇi |
evaṃvidhāny ābharaṇāni yatra svargānurūpāṇi phalanti vṛkṣaḥ ||

10.23 Pearl necklaces and gemstones, supreme earrings, choicest armlets, and ankle bracelets,
Are the kinds of ornament, fit for heaven, that trees there bear as fruit.

vaiḍūryanālāni ca kāñcanāni padmāni vajrāṅkurakesarāṇi |
sparśakṣamāṇy uttamagandhavanti rohanti niṣkampatalā nalinyaḥ ||

10.24 There rise golden lotuses with beryl stems and diamond shoots and stamens;
Receptive to touch, they have a scent of the ultimate: still pools without ripples allow them to grow.

yatrāyatāṃś caiva tatāṃś ca tāṃs tān vādyasya hetūn suṣirān ghanāṃś ca |
phalanti vṛkṣā maṇihemacitrāḥ krīḍāsahāyās tridaśālayānām ||

10.25 All kinds of musical instrument, with lengthened [sinews] and widened [skins], with open tubes and solid substance,
Are born there as fruit, by the distinctively bejewelled and gilded trees which are the heaven-dwellers’ playing companions.

mandāravṛkṣāṃś ca kuśeśayāṃś ca puṣpānatān kokanadāṃś ca vṛkṣān |
ākramya māhātmyaguṇair virājan rājāyate yatra sa pārijātaḥ ||

10.26 Over mandāra coral trees, and over trees weighed down with water-lily and ruddy lotus blossoms,
The ‘Full Grown’ Coral, shining there with majestic qualities, steps up and reigns supreme.

kṛṣṭe tapaḥṣīlahalair akhinnais tripiṣṭapakṣetratale prasūtāḥ |
evaṃvidhā yatra saānuvṛttā divaukasāṃ bhogavidhānavṛkṣāḥ ||

10.27 Growing there, on soil tilled in Indra’s heaven by unwearying ploughs of austerity and discipline,
Are such trees as these, which are always adapting to provide for sky-dwellers’ enjoyment.

manaḥśilābhair vadanair vihaṅgā yatrākṣibhiḥ spāṭikasaṃnibhaiś ca |
śāvaiś ca pakṣair abhilohitāntair māñjiṣṭhakair ardhasitaiś ca pādaiḥ ||

10.28 Birds there have bright red beaks, the colour of red ‘mind-rock’ arsenic; and crystalline eyes;
And wings a deathly shade of yellow, with intensely red tips; and claws as red as red dye, but half white.

citraiḥ suvarṇacchadanais tathānye vaiḍuryavarṇābhir nayanaiḥ prasannaiḥ |
vihaṅgamā śiñjirikābhidhānā rutair manaḥśrotaharair bhramanti ||

10.29 Birds which are – again – different, with distinctively golden wings and bright, beryl-blue eyes,
Birds called śiñjirikas fly to and fro, carrying away minds and ears with their songs.

raktābhir agreṣu ca vallarībhir madhyeṣu cāmīkarapiñjarābhiḥ |
vaiḍūryavarṇābhir upāntamadhyeṣv alaṅkṛtā yatra khagāś caranti ||

10.30 Adorned with curling feathers that are red at the tips, golden in the middle,
And the colour of beryl within borders, birds there move.

rociṣṇavo nāma patratriṇo ’nye dīptāgnivarṇā jvalitair ivāsyaiḥ |
bhramanti dṛṣṭīr vapuṣākṣipantaḥ svanaiḥ śubhair apsaraso harantaḥ ||

10.31 Winged ones of a different ilk, named rochiṣṇus, who have the lustre of a blazing fire, their faces seeming to be aglow,
Roam around, shaking views with their wonderful appearance, and carrying apsarases away with their splendid sound.

yatreṣṭaceṣṭāḥ satataprahṛṣṭā nirartayo nirjaraso viśokāḥ |
svaiḥ karmabhir hīnaviśiṣṭtamadhyāḥ svayaṃprabhāḥ puṇyakṛto ramante ||

10.32 There, merit-makers do whatever they like; constantly erect, they are free from pain, free from aging, and beyond sorrow;
Each by his actions inferior, superior, or in the middle, each letting his own light shine, the merit-makers rejoice.

pūrvaṃ tapomūlyaparigraheṇa svargakrayārthaṃ kṛtaniścayānāṃ |
manāṃsi khinnāni tapodhanānāṃ haranti yatrāpsaraso laḍantyāḥ ||

10.33 (EHJ: 10.34)
Seeing that world to be in a perpetually elevated state, free from tiredness, sleep, discontent, sorrow, and disease,
Nanda deemed the ever-afflicted world of men, under the sway of aging and death, to be akin to a cremation ground.

nityotsavaṃ taṃ ca niśāmya lokaṃ nistandrinidrāratiśokarogam |
nando jarāmṛtyuvaśaṃ sadārtaṃ mene śmaśānapratimaṃ nṛlokam ||

10.34 (EHJ: 10.35)
Nanda beheld Indra’s forest all around him, his eyes wide open with amazement.
And the apsarases surrounded him, bristling with joyous excitement, while eyeing each other haughtily.

aindraṃ vanaṃ tac ca dadarśa nandaḥ samantato vismayaphulladṛṣṭiḥ |
harṣānvitāś cāpsarasaḥ parīyuḥ sagarvam anyonyam avekṣamāṇāḥ ||

10.35 (EHJ: 10.36)
Eternally youthful and devoted purely to Love, the apsarases are zones of recreation open to all who have made merit;
They are the heavenly and innocent resort of gods, their reward for ascetic practices.

sadā yuvatyo madanaikakāryāḥ sādhāraṇāḥ puṇyakṛtāṃ vihārāḥ |
divyāś ca nirdoṣaparigrahāś ca tapaḥphalasyāśrayaṇaṃ surāṇām ||

10.36 (EHJ: 10.37)
Odd ones among those women sang, in low and in high voices; some pulled lotuses apart, playfully;
Others in the same vein danced, bristling with mutual delight, limbs making exotic gestures, breasts perturbing pearl necklaces.

tāsāṃ jagur dhīram udāttam anyāḥ padmāni kāś cil lalitaṃ labhañjuḥ |
anyonyaharṣān nanṛtus tathānyāś cirāṅgahārāḥ stanabhinnabhārāḥ ||

10.37 (EHJ: 10.33)
Here, having first accepted the price in austerities and made the decision to splash out on heaven,
Ascetics rich in austerities have their weary minds enthralled by the flirting apsarases.

kāsāṃ cid āsāṃ vadanāni rejur vanāntarebhyaś calakuṇḍalāni |
vyāviddhaparṇebhya ivākarebhyaḥ padmāni kāraṇḍavaghaṭṭitāni ||

10.38 The faces of some of these women, ear-rings atremble, peeped through chinks in the undergrowth
Like duck-dunked lotuses peeping through scattered and displaced leaves.

tāḥ niḥsṛtāḥ prekṣya vanāntarebhyas taḍitpatākā iva toyadebhyaḥ |
nandasya rāgeṇa tanur vivepe jale cale candramasaḥ prabheva ||

10.39 When he saw them emerging from their forest niches like ribbons of lightning from rainclouds,
Nanda’s body trembled with passion like moonlight on rippling water.

vapuś ca divyaṃ lalitāś ca ceṣṭās tataḥ sa tāsāṃ manasā jahāra |
kautūhalāvarjitayā ca dṛṣṭyā saṃśleṣatarṣād iva jātarāgaḥ ||

10.40 Their heavenly form and playful gestures he then mentally seized;
And, while his eye was appropriated by curiosity, he became impassioned, as if from a thirst for union.

sa jātatarṣo ’psarasaḥ pipāsus tatprāptaye ’dhiṣṭhitaviklavārtaḥ |
lolendriyāśvena manorathena jehriyamāṇo na dhṛtiṃ cakāra ||

10.41 He became thirsty, desirous of drinking up the apsarases, afflicted by a pervading itch to have them.
Dragged along by the mind-chariot whose horse is the restless power of the senses, he could not come to stillness.

yathā manuṣyo malinaṃ hi vāsaḥ kṣāreṇa bhūyo malinīkaroti |
malakṣayārthaṃ na malodbhavārtaṃ rajas tathāsmai munir ācakarṣa ||

10.42 For just as a man adds soda ash to dirty clothes and thereby makes them even dirtier
Not in order to increase dirt but in order to remove it, so the Sage had stirred the dust of passion in Nanda.

doṣāṃś ca kāyād bhiṣaguj jihīrṣur bhūyo yathā kleśayituṃ yateta |
rāgaṃ tathā tasya munir jighāṃsur bhūyastaraṃ rāgam upānināya ||

10.43 Again, just as a healer who wishes to draw faults from the body would endeavour to aggravate those faults,
So, wishing to kill the red taint of passion in him, the Sage brought about an even greater passion.

dīpaprabhāṃ hanti yathāndhakāre sahasraraśmer uditasya dīptiḥ |
manuṣyaloke dyutim aṅganānām antardadhāty apsarasāṃ tathā śrīḥ ||

10.44 Just as a light in the dark is extinguished by the thousand-rayed brightness of the rising sun,
So the lovely radiance of women in the human world is put in the shade by the brilliance of the celestial nymphs.

mahac ca rūpaṃ svaṇu hanti rūpaṃ śabdo mahān hanti ca śabdam alpam |
gurvī rujā hanti rujāṃ ca mṛdviṃ sarvo mahān hetur aṇor vadhāya ||

10.45 Great beauty blots out lesser beauty, a loud noise drowns out a small noise,
And a severe pain kills a mild pain – every great stimulus tends towards the extinction of a minor one.

muneḥ prabhāvāc ca śaśāka nandas taddarśanaṃ soḍhum asahyam anyaiḥ |
avitarāgasya hi durbalasya mano dahed apsarasāṃ vapuḥṣrīḥ ||

10.46 And Nanda was able, relying on the power of the Sage, to endure that sight unendurable to others.
For the mind of a man lacking dispassion, when he was weak, would be burned up by the apsarases’ shining splendour.

matvā tato nandam udīrṇarāgaṃ bhāryānurodhād apavṛttarāgam |
rāgeṇa rāgaṃ pratihantukāmo munir virāgo giram ity uvāca ||

10.47 Deeming then that Nanda was roused to a new height of passion, his passion having turned from love of his wife,
And desiring to fight passion with passion, the dispassionate Sage spoke these words:

etāḥ strīyaḥ paśya divaukasas tvaṃ nirīkṣya ca brūhi yathārthattvam |
etāḥ kathaṃ rūpaguṇair matās te sa vā jano yatra gataṃ manas te ||

10.48 “Look at these women who dwell in heaven and, having observed, truly tell the truth:
Do you think more of these women with their lovely form and excellent attributes or the one upon whom your mind has been set?”

athāpsaraḥs eva niviṣṭadṛṣtī rāgāgnināntarhṛdaye pradīptaḥ |
sagadgagadaṃ kāmaviṣaktacetāḥ kṛtāñjalir vākyam uvāca nandaḥ ||

10.49 So, letting his gaze settle upon the apsarases, burning in his innermost heart with a fire of passion,
And stammering, with a mind stuck on objects of desire, Nanda joined his hands like a beggar and spoke.

haryaṅganāsau muṣitaikadṛṣṭir yadantare syāt tava nātha vadhvāḥ |
tadantare ’sau kṛpaṇā vadhūs te vauṣmatīr apsarasaḥ pratītya ||

10.50 “Whatever difference there might be, Master, between that one-eyed she-monkey and your sister-in-law,
Is the same when your poor sister-in-law is set against the lovely apsarases.

āsthā yathā pūrvam abhūn na kā cid anyāsu me striṣu niśāmya bhāryām |
tasyāṃ tataḥ samprati kā cid āsthā na me niśāmyaiva hi rūpam āsām ||

10.51 For just as previously, when I beheld my wife, I had no interest in other women,
So now when I behold their beauty I have no interest in her.

yathā pratapto mṛdunātapena dahyeta kaś cin mahatānalena |
rāgeṇa pūrvaṃ mṛdunābhitapto rāgāninānena tathābhidahye ||

10.52 Just as somebody who had been pained by mild sunshine might be consumed by a great fire,
So I who was previously toasted by a mild passion am now roasted by this blaze of passion.

vāgvāriṇā māṃ pariṣiñca tasmād yāvan na dahye sa ivāhjaśatruḥ |
rārāgnir adyaiva hi māṃ didhakṣuḥ kakṣaṃ savṛkṣāgram ivotthito ’gniḥ ||

10.53 Therefore pour on me the water of your voice, before I am burned, as was The Fishes’ Foe;
For a fire of passion is going now to burn me up, like a fire rising up to burn both undergrowth and treetops.

prasīda sīdāmi vimuñca mā mune vasundharādhairya na dhairyam asti me |
asūn vimokṣyāmi vimuktamānasa prayccha vā vāgamṛtaṃ mumūrṣave ||

10.54 Please, O Sage firm as the earth, I am sinking. Liberate me who am without firmness.
I shall give up my life, O Man of Liberated Mind, unless you extend to a dying man the deathless nectar of your words.

anarthabhogena vighātaydṛṣtinā pramādadaṃśṭreṇa tamoviṣāgninā |
ahaṃ hi daṣṭo hṛdi manmathāhinā vidhatsya tasmād agadaṃ mahābhiṣak ||

10.55 For a snake whose coils are calamity, whose eyes are destruction, whose fangs are madness, whose fiery venom is dark ignorance:
The snake of love has bitten me in the heart. Therefore, Great Healer, supply the antidote!

anena daṣṭo madanāhinā hi nā na kaś cid ātmany anavasthitaḥ sthitaḥ |
mumoha vodhyor hy acalātmano mano babhūva dhīmāṃś ca sa śantanus tanuḥ ||

10.56 For nobody bitten by this snake of love remains anything but unsettled in himself
Bewildered was the mind of Vodhyu, whose essence had been immovability, while ‘Good-Body’ Śan-tanu, who had been a sensible man, grew gaunt.

sthite viśiṣṭe tvayi saṃśraye śraye yathā na yāmīha vasan diśaṃ diśam |
yathā ca labdhvā vyasanakṣayaṃ kṣayaṃ vrajāmi tan me kuru śaṃsataḥ sataḥ ||

10.57 In you who abides conspicuously in the state of refuge, I seek refuge. So that I do not wander through this world loafing in this place and that place;
So that I might come to and then go beyond that abode which is my adversity-ending end, please, repeatedly I plead that you help me.”

tato jighāṃsur hṛdi tasya tattamas tamonudo naktam ivotthitaṃ tamaḥ |
maharṣicandro jagatas tamonudas tamaḥprahīṇo nijagāda gautamaḥ ||

10.58 Desiring to dispell that darkness in his heart like the moon dispersing the darkness that rises by night,
Then spoke the moon of great seers, the disperser of the world’s darkness, the one devoid of darkness – Gautama:

dhṛtiṃ pariṣvajya vidhūya vikriyāṃ nigṛhya tāvac chrutacetasī śṛṇu |
imā yadi prārthayase tvam aṅganā vidhatsva śulkārtham ihottamaṃ tapaḥ ||

10.59 “Embrace firmness, shake off indecision, get a grip of hearing and of heart, and listen!
If you desire these women practise now the utmost asceticism to pay their price.

imā hi śakyā na balān na sevayā na saṃpradānena na rūptavattayā |
imā hriyante khalu dharmacaryayā sacet praharṣaś cara dharmam ādṛtaḥ ||

10.60 For these women are conquered neither by force nor by service, neither by gifts nor by good looks;
They are mastered just by dharma-conduct. If aroused, practise dharma diligently.

ihādhivāso divi daivataiḥ samaṃ vanāni ramyāṇy ajarāś ca yoṣitaḥ |
idaṃ phalaṃ svasya śubhasya karmaṇo na dattam anyena na cāpy ahetutaḥ ||

10.61 Perching here in heaven with gods; delightful forests; ageless women –
Such is the fruit of your own pure action. It is not conferred by another; nor is it without cause.

kṣitau manuṣyo dhanurādhibhiḥ śramaiḥ striyaḥ kadā cid dhi labheta vā na vā |
asaṃśayaṃ yat tv iha dharmacaryayā bhaveyur etā divi puṇakarmaṇaḥ ||

10.62 Through strenuous efforts on earth – drawing a bow and suchlike – a man may sometimes win women, or else he may not;
But what is certain is that, through his practice of dharma here and now, these women in heaven can belong to a man of meritorious action.

tad apramatto niyame samudyato ramasva yady apsaraso ’bhilipsase |
ahaṃ ca te ’tra pratibhūḥ sthire vrate yathā tvam ābhir niyataṃ sameṣyasi ||

10.63 So delight in restraint, being attentive and ready, if you desire to secure the apsarases,
And I guarantee that, insofar as you persist in your observance, you certainly shall be one with them.”

ataḥparaṃ paramam iti vyavasthitaḥ parāṃ dhṛtim paramamunau cakāra saḥ |
tato muniḥ pavana ivāmbarāt patan pragṛhya taṃ punar agaman mahītalam ||

10.64 “From now on, I will!” he agreed. Believing intently in the supreme Sage, he had become extremely determined.
Then the Sage, gliding down from the sky like the wind, brought him back down again to earth.

saundaranande mahākāvye svarganidarśano nāma daśamaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 10th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “A Vision of Heaven.”

tatas tā yoṣito dṛṣṭvā nando nandanacāriṇīḥ |
babandha niyamastambhe durdamaṃ capalaṃ manaḥ ||

11.1 And so, having gazed upon those women who wander in the Gladdening Gardens of Nandana,
Nanda tethered the fickle and unruly mind to a tethering post of restraint.

so ’niśṭaniaiṣkramyaraso mlānatāmarasopamaḥ |
cacāra viraso dharmaṃ niveśyāpsaraso hṛdi ||

11.2 Failing to relish the taste of freedom from care, sapless as a wilting lotus,
He went through the motions of dharma-practice, having installed the apsarases already in his heart.

tathā lolendriyo bhūtvā dayitendriyagocaraḥ |
indriyārthavaśād eva babhūva niyatendriyaḥ ||

11.3 Thus did one whose sense-power had been restless, whose senses had grazed on the pasture of his wife,
Come, by the very power of sense-objects, to have his sense-power reined in.

kāmacaryāsu kuśalo bhikṣucaryāsu viklavaḥ |
paramācāryaviṣṭabdho brahmacaryaṃ cacāra saḥ ||

11.4 Adept in the practices of love, confused about the practices of a beggar,
Set firm by the best of practice guides, Nanda did the devout practice of abstinence.

saṃvṛtena ca śāntena tīvreṇa madanena ca |
jalāgner iva saṃsargāc chaśāma ca śuśoṣa ca ||

11.5 Stifling restraint and ardent love,
Like water and fire in tandem, smothered him and burned him dry.

svabhāvadarśanīyo ’pi vairūpyam agamat param |
cintayāpsarasāṃ caiva niyamenāyatena ca ||

11.6 Though naturally good-looking, he became extremely ugly,
Both from agonizing about the apsarases and from protracted restraint.

prastaveṣv api bhāryāyāṃ priyabhāryas tathāpi saḥ |
vītarāga ivottasthau na jaharṣa na cukṣubhe ||

11.7 Even when mention was made of his wife, he who had been so devoted to his wife
Stood by, seemingly bereft of passion; he neither bristled nor quavered.

taṃ vyavasthitam ājñāya bhāryārāgāt parāṅmukham |
abhigamyābhravīn nandam ānandaḥ praṇayād idam ||

11.8 Knowing him to be adamant, turned away from passion for his wife,
Ānanda, having come that way, said to Nanda with affection:

aho sadṛśam ārabdhaṃ śrutasyābhijanasya ca |
nigṛhītendriyaḥ svastho niyame yadi saṃsthitaḥ ||

11.9 “Ah! This is a beginning that befits an educated and well-born man –
Since you are holding back the power of your senses and, abiding in yourself, you are set on restraint!

abhiṣvaktasya kāmeṣu rāgiṇo viṣayātmanaḥ |
yad iyaṃ saṃvid utpannā neyam alpena hetunā ||

11.10 In one entangled in desires, in a man of passion, a sensualist,
That such consciousness has arisen – this is by no small cause!

vyādhir alpena yatnena mṛduḥ pratinivāryate |
prabalaḥ prabalair eva yatnair naśyatti vā na vā ||

11.11 A mild illness is warded off with little effort;
A serious illness is cured with serious efforts, or else it is not.

durharo mānaso vyādhir balavāṃś ca tavābhavat |
vinivṛtto yadi sa te sarvathā dhṛtimānasi ||

11.12 An illness of the mind is hard to remove, and yours was a powerful one.
If you are rid of it, you are in every way steadfast.

duṣkaraṃ sādhv anāryeṇa māninā caiva mārdavam |
atisargaś ca lubdhena bramacaryaṃ ca rāgiṇā ||

11.13 For an ignoble man good is hard to do; for an arrogant man it is hard to be meek;
For a greedy man giving is hard, and hard for a man of passion is the practice of devout abstinence.

ekas tu mama saṃdehas tavāsyāṃ niyame dhṛtau |
atrānunayam icchāmi vaktavyaṃ yadi manase ||

11.14 But I have one doubt concerning this steadfastness of yours in restraint.
I would like assurance on this matter, if you think fit to tell me.

ārjavābhihitaṃ vākyaṃ na ca gantavyam anyathā |
rūkṣam apy āśaye śuddhe rūkṣato naiti sajjanaḥ ||

11.15 Straight talk should not be taken amiss:
However harsh it is, so long as its intention is pure, a good man will not retain it as harsh.

spriyaṃ hi hitaṃ snigdham asnigdham ahitaṃ priyaṃ |
durlabhaṃ tu priyahitaṃ svādu pathyam ivauṣadham ||

11.16 For there is disagreeable good advice, which is kind; and there is agreeable bad advice, which is not kind;
But advice that is both agreeable and good is as hard to come by as medicine that is both sweet and salutary.

viśvāsaś cārthacaryā ca sāmānyaṃ sukhaduḥkhayoḥ |
marṣaṇaṃ praṇayaś caiva mitravṛttir iyaṃ satām ||

11.17 Trust, acting in the other’s interest, sharing of joy and sorrow,
And tolerance, as well as affection: such, between good men, is the conduct of a friend.

tad idaṃ tvā vivakṣāmi praṇayān na jīghāṃsayā |
tvacchreyo hi vivakṣā me yato nārhāmy upekṣitum ||

11.18 So now I am going to speak to you out of affection, with no wish to hurt.
For my intention is to speak of that better way for you in regard to which I ought not to be indifferent.

apsarobhṛtako dharmaṃ carasīty abhidīyase |
kim idaṃ bhūtam āhosvit prarihāso ’yam īdṛśaḥ ||

11.19 You are practising dharma, so they say, for celestial nymphs as wages.
Is that so? Is it true? such a thing would be a joke!

yadi tāvad idaṃ satyaṃ vakṣyāmy atra yudaṣadham |
auddhatyam atha vaktṝmā, abhidāsyāmi tad rajaḥ ||

11.20 If this really is true, I will tell you a medicine for it;
Or if it is the impertinence of chatterers, then that dust I shall expose.”

ślakṣṇapūrvam atho tena hṛdi so ’bhihatas tadā |
dhyātvā dīrghaṃ niśaśvāsa kiṃ cic cāvāñmukho ’bhavat ||

11.21 Then – though it was tenderly done – [Nanda] was stricken in his heart.
After reflecting, he drew in a long breath, and his face inclined slightly downward.

tatas tasyeṅgitaṃ jñātvā manaḥsaṃkalpasūcakam |
babhāṣe vākyam ānando madhurodarkam apriyam ||

11.22 And so, knowing the signs that betrayed the set of Nanda’s mind,
Ānanda spoke words which were disagreeable but sweet in consequence:

ākāreṇāvagacchāmi tava dharmaprayojanam |
yaj jñātvā tvayi jātaṃ me hāsyaṃ kāuṇyam eva ca ||

11.23 “I know from the look on your face what your motive is in practising dharma.
And knowing that, there arises in me towards you laughter and at the same time pity.

yathāsanārthaṃ skandhena kaś cid gurvīṃ śilāṃ vahet |
tadvat tvam api kāmārthaṃ niyamaṃ voḍhum udyataḥ ||

11.24 Like somebody who, with a view to sitting on it, carried around on his shoulder a heavy rock;
That is how you, with a view to sensuality, are labouring to bear restraint.

titāḍayiṣayāsṛpto yathā meṣo ’pasarpati |
tadvad abrahmacaryāya brahmacaryam idaṃ tava ||

11.25 Just as, in its desire to charge, a wild ram draws back,
So, for the sake of non-abstinence, is this devout abstinence of yours!

cikrīṣanti yathā paṇyaṃ vaṇijo lābhalipsayā |
dharmacaryā tava tathā paṇyabhūtā na śāntaye ||

11.26 Just as merchants buy merchandise moved by a desire to make profit,
That is how you are practising dharma, as if it were a tradable commodity, not for the sake of peace.

yathā phalaviśeṣārthaṃ bījaṃ vapati kārṣakaḥ |
tadvad viṣayakārpaṇyād viṣayāṃs tyaktavān asi ||

11.27 Just as, with a particular crop in view, a ploughman scatters seed,
That is how, because of being desperate for an object, you have renounced objects.

ākāṅkṣec ca yathā rogaṃ pratīkārasukhepsayā |
duḥkham anvicchati bhavāṃs tathā viṣayatṛśṇayā ||

11.28 Just as a man who craves some pleasurable remedy might want to be ill,
That is how in your thirst for an object you are seeking out suffering.

yathā paśyati madhv eva na prapātam avekṣate |
paśyasy apsarasas tadvad bhraṃśam ante na paśyasi ||

11.29 Just as a man sees honey and fails to notice a precipice,
That is how you are seeing the heavenly nymphs and not seeing the fall that will come in the end.

hṛdi kāmāgninā dīpte kāyena vahato vratam |
kim idaṃ brahmacaryaṃ te manasābrahmacāriṇaḥ ||

11.30 Blazing with a fire of desire in your heart, you carry out observances with your body:
What is this devout abstinence of yours, who does not practise abstinence with his mind?

saṃsāre vartamānena yadā cāpsarasas tvayā |
prāptās tyaktāś ca śataśas tābhyaḥ kim iti te spṛhā ||

11.31 Again, since in spiralling through saṁsāra you have gained celestial nymphs and left them
A hundred times over, what is this yearning of yours for those women?

tṛptir nāstīndhanair agner nāmbhasā lavaṇāmbhasaḥ |
nāpi kāmaiḥ satṛṣṇasya tasmāt kāmā na tṛptaye ||

11.32 A fire is not satisfied by dry brushwood, nor the salty ocean by water,
Nor a man of thirst by his desires. Desires, therefore, do not make for satisfaction.

atṛptau ca kutaḥ śāntir aśāntau ca kutaḥ sukham |
asukhe ca kutaḥ pṛtir aprītau ca kuto ratiḥ ||

11.33 Without satisfaction, whence peace? Without peace, whence ease?
Without ease, whence joy? Without joy, whence enjoyment?

riraṃsā yadi te tasmād adhyātme dhīyatāṃ manaḥ |
praśānta cānavadyā ca nāsty adhyātmasamā ratiḥ ||

11.34 Therefore if you want enjoyment, let your mind be directed within.
Tranquil and impeccable is enjoyment of the inner self and there is no enjoyment to equal it.

na tatra kāryaṃ tūryais te na strībhir na vibhūṣanaiḥ |
ekas tvaṃ yatratrasthas tayā ratyābhiraṃsyase ||

11.35 In it, you have no need of musical instruments, or women, or ornaments;
On your own, wherever you are, you can indulge in that enjoyment.

mānasaṃ balavad duḥkhaṃ tarṣe tiṣṭhati tiṣṭhati |
taṃ tarṣaṃ chindhi duḥkhaṃ hi tṛṣṇā cāsti ca nāsti ca ||

11.36 The mind suffers mightily as long as thirst persists.
Eradicate that thirst; for suffering co-exists with thirst, or else does not exist.

saṃpattau vā vipattau vā divā vā naktam eva vā |
kāmeṣu hi saṭṛṣñasya na śāntir upadadyate ||

11.37 In prosperity or in adversity, by day or by night,
For the man who thirsts after desires, peace is not possible.

kāmānāṃ prārthanā duḥkhā prāptau tṛptir na vidyate |
viyogān niyataḥ śoko viyogaś ca dhruvo divi ||

11.38 The pursuit of desires is full of suffering, and attainment of them is not where satisfaction lies;
The separation from them is inevitably sorrowful; but the celestial constant is separation.

kṛtvāpi duṣkaraṃ karma svargaṃ labdhvāpi durlabham |
nṛlokaṃ punar evaiti pravāsāt svagṛhaṃ yathā ||

11.39 Even having done action that is hard to do, and reached a heaven that is hard to reach,
[A man] comes right back to the world of men, as if to his own house after a spell away.

yadā bhraṣṭasya kuśalaṃ śiṣṭaṃ kiṃ cin na vidyate |
triyakṣu pitṛloke vā narake vopapadyate ||

11.40 The backslider when his residual good has run out
Finds himself among the animals or in the world of the departed, or else he goes to hell.

tasya bhuktavataḥ svarge viṣayān uttamān api |
bhraṣṭasyārtasya duḥkhena kim āsvādaḥ karoti saḥ ||

11.41 Having enjoyed in heaven the utmost sensual objects,
He falls back, beset by suffering: what has that enjoyment done for him?

śyenāya prāṇivātsalyāt svamāṃsāny api dattavān |
śibhiḥ svargāt paribhraṣṭas tādṛk kṛtvāpi duṣkaram ||

11.42 Through tender love for living creatures Śibi gave his own flesh to a hawk.
He fell back from heaven, even after doing such a difficult deed.

śakrasyārdhāsanaṃ gatvā pūrvapārthiva eva yaḥ |
sadevataṃ gate kāle māndhātādhaḥ punar yayau ||

11.43 Having attained half of Indra’s throne as a veritable earth-lord of the old school,
Māndhātṛ when his time with the gods elapsed came back down again.

rājyaṃ kṛtvāpi devānāṃ papāta nahuṣo bhuvi |
prāptaḥ kila bjuaṅgatvaṃ nādyāpi parimucyate ||

11.44 Though he ruled the gods, Nahuṣa fell to earth;
He turned into a snake, so they say, and even today has not wriggled free.

tathaivelivilo rāja rājavṛttena saṃskṛtaḥ |
svargaṃ gatvā punar bhraṣṭaḥ kūrmībhūtaḥ kilārṇave ||

11.45 Likewise King Ilivila being perfect in kingly conduct,
Went to heaven and fell back down, becoming, so they say, a turtle in the ocean.

bhūrdiyumno yayātiś ca te cānye ca nṛparṣabhāḥ |
karmabhir dyām abhikrīya tatkṣayāt punar atyajan ||

11.46 Bhūri-dyumna and Yayāti and other excellent kings,
Having bought heaven by their actions, gave it up again, after that karma ran out –

asurāḥ pūrvadvās tu surair apahṛtaśriyaḥ |
śriyaṃ samanuśocantaḥ pātālaṃ śarañaṃ yayuḥ ||

11.47 Whereas the asuras, who had been gods in heaven when the suras robbed them of their rank,
Went bemoaning their lost glory down to their Pātāla lair.

kiṃ ca rājarṣibhis tāvad asurair vā surādibhiḥ |
mahendrāḥ śataśaḥ petur māhātmyam api na sthiram ||

11.48 But why such citing of royal seers, or of asuras, suras, and the like?
Mighty Indras have fallen in their hundreds! Even the most exalted position is not secure.

saṃsadaṃ śobhayitvaindrīm upendraś ca trivikramaḥ |
kṣīṇakarmā papātovriṃ madhyād apsarasāṃ rasan ||

11.49 Again, Indra’s luminous sidekick, he of the three strides, lit up Indra’s court,
And yet when his karma waned he fell to earth from the apsarases’ midst, screaming.

hā caitraratha hā vāpi hā mandākini hā priye |
ity ārtā vilapanto ’pi gāṃ patanti divaukasaḥ ||

11.50 ‘Oh, the grove of Citra-ratha! Oh, the pond! Oh, the heavenly Ganges! Oh, my beloved!’ –
Thus lament the distressed denizens of heaven as they fall to earth.

tīvraṃ hy uptadyate duḥkham iha tāvan mumūrṣatām |
kiṃ punaḥ patatāṃ svargād evānte sukhasevinām ||

11.51 For intense already is the pain that arises in those facing death in this world
And how much worse is it for the pleasure-addicts when they finally fall from heaven?

rajo gṛhṇanti vāsāṃsi mlāyanti paramāḥ srajaḥ |
gātrebhyo jāyate svedo ratir bhavati nāsane ||

11.52 Their clothes gather dust; their glorious garlands wither;
Sweat appears on their limbs; and in their sitting there is no enjoyment.

etāny ādau nimittāni cyutau svargād divaukasām |
aniṣṭāniva martyānām ariṣṭāni mumūrṣatām ||

11.53 These are the first signs of the imminent fall from heaven of sky-dwellers,
Like the unwelcome but sure signs of the approaching death of those subject to dying.

sukham utpadyate yac ca divi kāmān upāśnatām |
yac ca duḥkhaṃ nipatatāṃ duḥkham eva viṣiṣyate ||

11.54 When the pleasure that arises from enjoyment of desires in heaven
Is compared with the pain of falling, the pain, assuredly, is greater.

tasmād asvantam atrāṇam aviśvāsyam atarpakam |
vijñāya kṣayiṇaṃ svargam apavarge matiṃ kuru ||

11.55 Knowing heaven, therefore, to be ill-fated, precarious, unreliable, unsatisfactory, and transitory, set your heart upon immunity from that circuit.

aśarīraṃ bhavāgraṃ hi gatvāpi munir udrakaḥ |
karmaṇo ’nte cyutas tasmāt tiryagyoniṃ prapatsyate ||

11.56 For though he attained a peak experience of bodiless being, Sage Uḍraka,
At the expiration of his karma, will fall from that state into the womb of an animal.

maitrayā sptavārṣikyā brahmalokam ito gataḥ |
sunetraḥ punar āvṛtto garbhavāsam upeyivān ||

11.57 Through seven years of loving kindness, Sunetra went from here to Brahma’s world,
But he span around again and came back to live in a womb.

yada caiśvcaryavanto ’pi kṣayiñaḥ svargavāsinaḥ |
ko nāma svargavāsāya kṣeṣṇave spṛhayed budhaḥ ||

11.58 Since heaven-dwellers, even when all-powerful, are subject to decay,
What wise man would aspire to a decadent sojourn in heaven?

sūtreṇa baddho hi yathā vihaṅgo vyāvartate dūragato ’pi bhūyaḥ |
ajñānasūtreṇa tathāvabaddho gato ’pi dūraṃ punar eti lokaḥ ||

11.59 For just as a bird tied to a string, though it has flown far, comes back again;
So too do people return who are tied to the string of ignorance, however far they have travelled.

kṛtvā kālavilakṣañaṃ pratibhuvā mukto yathā bandhanād bhuktvā veśmasukhāny atītya samayaṃ bhūyo viśed bandhanam |
tadvad dyāṃ pratibhūvad ātmaniyamair dhyānādibhiḥ prāptavān kāle karmasu teṣu bhuktaviṣayeṣv ākṛṣyate gāṃ punaḥ ||

11.60 A man temporarily released from prison on bail
Enjoys home comforts and then, when his time is up, he must go back to prison;
In the same way, through restrictive practices beginning with meditation, a man gets to heaven, as if on bail,
And after enjoying those objects which were his karmic reward, he eventually is dragged back down to earth.

antarjālagatāḥ pramattamanaso minās taḍāge yathā jānantī vyasanaṃ na rodhajanitaṃ svasthāś caranty ambhasi |
antarlokagatāḥ kṛtārthamatayas tadvad divi dhyāyino manyante śivam acyutaṃ dhruvam iti svaṃ sthānam āvartakam ||

11.61 Fish in a pond who have swum into a net, unwarily,
Do not know the misfortune that results from capture, but contentedly move around in the water;
In the same way, meditators in heaven (who are really of this world of men), think that they have achieved their end;
And so they assume their own position to be favourable, secure and settled – as they continue to whirl around.

tajjanmavyādhimṛtyuvyasanaparigataṃ matvā jagad idaṃ saṃsāre bhrāmyamāṇaṃ divi nṛṣu narake tiryakpitṛṣu ca |
yat trāṇaṃ nirbhayaṃ yac chivam amarajaraṃ niḥṣokam amṛtaṃ taddhetor brahmacaryaṃ cara jahihi calaṃ svargaṃ prati rucim ||

11.62 Therefore, see this world to be shot through with the calamities of birth, sickness, and death;
See it – whether in heaven, among men, in hell, or among animals or the departed – to be reeling through saṁsāra.
Seeing the world to be thus, for the sake of that fearless refuge, for that sorrowless nectar of immortality, which is benign, and beyond death and decay,
Devoutly practise abstinence, and abandon your fancy for a precarious heaven.”

saundaranande mahākāvye svargāpavādo nāmaikadaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 11th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Negation of Heaven.”

apsarobhṛtako dharmaṃ carasīty atha coditaḥ |
ānandena tadā nandaḥ paraṃ vrīḍam upāgamat ||

12.1 “You are practising dharma to earn the apsarases as wages!” To be upbraided thus,
As Nanda then was by Ānanda, made him deeply ashamed.

tasya vriḍena mahatā pramodo hṛdi nābhavat |
aprāmodyena vimukhaṃ nāvatasthe vrate manaḥ ||

12.2 Because of the great shame the exuberance in his heart was no more.
His mind was downcast, due to disenchantment, and did not stick with practice.

kāmarāgapradhāno ’pi parihāsasamo ’pi san |
paripākagate hetau na sa tan mamṛṣe vacaḥ ||

12.3 Though he was fixated on sensual love, and at the same time indifferent to ridicule, / Nanda’s motivation had matured to a point where neither could he disregard [Ānanda’s] words.

aparīkṣabkabhāvāc ca pūrvaṃ matvā divaṃ dhruvam |
tasmāt kṣeṣṇuṃ pariśrutya bhṛśaṃ saṃvegam eyivān ||

12.4 Being of an unquestioning nature, he had presumed heaven to be a constant;
So on learning that it was perishable he was fiercely shocked.

tasya svargān nivavṛte saṃkalpāśvo manorathaḥ |
mahāratha ivonmārgād apramattasya sāratheḥ ||

12.5 Turning back from heaven, the chariot of his mind, whose horse was willpower,
Was like a great chariot turned back from a wrong road by an attentive charioteer

svargatarṣān nivṛttaś ca sadyaḥ svastha ivābhavat |
mṛṣṭād apathyād virato jijīvṣur ivāturaḥ ||

12.6 After turning back from his thirst for heaven, he seemed suddenly to become well.
He had given up something sweet that was bad for him, like a sick man finding the will to live.

visasmāra priyāṃ bhāryāṃ aspsarodarśanād yathā |
tathānityatayodvignas tatyājāpsaraso ’pi saḥ ||

12.7 Just as he forgot about his beloved wife on seeing the apsarases,
So also, when startled by their impermanence, did he put the apsarases behind him.

mahatām api bhūtānām āvṛtti iti cintayan |
saṃvegāc ca sarāgo ’pi vītarāga ivābhavat ||

12.8 “Even the greatest beings are subject to return!” So he reflected,
And from his shock, though given to redness, he seemed to blanch.

babhūva sa hi saṃvegaḥ śreyasas tasya vṛddhaye |
dhātur edhir ivākhyāte paṭhito ’kṣaracintakaiḥ ||

12.9 It was for growth in him of a better way that the shock happened –
Just as the verb “to grow” is listed [after “to happen”] in the lexicon recited by students of grammar.

na tu kāmānmanas tasya kena cij jagṛhe dhṛtiḥ |
triṣu kāleṣu sarveṣu nipāto ’stir iva smṛtaḥ ||

12.10 Because of his sensuality, however, his mind was by no means gripped by the kind of constancy
Which is shown, in all three times, by the received usage of the irregularity which is “being.”

khelagāmī mahābāhur gajendra iva nirmadaḥ |
so ’bhyagacchad guruṃ kale vivakṣur bhāvam ātmanaḥ ||

12.11 Trembling went he of mighty arm, like a top bull elephant, through with rut:
At a suitable moment, he approached the Guru, wishing to communicate his intention.

praṇamya ca gurau mūrdhnā bāṣpavyākulalocanaḥ |
kṛtvānjalim uvācedaṃ hriyā kiṃ cid avāñmukhaḥ ||

12.12 After bowing his head to the Guru, with eyes filled with tears,
He joined the palms of his hands and spoke as follows, his face somewhat lowered, because of shame:

apsaraḥprāptaye yan me bhagavan pratibhūr asi |
nāpsarobhir mamārtho ’sti pratibhūtvaṃ tyajāmy aham ||

12.13 “For my gaining of the celestial nymphs, Glorious One, you stand as guarantor.
But for the nymphs I have no need; I relinquish your guarantee.

śrutvā hy āvartakaṃ svargaṃ saṃsārasya ca citratām |
na martyeṣu na deveṣu pravṛttir mama rocate ||

12.14 For since I have heard of heaven’s fleeting whirl and of the varieties of aimless wandering,
Neither among mortal beings nor among heavenly beings does doing appeal to me.

yadi prāpya divaṃ yatnān niyamena damena ca |
avitṛptāḥ patanaty ante svargāya tyāgine namaḥ ||

12.15 If, after struggling to get to heaven, through self-restriction and restraint,
[Men] fall at last, unsatisfied, then homage to the heaven-bound who give up on the way.

ataś ca nikhilaṃ lokaṃ vidibā sacarācaram |
sarvaduḥkhakṣayakare tvaddharme parame rame ||

12.16 Now that I have seen through the whole world of man, with its changeability and its fixity,
It is the eradicator of all suffering, your most excellent dharma, that I rejoice in.

tasmād vyāsamāsābhyāṃ tan me vyākhyātum arhasi |
yac chrutvā śṛṇvatāṃ śreṣṭha paramaṃ prāpnuyāṃ padam ||

12.17 Therefore, in detail and in summary, could you please communicate it to me,
O Best of Listeners, so that through listening I might come to the ultimate step.”

tatas tasyāśayaṃ jñātvā vipakṣāṇindriyāṇi ca |
śreyaś caivāmukhībhūtaṃ nijagāda tathāgataḥ ||

12.18 Then, knowing from where he was coming, and that, though his senses were set against it,
A better way was now emerging, the Realised One spoke:

aho pratyavamarśo ’yaṃ śreyasas te purojavaḥ |
araṇyāṃ mathyamānāyām agner dhūma ivotthitaḥ ||

12.19 “Aha! This gaining of a foothold is the harbinger of a higher good in you,
As, when a firestick is rubbed, rising smoke is the harbinger of fire.

ciram unmārgavihṛto lolair indiyavājibhiḥ |
avatirṇo ’si panthānaṃ diṣṭyā dṛśtyāvimūḍhayā ||

12.20 Long carried off course by the restless horses of the senses,
You have now set foot on a path, with a clarity of vision that, happily, will not dim.

adya te saphalaṃ janma lābho ’dya sumahāṃs tava |
yasya kāmarasjñasya naiṣkramyāyotsukaṃ manaḥ ||

12.21 Today your birth bears fruit; your gain today is great;
For though you know the taste of love, your mind is yearning for indifference.

loke ’sminn ālayārāme nivṛttau durlabhā ratiḥ |
vyathante hy apunarbhāvāt prapātād iva bāliśāḥ ||

12.22 In this world which likes what is close to home, a fondness for non-doing is rare;
For men shrink from the end of becoming like the puerile from the edge of a cliff.

duḥkhaṃ na syāt sukhaṃ me syād iti prayatate janaḥ |
atyantaduḥkhoparamaṃ sukhaṃ tac ca na budhyate ||

12.23 People think ‘there might be no suffering, just happiness for me!’ And as they labour under this [illusion],
Any respite from incessant suffering they sense not as such, but as happiness.

airbhūteṣv anityeṣu satataṃ duḥkhahetuśu |
kāmādiṣu jagat saktaṃ na vetti sukham avyayam ||

12.24 Upon [whims] which are transient and akin to enemies, forever causing suffering,
Upon things like love, the world is fixed. It does not know the happiness that is immune to change.

sarvaduḥkhāpahaṃ tat tu hastatham amṛtaṃ tava |
viṣaṃ pītvā yad agadaṃ samaye pātum icchasi ||

12.25 But that deathless nectar which prevents all suffering you have in your hands:
It is an antidote which, having drunk poison, you are going in good time to drink.

anarhasaṃsārabhayaṃ mānārhaṃ te cikīrṣitam |
rāgāgnis tādṛṣo yasya dharmonmukha parāṇmukhaḥ ||

12.26 In its fear of worthless wandering your intention is worthy of respect,
For a fire of passion such as yours, O you whose face is turned to dharma, is being turned around. // 12.26 //

rāgoddāmena manasā sarvathā duṣkarā dhṛtiḥ |
sadoṣam salilaṃ dṛṣṭvā pathineva pipāsunā ||

12.27 With a mind unbridled by lust it is exceedingly difficult to be steadfast –
As when a thirsty traveller sees dirty water.

īdṛśī nāma buddhis te niruddhā rajasābhavat |
rajasā caṇḍavātena vivasvata iva prabhā ||

12.28 Obviously, the dust of passion was blocking the consciousness that is now awakening in you,
Like the dust of a sand-storm blocking the light of the sun.

sā jighāṃsus tamo hārdaṃ yā saṃprati vijṛmbhate |
tamo naiśaṃ prabhā saurī vinirgīrṇeva meruṇā ||

12.29 But now [consciousness] is blossoming forth, seeking to dispell darkness of the heart,
Like that sunlight spewed forth from mount Meru which dispells the darkness of night.

yuktarūpam idaṃ caiva śuddhasattvasya cetasaḥ |
yat te syān naiṣṭhike sūkṣme śreyasi śraddadhānatā ||

12.30 And this indeed befits a soul whose essence is simplicity:
That you should have confidence in a better way which is ultimate and subtle.

dharmacchandam imaṃ tasmād vivardhayitum arhasi |
sarvadharmā hi dharmajña niyamāc chandahetavaḥ ||

12.31 This wish for dharma, therefore, you should nurture;
For all dharmas, O knower of dharma, invariably have wishing as their cause.

satyāṃ gamanabuddhau hi gamanāya pravartate |
śayyābuddhau ca śayanaṃ sthānabuddhau tathā sthitiḥ ||

12.32 As long as the intention of moving is there, one mobilizes for the act of moving;
And with the intention of staying at rest there is an act of staying at rest; with the intention of standing, likewise, there is standing up.

antarbhūmigataṃ hy ambhaḥ śraddadhāti naro yadā |
arthitve sati yatnena tadā khanati gām imām ||

12.33 When a man has confidence that there is water under the ground
And has need of water, then, with an effort of will, here the earth he digs.

nārthi yady agninā vā syāc chraddadhyāt taṃ na vāraṇau |
mathnīyān nāraṇiṃ kaś cit tadbhāve sati mathyate ||

12.34 If a man had no need of fire, nor confidence that fire was in a firestick,
He would never twirl the stick. Those conditions being met, he does twirl the stick.

sasyotpattiṃ yadi na vā śraddadhyāt kārṣakaḥ kṣitau |
arthī sasyena vā na syād bhījāni na vaped bhuvi ||

12.35 Without the confidence that corn will grow in the soil he tills,
Or without the need for corn, the farmer would not sow seeds in the earth.

ataś ca hasta ity uktā mayā śraddhā viśeṣataḥ |
yasmād gṛhnāti saddharmaṃ dāyaṃ hasta ivākṣataḥ ||

12.36 And so I call this confidence the Hand, because it is this confidence, above all,
That grasps true dharma, as a hand naturally takes a gift.

prādhānyād indriyam iti shtiratvād balam ity ataḥ |
guṇadāridryaśamanād dhanam ity abhivarṇitā ||

12.37 From its primacy I describe it as Sensory Power; from its constancy, as Strength;
And because it relieves poverty of virtue I describe it as Wealth.

rakṣaṇārthena dharmasya tatheṣīkety udāhṛtā |
loke ’smin durlabhatvāc ca ratnam ity abhihāṣitā ||

12.38 For its protection of dharma, I call it the Arrow,
And from the difficulty of finding it in this world I call it the Jewel.

punaś ca bījam ity uktā nimittaṃ śreyasotpadā |
pāvanārthena pāpasya nadīty abhihitā punaḥ ||

12.39 Again, I call it the Seed since it is the cause of betterment;
And for its cleansing action, in the washing away of wrong, again, I call it the River.

yasmād dharmasya cottpattau śraddhā kāraṇam uttamam |
mayoktā kāryatas tasmāt tatra tatra tathā tathā ||

12.40 Since in the arising of dharma confidence is the primary cause,
Therefore I have named it after its effects in this case like this, in that case like that.

śraddhāñkuram imaṃ tasmāt saṃvardhayitum arhasi |
tad vṛddhau vardhate dharmo mūlavṛddhau yathā drumaḥ ||

12.41 This shoot of confidence, therefore, you should nurture;
When it grows dharma grows, as a tree grows with the growth of its root.

vyākulaṃ darśanaṃ yasya durbalo yasya niścayaḥ |
tasya pāriplavā śraddhā na hi kṛtāya vartate ||

12.42 When a person’s seeing is disordered, when a person’s sense of purpose is weak:
The confidence of that person is unsteady, for he is not veering in the direction he should.

yāvat tattvaṃ na bhavati hi dṛṣṭaṃ śrutaṃ vā tāvac chraddhā na bhavati balasthā sthirā vā |
dṛṣṭe tattve niyamaparibhūtendriyasya śraddhāvṛkṣo bhavati saphalaś cāśrayās ca ||

12.43 So long as the real truth is not seen or heard, confidence does not become strong or firm;
But when, through restraint, the power of the senses is subjugated and the real truth is realised, the tree of confidence bears fruit and weight.”

saundaranande mahākāvye pratyavamarśo nāma dvādaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 12th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Gaining a Foothold.”

atha saṃrādhito nandaḥ śraddhāṃ prati maharṣinā |
parikṣikto ’mṛteneva yuyuje parayā mudā ||

13.1 And so, Nanda was affirmed by the great seer, in the matter of confidence;
He felt filled with the deepest joy, as if drenched in the deathless nectar.

kṛtārtham iva taṃ mene saṃbuddhaḥ śraddhayā tayā |
mene prāptam iva śreyaḥ sa ca buddhena saṃskṛtaḥ ||

13.2 To the Fully Awakened Buddha, by virtue of that confidence, he seemed already to be a success;
And to himself, having been initiated by the Buddha, he felt as though he had arrived already on the better path.

ślakṣṇena vacasā kāṃś cit kāṃś cit paruṣayā girā |
kāṃś cid ābhyām upāyābhyāṃ sa vininye vināyakaḥ ||

13.3 Some in soothing tones; some with tough talk,
Some by both these means, he the trainer trained.

pāṃsubhyaḥ kāñcanaṃ jātaṃ viśuddhaṃ nirmalaṃ śuci |
sthitaṃ pāṃsuṣv api yathā pāṃsudoṣair na lipyate ||

13.4 Just as gold born from dirt is pure, spotless, gleaming,
And while lying in the dirt is not tarnished by the dirt’s impurities,

padmaparṇaṃ yathā caiva jale jātaṃ jale sthitham |
upariṣṭād adhastād vā na jalendopalipyate ||

13.5 And just as a lotus-leaf is born in water and remains in water,
But neither above nor below is sullied by the water,

tadval loke munir jāto lokasyānugrahaṃ caran |
kṛtitvān nirmalatvāc ca lokadharmair na liyate ||

13.6 So the Sage, born in the world, and acting for the benefit of the world,
Because of his state of action, and spotlessness, is not tainted by worldly things.

śleṣaṃ tyāgaṃ priyaṃ rūkṣaṃ kathāṃ ca dhyānam eva ca |
mantukāle cikitsārthaṃ cakre nātmānuvṛttaye ||

13.7 Joining with others and leaving them; love and toughness; and talking, as well as meditation itself:
He used these means during his instruction for the purpose of healing, not to make a following for himself.

ataś ca saṃdadhe dāyaṃ mahākaruṇayā tayā |
mocayeyaṃ kathaṃ duḥkhāt sattvānīty anukampakaḥ ||

13.8 Thus did the benevolent one, out of his great compassion, take on a form
By which he might release fellow living beings from suffering.

atha saṃharṣaṇān nadaṃ viditvā bhājanīkṛtam |
abravīd bruvatāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ kramajñaḥ śreyasāṃ kramam ||

13.9 Seeing, then, that by boosting Nanda he had made a receptacle,
The best of speakers, the knower of processes, spoke of better ways as a process:

ataḥ prabhṛti bhūyas tvaṃ śraddhendriyapuraḥsaraḥ |
amṛtasyāptaye saumya vṛttaṃ rakṣitum arhasi ||

13.10 “Starting afresh from here, my friend, with the power of confidence leading you forward,
In order to get to the nectar of deathlessness you should watch the manner of your action.

prayogaḥ kāyavacasoḥ śuddho bhavati te yathā |
uttāno nivṛto gupto ’navacchidras tathā kuru ||

13.11 So that the use of body and voice becomes simple for you,
Make it expansive and open, and guarded, and free from disconnectedness –

uttāno bhāvakarañād vivṛtaś cāpy agūhanāt |
gupto rakṣaṇatātparyād acchidraś cānavadyataḥ ||

13.12 Expansive by reality’s doing; open from not hiding;
Guarded because aimed at prevention; and unbroken through absence of fault.

śarīravacasoḥ śuddhau saptāṅge cāpi karmaṇi |
ājīvasamudācāraṃ śaucāt saṃskartum arhasi ||

13.13 With regard for purity of body and voice, and with regard also for the sevenfold [prohibition on bodily and vocal] conduct,
You should work to perfect a proper way of making a living, on the grounds of integrity –

doṣānāṃ kuhanādīnāṃ pañcānām aniṣevaṇāt |
tyāgāc ca jyotiṣādīnāṃ caturṇāṃ vṛttighātinām ||

13.14 On the grounds of not indulging the five faults, beginning with hypocrisy;
On the grounds of fleeing the four predators of practice, such as astrology;

prāṇidhānyadhanādīnāṃ varjyānām apratigrahāt |
bhaiṣāṅgānāṃ nisṛṣṭānāṃ niyatānāṃ pratigrahāt ||

13.15 On the grounds of not accepting things to be avoided, such as valuables linked to the needless killing of living creatures;
On the grounds of accepting the established rules for begging, with their definite limits;

partiuṣṭaḥ śucir mañjuś caukṣayā jīvasaṃpadā |
kuryā duḥkhapratīkāraṃ yāvad eva vimuktaye ||

13.16 As a person who is contented, pristine, and pleasant, you can, through making a living cleanly and well,
Counteract suffering all the way to liberation.

karmaño hi yathādṛṣtāt kāyavākprabhavād api |
ājīvaḥ pṛthag evokto duḥṣodhatvād ayaṃ mayā ||

13.17 Separately from overt action, and from the origin of the use of body and voice,
I have spoken of making a living because it is so hard to make a pure one –

gṛhasthena hi duḥśobdhā dṛṣṭir vividhadṛṣṭinā |
ājīvo bhikṣuṇā caiva pareṣṭāyattavṛttinā ||

13.18 For hard to be washed away is the view of a househoulder with his many and various concerns,
And also [hard to be kept pure] is the livelihood of a beggar whose subsistence depends on others.

etāvac chīlam ity uktam ācāaro ’yaṃ samāsataḥ |
asya nāśena naiva syāt pravrajyā na gṛhasthatā ||

13.19 Such is termed “the discipline of integrity.” In sum, it is conduct;
Without it there could truly be no going forth, nor state of being at home.

tasmāc cāritrasaṃpanno brahmacaryam idaṃ cara |
aṇumātreṣv avadyeṣu bhayadarśi dṛḍhavrataḥ ||

13.20 Steeped in good conduct, therefore, lead this life of devout abstinence,
And in what is even minutely blameworthy see danger, being firm in your purpose.

śīlam āsthāya vartante sarvā hi śreyasi kriyāḥ |
sthānādyāniva kāryāṇi pratiṣṭhāya vasundharām ||

13.21 For founded on integrity unfurl all actions on the better path,
Just as events like standing unfold, when [a force] resists the earth.

mokṣasyopaniṣat saumya vairāgyam iti gṛhyatām |
vairāgasyāpi saṃvedaḥ saṃvido jñānardarśanam ||

13.22 Let it be grasped, my friend, that release is seated in dispassion,
Dispassion in conscious awareness, and conscious awareness in knowing and seeing.

jñānasyopaniṣac caiva samādhir upadhāryatām |
samādher apy upaniṣat sukhaṃ śarīramānasam ||

13.23 And let it be experienced, again, that the knowing is seated in a stillness
And that the seat of the stillness is a body-mind at ease.

paśrabdhiḥ kāyamanasaḥ sukhasyopaniṣatparā |
praśabdher apy upaniṣat prāmodyaṃ paramaṃ mamatam ||

13.24 An assurance on which sits ease of the body-mind is of the highest order,
And the assurance is seated in enjoyment. Again, let this be realised in experience.

tathaḥ prīter upaniṣat prāmodyaṃ paramaṃ matam |
prāmodyasyāpy ahṛllekhaḥ kukṛteṣv akṛteṣu vā ||

13.25 The enjoyment is seated in a great happiness which, similarly, is understood to be of the highest order;
And the happiness is seated in a freedom from furrowing the heart over things done badly or not done.

ahṛllekhasya manasaḥ śīlaṃ tūpaniṣac chuci |
ataḥ śīlaṃ nayaty agryam iti śīlaṃ viśodhaya ||

13.26 But the freedom of the mind from remorse is seated in pristine practice of integrity.
Therefore, [realising] that integrity comes first, purify the discipline of integrity.

śīlanāc chīlam ity uktaṃ śīlanaṃ sevanād api |
sevanaṃ tannideśāc ca nideśaś ca tadāśrayāt ||

13.27 The discipline of integrity is so called because it comes out of repeated practice; repeated practice comes out of devotion to training;
Devotion to training comes out of direction in it; and direction comes out of submitting to that direction.

śīlaṃ hi śaraṇaṃ saumya kāntāra iva daiśikaḥ |
mitraṃ bandhuś ca rakṣā ca dhanaṃ ca balam eva ca ||

13.28 For the discipline of integrity, my friend, is the refuge: it is like a guide in the wilderness,
It is friend, kinsman, and protector; it is wealth, and it is strength.

yataḥ śīlam ataḥ saumya śīlaṃ saṃskartum arhasi |
etat sthānam athānye ca mokṣārambheṣu yogināṃ ||

13.29 Since the discipline of integrity is such, my friend, you should work to perfect the discipline of integrity.
Among those who practise, moreover, this is the stance taken in different endeavours whose aim is freedom.

tataḥ smṛtim adhiṣṭhāya capalāni svabhāvataḥ |
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyo nivārayitum arhasi ||

13.30 On this basis, standing grounded in awareness, you should hold back the naturally impetuous senses from the objects of those senses.

bhetavyaṃ na tathā śatror nāgner nāher na cāśaneḥ |
indriyebhyo yathā svebhyas tair ajasraṃ hi hanyate ||

13.31 There is less to fear from an enemy or from fire, or from a snake, or from lightning,
Than there is from one’s own senses; for through them one is forever being smitten.

dviṣabdhiḥ śatrubhiḥ kaś cit kadā cit pīḍyate na vā |
indriyair bādhyate sarvaḥ sarvatra ca sadaiva ca ||

13.32 Some people some of the time are beleaguered by hateful enemies – or else they are not.
Besieged through the senses are all people everywhere, all of the time.

na ca prayāti narakaṃ śatruprabhṛthibhir hataḥ |
kṛṣyate tatra nighnas tu capalair indriyair hataḥ ||

13.33 Nor does one go to hell when smitten by the likes of an enemy;
But meekly is one pulled there when smitten through the impetuous senses.

hanyamānasya tair duḥkhaṃ hārdaṃ bhavati vā na vā |
indriyair bādhyamānasya hārdaṃ śārīram eva ca ||

13.34 The pain of being smitten by those others may occur in the heart – or else it may not.
The pain of being oppressed through one’s senses is a matter of the heart and indeed of the body.

saṃkalpaviṣadigdhā hi pañcendriyamayāḥ śarāḥ |
cintāpuṅkhā raiphalā viṣayākāśagocarāḥ ||

13.35 For smeared with the poison of conceptions, are those arrows, produced from five senses,
Whose tails are anxiety, whose tips are thrills, and whose range is the vast emptiness of objects.

manuṣyahariṇān ghnanti kāmavyādheritā hṛdi |
vihanyante yadi na te tataḥ patanti taiḥ kṣatāḥ ||

13.36 Fired off by Desire, the hunter, they strike human fawns in the heart;
Unless they are warded away, men wounded by them duly fall.

niyamājirasaṃsthena dhairyakārmukadhāriṇā |
nipatanto nivāryās te mahatā smṛtivarmaṇā ||

13.37 Standing firm in the arena of restraint, and bearing the bow of resolve,
The mighty man, as they rain down, must fend them away, wearing the armour of awareness.

indriyāṇām upaśamād arīṇāṃ nigrahād iva |
sukhaṃ svapiti vāste vā yatra tatra gatoddhavaḥ ||

13.38 From ebbing of the power of the senses, as if from subjugation of enemies,
One sleeps or sits at ease, in joyful recreation, wherever one may be.

teṣāṃ hi satataṃ loke viṣayāṇ abhikāṅkṣatām |
saṃvin naivāsti kārpaṇyāc chunām āśāvatām iva ||

13.39 For in the constant hankering of those senses after objects in the world,
There occurs out of that ignominy no more consciousness than there is in the hoping of hounds.

viṣayair indriyagrāmo na tṛptim adhigacchati |
ajasraṃ pūryamāṇo ’pi samudraḥ salilair iva ||

13.40 A cluster of sense organs is no more sated by objects,
Than is the ocean, even when constantly filled, by water.

avaśyaṃ gocare sve sve vartitavyam ihendriyaiḥ |
nimittaṃ tatra na grāhyam anuvyañjanam eva ca ||

13.41 It is necessarily through the senses, each in its own sphere, that one must function in this world.
But not to be seized upon in that realm is an objectified image or any secondary sexual sign:

ālokya cakṣuṣā rūpaṃ dhātumātre vyavasthitaḥ |
strī veti puruṣo veti na kalpayitum arhasi ||

13.42 On seeing a form with your eye [you] are contained in the sum of the elements:
The conception that ‘it is a woman’ or ‘it is a man’ you should not frame.

sacet strīpuruṣagrāhaḥ kva cid vidyeta kās cana |
śubhataḥ keśadantādīn nānuprasthātum arhasi ||

13.43 If a notion of woman or man does intrude at any time in relation to anyone,
Upon hair, teeth, and the rest, for their beauty, you should not dwell.

nāpaneyaṃ bhūtato bhūtaṃ śaśvad indiyagocare |
draṣṭavyaṃ bhūtato bhūtaṃ yādṛṣaṃ ca yathā ca yat ||

13.44 Nothing, then, is to be taken away and nothing is to be added:
The reality is to be investigated as it really is, whatever and however it is.

evaṃ te paśyatas tattvaṃ śaśvad indriyagocare |
bhaviṣyati padasthānaṃ nābhiyādaurmanasyayoḥ ||

13.45 In your observing what is, like this, always in the territory of the senses,
There will be no foothold for longing and dejection.

abhidhyā priyarūpeṇa hanti kāmātmakaṃ jagat |
arir mitramukheneva priyavākkaluṣāśayaḥ ||

13.46 Longing, using cherished forms, smites the sensual masses:
A foe who has a friendly face, she’s fair of speech and foul of heart.

daurmanasyābhidhānas tu pratigho viṣayāśritaḥ |
mohād yenānuvṛttena paratreha ca hanyate ||

13.47 Conversely, what is called dejectedness is, in connection with an object, a contrary reaction
By going along with which, in one’s ignorance, one is smitten hereafter, and smitten here and now.

anurodhavirodhābhyāṃ śitoṣṇābhyām ivārditaḥ |
śarma nāpnoti na śreyaś calendricam ato jagat ||

13.48 When, by getting and not getting his way, [a man] is pained as if by cold or heat,
He finds no refuge; nor arrives on a better path: hence the unsteady sense-power of the masses.

nendriyaṃ viṣaye tāvat pravṛttam api sajjate |
yāvan na manasas tatra parikalpaḥ pravartate ||

13.49 And yet the power of the senses, though operative, need not become glued to an object,
So long as in the mind, with regard to that object, illusion is not operating.

indhane sati vāyau ca yathā jvalati pāvakaḥ |
viṣayāt parikalpāc ca kleśāgnir jāyate tathā ||

13.50 Just as a fire burns only where fuel and air co-exist,
So a fire of affliction arises, from an object and from illusion.

abhūtaparikalpena viṣayasya hi badhyate |
tam eva viṣayaṃ paśyan bhūtataḥ parimucyate ||

13.51 For through an unreal illusion one is bound to an object;
Seeing that very same object as it really is, one is set free.

dṛṣṭvaikaṃ rūpam anyo hi rajyate ’nyaḥ praduṣyati |
kaś cid bhavati madhyasthas tatraivānyo ghṛṇāyate ||

13.52 On seeing one and the same form this man is enamoured, that man is disgusted;
Somebody else remains in the middle; while yet another feels thereto a human warmth.

ato na viṣayo hetur bandhāya na vimuktaye |
parikalpaviṣeṣeṇa saṃgo bhavati vā na vā ||

13.53 Thus, an object is not the cause of bondage or of liberation;
It is due to particular illusions that attachment arises or does not.

kāryaḥ paramayatnena tasmād indiyasaṃvaraḥ |
indriyāṇi hy aguptāni duḥkhāya ca bhavāya ca ||

13.54 Through effort of the highest order, therefore, contain the power of the senses;
For unguarded senses make for suffering and for becoming.

kāmabhogabhogavadbhir āmadṛṣṭidṛṣṭibhiḥ pramādanaikamūrdhabhiḥ praharṣalolajivaiḥ |
indriyoragair manobilaśayaiḥ spṛhāviṣaiḥ śamāgadā ṛte na daṣṭam asti yac cikitset ||

13.55 The senses are like serpents coiled in sensual enjoyment with eyes of selfish views, their many heads are heedlessness and their flickering tongues are excitement:
The snaky senses lurk in mind-pits, their venom eager desire; and when they bite there is no cure, save the antidote of cessation.

tasmād eṣām akuṣalakarāṇām arīṇāṃ cakṣurghrāṇaśravañarasanasparśanānām |
sarvāvasthaṃ bhava viniyamād apramatto māsminn arthe kṣaṇam api kṛthāsa tvaṃ pramādaṃ ||

13.56 Therefore, towards those mischief-making foes, seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feeling,
Show in every situation a vigilance born of restraint. In this matter you are not for an instant to be heedless.

saundaranande mahākāvye śīlendriyajayo nāma trayodaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 13th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Defeating the Power of the Senses through the Discipline of Integrity.”

atha smṛtikavāṭena pidhāyendriyasaṃvaram |
bhojane bhava mātrājño dhyānāyānāmayāya ca ||

14.1 And so using the floodgate of awareness to close a dam on the power of the senses,
Know the measure, in eating food, that conduces to meditation and to health.

prāṇāpānau nigṛhṇāti glāninidre prayacchati |
kṛto hy atyartham āhāro vihanti ca parākramam ||

14.2 For it depresses in-breath and out-breath, and brings tiredness and sleepiness,
When food is taken in excess; it also destroys enterprise.

yathā cātyartham āhāraḥ kṛto ’narthāya kalpate |
upayuktas tathātyalpo na sāmarthyāya kalpate ||

14.3 And just as eating too much conduces to a dearth of value,
So eating too little makes for a lack of efficacy.

ācayaṃ dyutim utsāhaṃ prayogaṃ balam eva ca |
bhojanaṃ kṛtam atyalpaṃ śarīrasyāpakarṣati ||

14.4 Of its substance, lustre, and stamina; of its usefulness and its very strength,
A meagre diet deprives the body.

yathā bhāreṇa namate laghunonnamate tulā |
samā tiṣṭhati yuktena bhojyeneyaṃ tathā tanuḥ ||

14.5 Just as a weighing scale bends down with a heavy weight, bends upwards with a light one,
And stays in balance with the right one, so does this body according to intake of food.

tasmād abhyavahartavyaṃ svaśaktim anupaśyatā |
nātimātraṃ na cātyalpaṃ meyaṃ mānavaśād api ||

14.6 Therefore food is to be eaten, each reflecting on his own energy,
And none apportioning himself too much or too little under the influence of pride.

atyākrānto hi kāyāgnir guruṇānnena śāmyati |
avacchan na ivālpo ’gniḥ sahasā mahatendhasā ||

14.7 For the fire of the body is damped down when it is burdened by a heavy load of food,
Like a small blaze suddenly covered with a big heap of firewood.

atyantam api saṃhāro nāhārasya praśasyate |
anāhāro hi nirvāti nirindhana ivānalaḥ ||

14.8 Excessive fasting, also, is not recommended;
For one who does not eat is extinguished like a fire without fuel.

yasmān nāsti vināhārāt sarvaprāṇabhṛtāṃ sthitiḥ |
tasmād duṣyati nāhāro vikalpo ’tra tu vāryate ||

14.9 Since without food there is none that survives among those that bear breath,
Therefore eating food is not a sin; but being choosy, in this area, is prohibited.

na hy evakviṣaye ’nyatra sajyante prāṇinas tathā |
avijñāte yathāhāre boddhavyaṃ tatra kāraṇam ||

14.10 For on no other single object are sentient beings so stuck
As on the heedless eating of food. To the reason for this one must be awake.

cikitsārthaṃ yathā dhatte vraṇasyālepanaṃ vraṇī |
kṣudvighātārtham āhāras tadvat sevyo mumukṣunā ||

14.11 Just as one who is wounded, for the purpose of healing, puts ointment on a wound,
So does one who wills freedom, for the purpose of staving off hunger, eat food.

bhārasyodvahanārthaṃ ca rathākṣo ’bhyajyate yathā |
bhojanaṃ prāṇayātrārthaṃ tadvad vidvān niṣevate ||

14.12 Just as, in order to ready it for bearing a burden, one greases a wagon’s axle,
So, in order to journey through life, does the wise man utilize food.

samatikramaṇārthaṃ ca kāntārasya yathādhvagau |
putramāṃsāni khādetāṃ dampatī bhṛṣaduḥkhitau ||

14.13 And just as two travellers in order to cross a wasteland
Might feed upon the flesh of a child, though grievously pained to do so, as its mother and father,

evam abhyavahartavyaṃ bhojanaṃ pratisaṃkhyayā |
na bhūṣārthaṃ na vapuṣe na madāya na dṛptaye ||

14.14 So food should be eaten, consciously,
Neither for display, nor for appearance; neither to excite hilarity, nor to feed extravagance.

dhāraṇārthaṃ śarīrasya bhojanaṃ hi vidhiyate |
upastambhaḥ pipatiṣor durbalasyeva veśmanaḥ ||

14.15 Food is provided for the upkeep of the body
As if to prop, before it falls, a dilapidated house.

plavaṃ yatnād yathā kaś cid badhnīyād dhārayed api |
na tatsnehena yāvat tu mahaughasyottīrṣayā ||

14.16 Just as somebody might take pains to build and then carry a raft,
Not because he is so fond of it but because he means to cross a great flood,

tathopakaraṇaiḥ kāyaṃ dhārayanti parikṣakāḥ |
na tatsnehena yāvat tu duḥkhaughasya titīrṣayā ||

14.17 So too, by various means, do men of insight sustain the body,
Not because they are so fond of it but because they mean to cross a flood of suffering.

śocatā pīḍyamānena dīyate śatrave yathā |
na bhaktyā nāpi tarṣena kevalaṃ prāṇaguptaye ||

14.18 Just as [a king] under siege yields, in sorrow, to a rival king,
Not out of devotion, nor through thirsting, but solely to safeguard life,

yogācāras tathāhāraṃ śarirāya payacchati |
kevalaṃ kṣudvighātārthaṃ na rāgeṇa na bhaktaye ||

14.19 So the devotee of practice tenders food to his body
Solely to stave off hunger, neither with passion nor as devotion.

manodhāraṇayā caiva pariṇāmyātmavān ahaḥ |
vidhūya nidrāṃ yogena niśām apy atināmayeḥ ||

14.20 Having passed the day self-possessed, through maintenance of the mind,
You may be able, shaking off sleep, to spend the night-time too in a state of practice.

hṛrdi yatsaṃjñinaś caiva nidrā prādurbhavet tava |
guṇavatsaṃjñitāṃ saṃjñāṃ tadā manasi mā kṛthāḥ ||

14.21 Since even when you are conscious sleep might be holding out in your heart,
Consciousness properly revealing itself is nothing to be sure about.

dhātur ārambhadhṛtyoś ca sthāmavikramayor api |
nityaṃ manasi kāryas te bādhyamānena nidrayā ||

14.22 Initiative, constancy, inner strength and courage are the elements
Always to bear in mind while you are being oppressed by sleep.

āmnātavyāś ca viśadaṃ te dharmā ye pariśrutāḥ |
parebhyaś copadeṣṭavyāḥ saṃcintyāḥ svayam eva ca ||

14.23 Recite clearly those dharma-teachings that you have learnt;
Point others in their direction, and think them out for yourself.

prakledyamadbhir vadanṃ vilokyāḥ sarvato diśaḥ |
cāryā dṛṣṭiś ca tārāsu jijāgariṣuṇā sadā ||

14.24 Wet the face with water, look around in all directions,
And glance at the stars, wanting always to be awake.

antargatair acapalair vaśasthāyibhir indriyaiḥ |
avikṣiptena manasā caṅkramyavāsva vā niśi ||

14.25 By the means of inner senses that are not impetuous but in a state of subjection,
By the means of a mind that is not scattered, walk up and down at night or else sit.

bhaye prītau ca śoke ca nidrayā nābhibhūyate |
tasmān nidrābhiyogeṣu sevitavyam idaṃ trayam ||

14.26 In fear, in joy and in grief, one does not succumb to sleep;
Therefore against the onslaughts of sleep resort to these three:

bhayam āgamanān mṛtyoḥ prītiṃ dharmaparigrahāt |
janmaduḥkhād aparyantāc chokam āgantum arhasi ||

14.27 Feel fear from death’s approach, joy from grasping a teaching of dharma,
And from the boundless suffering inherent in a birth, feel the grief.

evamādi kramaḥ saumya kāryo jāgaraṇaṃ prati |
vandhyaṃ hi śayanād āyuḥ kaḥ prājñaḥ kartum arhati ||

14.28 Such a step may need to be taken, my friend, in the direction of being awake;
For what wise man, out of sleep, makes a wasted life?

doṣavyālān atikramya vyālān gṛhagatān iva |
kṣamaṃ prājñasya na svaptuṃ nistīrṣor mahadbhayam ||

14.29 To neglect the reptilian faults, as if ignoring snakes in the house,
And thus to slumber on, does not befit a man of wisdom who wishes to overcome the great terror.

pradīpte jīvaloke hi mṛtyuvyādhijarāgnibhiḥ |
kaḥ śayīta nirudvegaḥ pradīpta iva veśmani ||

14.30 For while the world of the living burns with the fires of death, disease and aging,
Who could lie down insensibly, any more than in a burning house?

tasmāt tama iti jñātvā nidrāṃ nāveṣṭum arhasi |
apraśānteṣu doṣeṣu saśastreṣv iva śatgruṣu ||

14.31 Therefore, knowing it to be darkness, you should not let sleep enshroud you
While the faults remain unquieted, like sword-wielding enemies.

pūrvaṃ yāmaṃ triyāmāyāḥ prayogeṇātināmya tu |
sevyā śayyā śarīrasya viśrāmārthaṃ svatantriṇā ||

14.32 But having spent the first of the three night-watches actively engaged in practice,
You should, as one who is pulling his own strings, go to bed to rest the body.

dakṣiṇena tu pārśvena sthitayālokasaṃjñayā |
prabodhaṃ hṛdaye kṛtvā śayīthāḥ śāntamānasaḥ ||

14.33 On your right side, then, remaining conscious of light,
Thinking in your heart of wakefulness, you might with peace of mind fall asleep

yāme tṛtīye cotthāya carann āsīna eva vā |
bhūyo yogaṃ mahaḥśuddhau kurvīthā niyatendriyaḥ ||

14.34 Again, by getting up in the third watch and going into movement, or indeed just sitting,
You might renew your practice, with mind refreshed, and power of the senses curbed.

athāsanagatasthānaprekṣitavyāhṛtādiṣu |
saṃprajānan kriyāḥ sarvāḥ smṛtim ādhātum arhasi ||

14.35 And so, upon acts like sitting, moving, standing, looking, and speaking –
Being fully aware of every action – you should bring mindfulness to bear.

dvārādhyakṣa iva dvāri yasya praṇihitā smṛtiḥ |
dharṣayanti na taṃ doṣāḥ puraṃ guptam ivārayaḥ ||

14.36 When [a man], like a gatekeeper at his gate, is cocooned in vigilance,
The faults do not venture to attack him, any more than enemies would attack a guarded city.

na tasyotpadyate kleśo yasya kāyagatā smṛtiḥ |
cittaṃ sarvāsv avasthāsu bālaṃ dhātrīva rakṣati ||

14.37 No affliction arises in him for whom awareness pervades the body –
Guarding the mind in all situations, as a nurse protects a child.

śaravyaḥ sa tu doṣāṇāṃ yo hīnaḥ smṛtivarmaṇā |
raṇasthaḥ pratiśatrūṇāṃ vihīna iva varmaṇā ||

14.38 But he is a target for the faults who lacks the armour of mindfulness:
As for enemies is he who stands in battle with no suit of armour.

anāthaṃ tan mano jñeyaṃ yat smṛtir nābhirakṣati |
nirṇetā dṛṣṭirahito viṣameṣu carann iva ||

14.39 Know to be vulnerable that mind which vigilance does not guard –
Like a blind man without a guide groping after objects.

anartheṣu prasaktāś ca svārthebhyaś ca parāṅmukhāḥ |
yad bhaye sati nodvignāḥ smṛtināśo ’tra kāraṇam ||

14.40 When [men] attach to meaningless aims and turn away from their proper aims,
Failing to shudder at the danger, loss of mindfulness is the cause.

svabhūmiṣu guṇāḥ sarve ye ca śīlādayaḥ sthitāḥ |
vikīrṇā iva gā gopaḥ smṛtis tān anugacchati ||

14.41 Again, when each virtue, beginning with integrity, is standing on its own patch,
Mindfulness goes after those virtues like a herdsman rounding up his scattered cows.

pranaṣṭam amṛtaṃ tasya yasya kviprasṛtā smṛtiḥ |
hastastham amṛtaṃ tasya yasya kāyagatā smṛtiḥ ||

14.42 The deathless nectar is lost to him whose awareness dissipates;
The nectar exists in the hands of him for whom awareness pervades the body.

āryo nyāyaḥ kutas tasya smṛtir yasya na vidyate |
yasyāryo nāsti ca nyāyaḥ pranaṣṭas tasya satpathaḥ ||

14.43 Where is the noble principle of a man who lacks awareness?
And for whom no noble principle exists, to him a true path has been lost.

pranaṣṭo yasya sanmārgo naṣṭaṃ tasyāmṛtaṃ padam |
pranaṣṭam amṛtaṅ yasya sa duḥkhān na vimucyate ||

14.44 He who has lost the right track has lost the deathless step.
Having lost that nectar of deathlessness, he is not exempt from suffering.

tasmāc caran caro ’smīti sthito ’smiti ca dhiṣṭhitaḥ |
evamādiṣu kāleṣu smṛtim ādhātum arhasi ||

14.45 Therefore walking with the awareness that “I am walking” and standing with the awareness that “I am standing” –
Upon such moments as these, you should bring mindfulness to bear.

yagānulomaṃ vijanaṃ viśabdaṃ śayyāsanaṃ saumya tathā bhajasva |
kāyasya kṛtvā hi vivekam ādau sukho ’dhigantuṃ manaso vivekaḥ ||

14.46 In this manner, my friend, repair to a place suited for practice, free of people and free of noise, a place for lying down and sitting;
For by first achieving solitude of the body it is easy to obtain solitude of the mind.

alabdhacetaḥpraśamaḥ sarāgo yo na pracāraṃ bhajate viviktam |
sa kṣaṇyate hy apartilabdhamārgaś carann ivoryāṃ bahukaṇṭakāyām ||

14.47 The man of redness, the tranquillity of his mind unrealized, who does not take to a playground of solitude,
Is injured as though, unable to regain a track, he is walking on very thorny ground.

adṛṣṭatattvena parīkṣakeṇa sthitena citre viṣayapracāre |
cittaṃ niṣeddhuṃ na sukhena śkyaṃ kṛśṭādako gaur iva sasyamadhyāt ||

14.48 For a seeker who fails to see reality but stands in the tawdry playground of objects,
It is no easier to rein in the mind than to drive a foraging bull away from corn.

anīryamāṇas tu yathānilena praśāntim āgacchati citrabhānuḥ |
alpena yatnena tathā vivikteṣv aghaṭṭitaṃ śāntim upaiti cetaḥ ||

14.49 But just as a bright fire dies down when not fanned by the wind,
So too, in solitary places, does an unstirred mind easily come to quiet.

kva cid bhuktvā yat tad vasanam api yat tat parihito vasann ātmārāmaḥ kva cana vijane yo ’bhiramate |
kṛtārthaḥ saj ñeyaḥ śamasukharasajñaḥ kṛtamatiḥ
pareṣāṃ saṃsargaṃ pariharati yaḥ kaṇṭakam iva ||

14.50 One who eats anything at any place, and wears any clothes,
Who dwells in enjoyment of his own being and loves to be anywhere without people:
He is to be known as a success, a knower of the taste of peace and ease, whose mind is made up –
He avoids involvement with others like a thorn.

yadi dvandvārāme jagati viṣayavyagrahṛdaye vivikte nirdvando viharati kṛtī śāntahṛdayaḥ |
tataḥ pītvā prajñārasam amṛtavat tṛptahṛdayo viviktaḥ saṃsaktaṃ viṣayakṛpaṇaṃ śocati jagat ||

14.51 If, in a world that delights in duality and is at heart distracted by objects,
He roves in solitude, free of duality, a man of action, his heart at peace,
Then he drinks the essence of wisdom as if it were the deathless nectar and his heart is filled.
Separately he sorrows for the clinging, object-needy world.

vasañ śuṇyāgāre yadi satatam eko ’bhiramate yadi kleśotpādaiḥ saha na ramate śatrubhir iva |
carann ātmārāmo yadi ca pibati prītisalilaṃ tato bhuṅkte śreṣṭhaṃ tridaśapatirājyād api sukham ||

14.52 If he constantly abides as a unity, in an empty abode,
If he is no fonder of arisings of affliction than he is of enemies,
And if, going rejoicing in the self, he drinks the water of joy,
Then greater than dominion over thirty gods is the happiness he enjoys.

saundaranande mahākāvya ādiprasthāno nāma caturdaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 14th canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Stepping Into Action.”

yatra tatra vivikte tu baddhvā paryaṅkam uttamam |
ṛjuṃ kāyaṃ samādhāya smṛtyābhimukhayānvitaḥ ||

15.1 In whatever place of solitude you are, cross the legs in the supreme manner
And align the body so that it tends straight upward; thus attended by awareness that is directed...

nāsāgre vā lalāṭe vā bhruvor antara eva vā |
kurvīthāś capalaṃ cittam ālambanaparāyaṇam ||

15.2 Towards the tip of the nose or towards the forehead, or in between the eyebrows,
Let the inconstant mind be fully engaged with the fundamental.

sacet kāmavitarkas tvāṃ dharṣayen mānaso jvaraḥ |
kṣeptavyo nādhivāsyaḥ sa vastre reṇur ivāgataḥ ||

15.3 If some desirous idea, a fever of the mind, should venture to offend you,
Entertain no scent of it but shake it off as if pollen had landed on your robe.

yady api pratisaṃkhyānāt kāmān utsṛṣṭavān asi |
tamāṃsīva prakāśena pratipakṣeṇa tāñ jahi ||

15.4 Even if, as a result of calm consideration, you have let go of desires,
You must, as if shining light into darkness, abolish them by means of opposition.

tiṣṭhaty anuśayas teṣāṃ channo ’gnir iva bhasmanā |
sa te bhāvanayā saumya praśāmyo ’gnir ivāmbunā ||

15.5 What lies behind those desires sleeps on, like a fire covered with ashes;
You are to extinguish it, my friend, by the means of mental development, as if using water to put out a fire.

te hi tasmāt pravartante bhūyo bījād ivāṅkurāḥ |
tasya nāśena te na syur bījanāśād ivāṅkurāḥ ||

15.6 For from that source they re-emerge, like shoots from a seed.
In its absence they would be no more – like shoots in the absence of a seed.

arjanādīni kāmebhyo dṛṣṭvā duḥkhāni kāminām |
tasmāt tān mūlataś chindhi mitrasaṃjñān arīn iva ||

15.7 See how acquisition and other troubles stem from the desires of men of desire,
And on that basis cut off at their root those troubles, which are akin to enemies calling themselves friends.

anityā moṣadharmāṇo riktā vyasanahetavaḥ |
bahusādhāraṇāḥ kāmā barhyā hy āśiviṣā iva ||

15.8 Fleeting desires; desires which bring privation; flighty desires, which are the causes of wagging to and fro;
And common desires, are to be dealt with like poisonous snakes –

ye mṛgyamāṇā duḥkhāya rakṣyamāṇā na śāntaye |
bhraṣṭāḥ śokāya mahate prāptāś ca na vitṛptaye ||

15.9 The chasing of which leads to trouble, the keeping of which does not conduce to peace,
And the losing of which makes for great anguish. Securing them does not bring contentment.

tṛptiṃ vittaprakarṣeṇa svargāvāptyā kṛtārthatām |
kāmebhyaś ca sukhotpattiṃ yaḥ paśyati sa naśyati ||

15.10 Satisfaction through extra-ordinary wealth; success through the gaining of paradise,
And happiness born from desires: he who sees these things comes to nothing.

calān apariniṣpannān asārān anavasthitān |
parikalpasukhān kāmān na tān smartum ihārhasi ||

15.11 Pay no heed to the changeable, unformed, insubstantial and ungrounded desires,
Which are presumed to bring happiness; being here and now, you need pay no heed to those desires.

vyāpādo vā vihiṃsā vā kṣobhayed yadi te manaḥ |
prasādyaṃ tadvipakṣena maṇinevākulaṃ jalam ||

15.12 If hatred or cruelty should stir up your mind,
Let it be charmed by their opposite, as turbid water is by a jewel.

pratipakṣas tayor jñeyo maitrī kāruṇyam eva ca |
virodho hi tayor nityaṃ prakāśatamasor iva ||

15.13 Know their opposite to be kindness and compassion;
For this opposition is forever like brightness and darkness.

nivṛttaṃ yasya duḥśīlyaṃ vyāpādaś ca pravartate |
hanti pāṃsubhir ātmānāṃ sa snāta iva vāraṇaḥ ||

15.14 He in whom wrongdoing has been given up and yet hatred carries on,
Hits himself with dust like an elephant after a good bath.

duḥkhitebhyo hi martyebhyo vyādhimṛtyujarādibhiḥ |
āryaḥ ko duḥkham aparaṃ saghṛṇo dhātum arhati ||

15.15 Upon mortal beings who are pained by sickness, dying, aging, and the rest,
What noble person with human warmth would lay the utmost pain?

duṣṭena ceha manasā bādhyate vā paro na vā |
sadyas tu dahyate tāvat svaṃ mano duṣṭacetasaḥ ||

15.16 Again, a tainted mind here and now may or may not trouble the other;
But instantly burned up in this moment is the mind of the man of tainted consciousness himself.

tasmāt sarveṣu bhūteṣu maitrīṃ kāruṇyam eva ca |
na vyāpādaṃ vihiṃsāṃ vā vikalpayitum arhasi ||

15.17 On this basis, towards all beings, it is kindness and compassion,
Not hatred or cruelty, that you should opt for.

yad yad eva prasaktaṃ hi vitarkayati mānavaḥ |
abhyāsāt tena tenāsya natir bhavati cetasaḥ ||

15.18 For whatever a human being continually thinks,
In that direction, through habit, the mind of this person veers.

tasmād akuśalaṃ tyaktvā kuśalaṃ dhyātum arhasi |
yat te syād iha cārthāya paramārthasya cāptaye ||

15.19 Therefore disregarding what is not helpful focus on what is helpful,
Which might be valuable for you here and now and might be for the reaching of ultimate value.

saṃvardhante hy akuśalā vitarkāḥ saṃbhṛtā hṛrdi |
anarthajanakās tulyam ātmanaś ca parasya ca ||

15.20 For unhelpful thoughts carried in the heart densely grow,
Producing in equal measure nothing of value for the self and for the other.

śreyaso vighnakaraṇād bhavanty ātmavipattaye |
pātrībhāvopaghātāt tu parabhaktivipattaye ||

15.21 Because they make obstacles on the better path, they lead to the falling apart of the self;
And because they undermine the worthy condition, they lead to the falling apart of the other’s trust.

manaḥkarmasv avikṣepam api cābhyastum arhasi |
na tv evākuśalaṃ saumya vitarkayitum arhasi ||

15.22 Concentration during activities of the mind, you should certainly practise too.
But above all, my friend, nothing unhelpful should you think.

yā trikāmopabhogāya cintā manasi vartate |
na ca taṃ guṇam āpnoti bandhanāya ca kalpate ||

15.23 That anxious thought of enjoying the three desires which churns in the mind
Does not meet with merit, but produces bondage.

sattvānām upaghātāya parikleṣāya cātmanaḥ |
mohaṃ vrajati kāluṣyaṃ narakāya ca vartate ||

15.24 Tending to cause offence to living beings and torment for oneself,
Disturbed thinking becomes delusion and leads to hell.

tadvitarkair akuśalair nātmānaṃ hantum arhasi |
suśastraṃ ratnavikṛtaṃ mṛddhato gāṃ khanann iva ||

15.25 With unhelpful thoughts, therefore, you should not mar your self
– Which is a good sword and bejewelled – as if you were digging the earth and getting spattered with mud.

anabhijño yathā jātaṃ dahed aguru kāṣṭhavat |
anyāyena manuṣyatvam upahanyād idaṃ tathā ||

15.26 Just as an ignoramus might burn as firewood the best aloes,
So, wrong-headedly, would one waste this state of being human.

tyaktvā ratnaṃ yathā loṣṭaṃ ratnadvīpāc ca saṃharet |
tyaktvā naiḥśreyasaṃ dharmaṃ cintayed aśubhaṃ tathā ||

15.27 Again, just as he might leave the jewel and carry away from the jewel-island a clod,
So would one leave the dharma that leads to happiness and think evil.

himavantaṃ yathā gatvā viṣaṃ bhuñjīta nauṣadham |
manuṣyataṃ tathā prāpya pāpaṃ seveta no śubham ||

15.28 Just as he might go to the Himālayas and eat not herbs but poison,
So would one arrive at being a human being and do not good but harm.

tad buddhvā pratikaṣeṇa vitarkaṃ kṣeptum arhasi |
sūkṣmeṇa parikīlena kilaṃ dārvantarād iva ||

15.29 Being awake to this, you must see off thought by antagonistic means,
As if using a finely-honed counter-wedge to drive a wedge from a cleft in a log.

vṛdhhyavṛddhyor atha bhavec cintā jñātijanaṃ prati |
svabhāvo jīvalokasya parīkṣyas tannivṛttaye ||

15.30 And so, should there be anxiety about whether or not your family is prospering,
Investigate the nature of the world of the living in order to put a stop to it.

saṃsāre kṛṣyamāṇānāṃ sattvānāṃ svena karmaṇā |
ko janaḥ svajanaḥ ko vā mohāt sakto jane janaḥ ||

15.31 Among beings dragged by our own doing through the cycle of saṁsāra,
Who are our own people, and who are other people? It is through ignorance that people attach to people.

atīte ’dhvani saṃvṛttaḥ svajano hi janas tava |
aprāpte cādhvani janaḥ svajanas te bhaviṣyti ||

15.32 For one who turned on a bygone road into a relative, is a stranger to you;
And a stranger, on a road to come, will become your relative.

vihagānā yathā sāyaṃ tatra tatra samāgamaḥ |
jātau jātau tathā śleṣo janasya svajanasya ca ||

15.33 Just as birds in the evening flock together at separate locations,
So is the mingling over many generations of one’s own and other people.

pariśrayaṃ abhuvidhaṃ saṃśrayanti yathādhvagāḥ |
prātiyānti punas tyaktvā tadvaj jñātisamāgamaḥ ||

15.34 Just as, under any old roof, travellers shelter together
And then go again their separate ways, so are relatives joined.

loke prakṛtibhinne ’smin na kaś cit kasya cit priyaḥ |
kāryakārañasaṃbaddhaṃ bālukāmuṣṭivaj jagat ||

15.35 In this originally shattered world nobody is the beloved of anybody.
Held together by cause and effect, humankind is like sand in a clenched fist.

bibharti hi sutaṃ mātā dharayiṣyati mām iti |
mātaraṃ bhajate putṛo garbheṇādhatta mām iti ||

15.36 For mother cherishes son thinking “He will keep me,”
And son honours mother thinking “She bore me in her womb.”

anukūlaṃ pravartante jñātiṣu jñātayo yadā |
tadā snehaṃ prakurvanti riputvaṃ tu viparyayāt ||

15.37 As long as relatives act agreeably towards each other,
They engender affection; but otherwise it is enmity.

ahito dṛṣyate jñātir ajñātir hitaḥ |
snehaṃ kāryāntarāl lokaś chinatti ca karoti ca ||

15.38 A close relation is demonstrably unfriendly; a stranger proves to be a friend.
By the different things they do, folk break and make affection.

svayam eva yathālikya rajyec citrakaraḥ striyam |
tathā kṛtvā svayaṃ snehaṃ saṃgameti jane janaḥ ||

15.39 Just as an artist, all by himself, might fall in love with a woman he painted,
So, each generating attachment by himself, do people become attached to one another.

yo ’bhavad bāndhavajanaḥ paraloke priyas tava |
sa te kam arthaṃ kurute tvaṃ vā tasmai karoṣi kam ||

15.40 That relation who, in another life, was so dear to you:
What use to you is he? What use to him are you?

tasmāj jñātvitarkeṇa mano nāveṣṭum arhasi |
vyavasthā nāsti saṃsāre svajanasya janasya ca ||

15.41 With thoughts about close relatives, therefore, you should not enshroud the mind.
There is no abiding difference, in the flux of saṁsāra, between one’s own people and people in general.

asau kṣemo janapadaḥ subhikṣo ’sāv asau śivaḥ |
ity evam atha jāyeta vitarkas tava kaś cana ||

15.42 “That country is an easy place to live; that one is well-provisioned; that one is happy.”
If there should arise any such idea in you,

praheyaḥ sa tvayā saumya nādhivāsyaḥ kathaṃ cana |
viditvā sarvam ādīptaṃ tais tair doṣāgnibhir jagat ||

15.43 You are to give it up, my friend, and not entertain it in any way,
Knowing the whole world to be ablaze with the manifold fires of the faults.

ṛtucakranivartāc ca kṣutpipāsāklamād api |
sarvatra niyataṃ duḥkhaṃ na kva cid vidyate śivam ||

15.44 Again, from the turning of the circle of the seasons, and from hunger, thirst and fatigue,
Everywhere suffering is the rule. Not somewhere is happiness found.

kva cic chitaṃ kva cid dharmaḥ kva cid rogo bhayaṃ kva cit |
bādhate ’bhyadhikaṃ loke tasmād aśaraṇaṃ jagat ||

15.45 Here cold, there heat; here disease, there danger
Oppress humanity in the extreme. The world, therefore, has no place of refuge.

jarā vyādhiś ca mṛtyuś ca lokasyāsya mahadbhayam |
nāsti deśaḥ sa yatrāsya tadbhayaṃ nopapadyate ||

15.46 Aging, sickness and death are the great terror of this world.
There is no place where that terror does not arise.

yatra gacchati kāyo ’yaṃ duḥkhaṃ tatrānugacchati |
nāsti kā cid gatir loke gato yatra na bādhayte ||

15.47 Where this body goes there suffering follows.
There is no way in the world going on which one is not afflicted.

ramaṇīyo ’pi deśaḥ san dubhikṣaḥ kṣema eva ca |
kudeśa iti vijñeyo yatra kleśair vidhayate ||

15.48 Even an area that is pleasant, abundant in provisions, and safe,
Should be regarded as a deprived area where burn the fires of affliction.

lokasyābhyāhatsyāsya duḥkhaiḥ śarīramānasaiḥ |
kṣemaḥ kaś cin na deśo ’sti svastho yatra gato bhavet ||

15.49 In this world beset by hardships physical and mental,
There is no cosy place to which one might go and be at ease.

duḥkhaṃ sarvatra sarvasya vartate sarvadā yadā |
chandarāgam ataḥ saumya lokacitreṣu mā kṛthāḥ ||

15.50 While suffering, everywhere and for everyone, continues at every moment,
You are not to enthuse, my friend, over the world’s shimmering images.

yadā tasmān nivṛttas te chandarāgo bhaviṣyati |
jīvalokaṃ tadā sarvam ādīptam iva maṃsyase ||

15.51 When your enthusiasm is turned back from all that,
The whole living world you will deem to be, as it were, on fire.

athas kaś cid vitarkas te bhaved amaraṇāśrayaḥ |
yatnena sa vihantavyo vyādhir ātmagato yathā ||

15.52 Any idea you might have, then, that has to do with not dying,
Is, with an effort of will, to be obliterated as a disorder of your whole being.

muhūrtam api viśrambhaḥ kāryo na khalu jīvite |
nilīna iva hi vyāghraḥ kālo viśvastaghātakaḥ ||

15.53 Not a moment of trust is to be placed in life,
For, like a tiger lying in wait, Time slays the unsuspecting.

balastho ’haṃ yuvā veti na te bhavitum arhati |
mṛtyuḥ sarvāsv avasthāsu hanti nāvekṣate vayaḥ ||

15.54 That “I am young,” or “I am strong,” should not occur to you:
Death kills in all situations without regard for sprightliness.

kṣetrabhūtam anarthānāṃ śarīraṃ parikarṣataḥ |
svāsthyāśā jivitāśa vā na dṛṣṭārthasya jāyate ||

15.55 As he drags about that field of misfortunes which is a body,
Expectations of well-being or of continuing life do not arise in one who is observant.

nivṛtaḥ ko bhavet kāyaṃ mahābhūtāśrayaṃ vahan |
parasparaviruddhānām ahinām iva bhājanam ||

15.56 Who could be complacent carrying around a body, a receptacle for the elements,
Which is like a basket full of snakes each opposed to another?

praśvasity ayam anvakṣa yad ucchvasiti mānavaḥ |
avagaccha tad āścaryam aviśvāsyaṃ hi jīvitam ||

15.57 That a man draws breath and next time around breathes in again,
Know to be a wonder; for staying alive is nothing to breathe easy about.

idam āścaryam aparaṃ yat suptaḥ pratibudhyate |
svapity utthāya vā bhūyo bahvamitrā hi dehinaḥ ||

15.58 Here is another wonder: that one who was asleep wakes up
Or, having been up, goes back to sleep; for many enemies has the owner of a body.

garbhāt prabhṛti yo lokaṃ jighāṃsur anugacchati |
kas tasmin viśvasen mṛtyāv udyatāsāv arāv iva ||

15.59 He who stalks humankind, from the womb onwards, with murderous intent:
Who can breath easy about him? Death, poised like an enemy with sword upraised.

prasūtaḥ puruṣo loke śrutavān balavān api |
na jayaty antakaṃ kaś cin nājayan nāpi jeṣyati ||

15.60 No man born into the world, however endowed with learning and power,
Ever defeats Death, maker of ends, nor has ever defeated him, nor ever will defeat him.

sāmnā dānena bhedena daṇḍena niyamena vā |
prāpto hi rabhaso mṛtyuḥ pratihantuṃ na śakyate ||

15.61 For cajoling, bribing, dividing, or the use of force or restraint,
When impetuous Death has arrived, are powerless to beat him back.

tasmān nāyuṣi viśvāsaṃ cañcale kartum arhasi |
nityaṃ harati kālo hi sthāviryaṃ na pratīkṣate ||

15.62 So place no trust in teetering life,
For Time is always carrying it off and does not wait for old age.

niḥsāraṃ paśyato lokaṃ toyabudbudadurbalam |
kasyāmaravitarko hi syād anunmattacetasaḥ ||

15.63 Seeing the world to be without substance, as fragile as a water-bubble,
What man of sound mind could harbour the notion of not dying?

tasmād eṣāṃ vitarkāṇāṃ prahāṇārthaṃ samāsataḥ |
ānāpānasmṛtiṃ saumya viṣayīkartum arhasi ||

15.64 So for the giving up, in short, of all these ideas,
Mindfulness of inward and outward breathing, my friend, you should make into your own possession.

ity anena prayogeṇa kāle sevitum arhasi |
pratipakṣān vitarkāṇāṃ gadānām agadān iva ||

15.65 Using this device you should take in good time
Counter-measures against ideas, like remedies against illnesses.

suvarṇahetor api pāṃsudhāvako vihāya pāṃsūn bṛhato yathāditaḥ |
jahāti sūkṣmān api tadviśuddhaye viśodhya hemāvayavān niyacchati ||

15.66 A dirt-washer in pursuit of gold washes away first the coarse grains of dirt,
Then the finer granules, so that the [material] is cleansed; and by the cleansing he retains the rudiments of gold.

vimokṣahetor api yuktamānaso vihāya doṣā bṛhatas tathāditaḥ |
jahāti sūkṣmān api tadviśuddhaye viśodhya dharmāvayān niyacchati ||

15.67 In the same way, a man whose mind is poised, in pursuit of liberation, lets go first of the gross faults,
Then of the subtler ones, so that his [mind] is cleansed, and by the cleansing he retains the rudiments of dharma.

kraeṇādbhiḥ śuddhaṃ kanakam iha pāṃsuvyavahitaṃ yathāgnau karmāraḥ pacati bhṛṣam āvartayati ca |
tathā yogācāro nipuñam iha doṣavyavahitaṃ
viśodhya kleśebhyaḥ śamayati manaḥ saṃkṣipati ca ||

15.68 Just as gold, washed with water, is separated from dirt in this world, methodically,
And just as the smith heats the gold in the fire and repeatedly turns it over,
Just so is the practitioner’s mind, with delicacy and accuracy, separated from faults in this world,
And just so, after cleansing it from afflictions, does the practitioner temper the mind and collect it.

yathā ca svacchandād upanayati karmāśrayasukhaṃ suvarṇaṃ karmāro bahuṃvidham alaṅkāravidhiṣu |
manaḥśuddho bhikṣur vaśagatam abhijñāsv api tathā
yathecchaṃ yatrecchaṃ śamayati manaḥ prerayati ca ||

15.69 Again, just as the smith brings gold to a state where he can work it easily
In as many ways as he likes into all kinds of ornaments,
So too a beggar of cleansed mind tempers his mind,
And directs his yielding mind among the powers of knowing, as he wishes and wherever he wishes.

saundaranande mahākāvye vitarkaprahāṇo nāma pañcadaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 15th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Abandoning Ideas.”

evaṃ manodhāraṇayā krameṇa vyapohya kiṃ cit samupohya kiṃ cit |
dhyānāni catvāry adhigamya yogī prāpnoty abhijñā niyamena pañca ||

16.1 Thus, by methodically taking possession of the mind, getting rid of something and gathering something together,
The practitioner makes the four dhyānas his own, and duly acquires the five powers of knowing:

ṛddhipravekaṃ ca bahuprakāraṃ parasya cetaś caritāvabodham |
atītajanmasmaraṇaṃ ca dīrghaṃ divye viśuddhe śruticakṣuṣī ca ||

16.2 The principal transcendent power, taking many forms; then being awake to what others are thinking;
And remembering past lives from long ago; and divine lucidity of ear; and of eye.

ataḥparaṃ tattvaparīkṣaṇena mano dadhāty āsravasaṃkṣayāya |
tato hi duḥkhaprabhṛtīni samyak catvāri satyāni padāny avaiti ||

16.3 From then on, through investigation of what is, he applies his mind to eradicating the polluting influences,
For on this basis he fully understands suffering and the rest, the four true standpoints:

bādhātmakaṃ duḥkham idaṃ prasaktaṃ duḥkhasya hetuḥ prabhavātmako ’yam |
duḥkhakṣayo niḥsaraṇātmako ’yaṃ trāṇātmako ’yaṃ praśamāya mārgaḥ ||

16.4 This is suffering, which is constant and akin to trouble; this is the cause of suffering, akin to starting it;
This is cessation of suffering, akin to walking away. And this, akin to a refuge, is a peaceable path.

ity āryasaryāny avabudhya buddhyā catvāri samyak pratividhya caiva |
sarvāsravān bhāvanayābhibhūya na jāyate śāntim avāpya bhūyaḥ ||

16.5 Understanding these noble truths, by a process of reasoning, while getting to know the four as one,
He prevails over all pollutants, by the means of mental development, and, on finding peace, is no longer subject to becoming.

abodhato hy aprativedhataś ca tattvātmakasyāsya catuṣṭayasya |
bhāvad bhavaṃ yāti na śāntim eti saṃsāradolām adhiruhya lokaḥ ||

16.6 For by failing to wake up and come round to this four, whose substance is the reality of what is,
Humankind goes from existence to existence without finding peace, hoisted in the swing of saṁsāra.

tasmāj jarāder vyasanasya mūlaṃ samāsato duḥkham avaihi janma |
sarvauṣadhīnām iva bhūr bhavāya sarvāpadāṃ kṣetram idaṃ hi janma ||

16.7 Therefore, at the root of a tragedy like growing old, see, in short, that birth is suffering.
For, as the earth supports the life of all plants, this birth is the field of all troubles.

yaj janma rūpasya hi sendriyasya duḥkhasya tan naikavidhasya janma |
yaḥ saṃbhavaś cāsya samucchrayasya mṛtyoṣ ca rogasya ca saṃbhavaḥ saḥ ||

16.8 The birth of a sentient bodily form, again, is the birth of suffering in all its varieties;
And he who begets such an outgrowth is the begetter of death and of disease.

sad vāpy asad vā viṣamiṣram annaṃ yathā vināśāya na dhāraṇāya |
loke tathā tiryag uparyadho vā duḥkhāya sarvaṃ na sukḥāya janma ||

16.9 Good food or bad food, if mixed with poison, makes for ruin and not for sustenance.
Likewise, whether in a world on the flat or above or below, all birth makes for hardship and not for ease.

jarādayo naikavidhā parajānāṃ satyāṃ pravṛttau prabhavanty anarthāḥ |
pravātsu ghoeṣv api māruteṣu na hy aprasūtās taravaś calanti ||

16.10 The many and various disappointments of men, like old age, occur as long as their doing goes on.
(For, even when violent winds blow, trees do not shake that never sprouted.)

ākāsayoniḥ pavano yathā hi yathā śamīgarbhaśayo hutāśaḥ |
āpo yathāntarvasudhāśayāś ca duḥkhaṃ tathā cittaśarīrayoni ||

16.11 As wind is born from the air, as fire sleeps in the womb of śamī wood,
And as water gestates inside the earth, so does suffering spring from an expectant mind-and-body.

apāṃ dravatvaṃ kaṭhinatvam urvyā vāyoś calatvaṃ dhruvam auṣṇyam agneḥ |
yathā svabhāvo hi tathā svabhāvo duḥkhaṃ śarīrasya ca cetasaś ca ||

16.12 The fluidity of water, the solidity of earth, the motion of wind, and the constant heat of fire
Are innate in them; as also it is in the nature of both the body and the mind to suffer.

kāye sati vyādhijarādi duḥkhaṃ kṣuttarṣavarṣoṣṇahimādi caiva |
rupāśrite cetasi sānubandhe śokāratikrodhabhayādi duḥkham ||

16.13 Insofar as there is a body, there is the suffering of sickness, aging and so on; and also of hunger and thirst, and of the rains, and summer heat and winter cold.
Insofar as a mind is bonded, tied to phenomena, there is the suffering of grief, discontent, anger, fear and so on.

pratyakṣam ālokya ca janmaduḥkhaṃ duḥkhaṃ tathātītam apīti viddhi |
yathā ca tad duḥkham idaṃ ca duḥkhaṃ duḥkhaṃ tathānāgatam apy avehi ||

16.14 Seeing now before your eyes that birth is suffering, recognise that likewise in the past it was suffering.
And just as that was suffering and this is suffering, know that likewise in the future it will be suffering.

bījasvabhāvo hi yatheha dṛṣṭo bhūto ’pi bhavyo ’pi tathānumeyaḥ |
pratyakṣataś ca jvalano yathoṣṇo bhūto ’pi bhavyo ’pi tathoṣṇa eva ||

16.15 For just as it is evident to us now what kind of thing a seed is, we can infer that it was so in the past and that it will be so in the future.
And just as fire burning before us is hot, so was it hot and so will it be hot.

tan nāmarūpasya guṇānurūpaṃ yatraiva nirvṛtti udāravṛtta |
tatraiva duḥkhaṃ na hi tadvimuktaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhaviṣyaty abhavad bhaved vā ||

16.16 In conformity with its kind, then, psycho-physicality develops, wherein, O man of noble conduct,
Suffering exists, right there – for nowhere else will suffering exist or has it existed or could it exist.

pravṛttiduḥkhasya ca tasya loke tṛṣṇādayo doṣagaṇā nimittam |
naiveṣvaro na prakṛtir na kālo nāpi svabhāvo na vidhir yadṛcchā ||

16.17 And this, the suffering of doing, in the world, has its cause in clusters of faults which start with thirsting –
The cause is certainly not in God, nor in primordial matter, nor in time; nor either in the intrinsic existence of a thing, nor in predestination or self-will.

jñātavyam etena ca kāraṇena lokasya doṣebhya iti pravṛttiḥ |
yasmān mriyante sarajastamaskā na jāyate vītarajastmaskaḥ ||

16.18 Again, you must understand how, due to this cause, because of men’s faults, the cycle of doing goes on,
So that they succumb to death who are afflicted by the dust of the passions and by darkness; but he is not reborn who is free of dust and darkness.

icchāviṣeśe sati tatra tatra yānāsanāder bhavati prayogaḥ |
yasmād atas tarṣavaśāt tathaiva janma prajānām iti veditavyam ||

16.19 Insofar as the specific desire exists to do this or that, an action like going or sitting happens;
Hence, in just the same way, by the force of their thirsting living creatures are reborn – as is to be observed:

sattvāny abhiṣvaṅgavaśāni dṛṣṭvā svajātiṣu prītiparāṇy atīva |
abhyāsayogād upapāditāni tair eva doṣair iti tāni viddhi ||

16.20 See sentient beings in the grip of attachment, dead set on pleasure among their own kind;
And, from their habitual practice of faults, observe them presenting with those very faults

krodhapraharṣādibhir āśrayāṇām utpadyate ceha yathā viśeṣaḥ |
tathaiva janmasv api naikarūpo nirvartate kleśakṛto viśeṣaḥ ||

16.21 Just as the anger, lust, and so on of sufferers of those afflictions give rise in the present to a personality trait,
So too in new lives, in various manifestations, does the affliction-created trait develop:

doṣādhike janmani tīvradoṣa utpadyate rāgiṇi tīvrarāgaḥ |
mohādhike mohabalādhikaś ca tadalpadoṣe ca tadalpadoṣaḥ ||

16.22 In a life dominated by anger arises violent anger, in the lover of passion arises burning passion,
And in one dominated by ignorance arises overwhelming ignorance. In one who has a lesser fault, again, the lesser fault develops.

phalaṃ hi yādṛk samavaiti sākṣāt tadāgamād bījam avaity atītam |
avetya bījaprakṛtiṃ ca sākṣād anāgataṃ tatphalam abhyupaiti ||

16.23 Seeing what kind of fruit is before one’s eyes, one knows it was that kind of seed in the past.
And having identified a seed before one’s eyes, one knows the fruit it may be in the future.

doṣakṣayo jātiṣu yāsu yasya vairāgyatas tāsu na jāyate saḥ |
doṣāśayas tiṣṭhati yasya yatra tasyopapattir vivaśasya tatra ||

16.24 In whichever realms of existence a man has ended faults, thanks to that dispassion he is not born in those realms.
Wherever he remains susceptible to a fault, that is where he makes his appearance, whether he likes it or not.

taj janmano naikavidhasya saumya tṛṣṇādayo hetava ity avetya |
tāṃś chindhi duḥkhād yadi nirmumukṣā kāryakṣayaḥ kāraṇasaṃkṣayād dhi ||

16.25 So my friend, with regard to the many forms of becoming, know their causes to be [the faults] that start with thirsting
And cut out those [faults], if you wish to be freed from suffering; for ending of the effect follows from eradication of the cause.

duḥkhakṣayo hetuparikṣayāc ca śāntanaṃ śivaṃ sākṣikuruṣva dharmam |
tṛṣṇāvirāgaṃ layanaṃ nirdohaṃ sanātanaṃ trāṇam ahāryam āryam ||

16.26 Again, the ending of suffering follows from the disappearance of its cause. Experience that reality for yourself as peace and well-being,
A place of rest, a cessation, an absence of the red taint of thirsting, a primeval refuge which is irremovable and noble,

yasmin na jātir na jarā na mṛtyur na vyādhayo nāpriyasaṃprayogaḥ |
necchāvipanna priyaviprayogaḥ kṣemaṃ padaṃ naiṣṭhikam acyutaṃ tat ||

16.27 In which there is no being born, no aging, no dying, no illness, no being touched by unpleasantness,
No disappointment, and no separation from what is pleasant: It is an ultimate and indestructible step, in which to dwell at ease.

dīpo yathā nirvṛtim abhyupeto naivāvaniṃ gacchati nānatarikṣam |
diśaṃ na kāṃ cid vidiṣaṃ na kāṃ cit snehakṣayāt kevalam eti śāntim ||

16.28 A lamp that has gone out reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,
Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point: because its oil is spent it reaches nothing but extinction.

evaṃ kṛtī nirvṛtim abhyupeto naivāvaniṃ gacchati nāntarikṣam |
diśaṃ na kāṃ cid vidiśaṃ na kāṃ cit kleśakṣayāt kevalam eti sāntim ||

16.29 In the same way, a man of action who has come to quiet reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,
Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point: from the ending of his afflictions he attains nothing but extinction.

asyābhyupāyo ’dhingamāya mārgaḥ prajñātrikalpaḥ praśamadvikalpaḥ |
sa bhāvanīyo vidhivad budhena śīle śucau tripamukhe sthitena ||

16.30 A means for gaining that end is the path of threefold wisdom and twofold tranquillity.
It is to be cultivated by a wakeful person working to principle – abiding in untainted threefold integrity.

vākkarma samyak sahakāyakarma yathāvad ājīvanayaś ca śuddhaḥ |
idaṃ trayaṃ vṛttavidhau pravṛttaṃ śīlāśrayaṃ karmaparigrahāya ||

16.31 Using the voice well and the body well in tandem, and making a clean living in a suitable manner:
These three, pertaining to conduct, are for the mastery, based on integrity, of one’s dharma-duty.

satyeṣu duḥkhādiṣu dṛṣṭir āryā samyagvitarkaś ca parākramaś ca |
idaṃ trayaṃ jñānavidhau pravṛttaṃ prajñāśrayaṃ kleśaparikṣayāya ||

16.32 Noble insight into suffering and the other truths, along with thinking straight, and initiative:
These three, pertaining to know-how, are for dissolution, based on wisdom, of the afflictions.

nyāyena satyādhigamāya yuktā samyak smṛtiḥ samyag atho samādhiḥ |
idaṃ dvayaṃ yogavidhau pravṛttaṃ śamāśrayaṃ cittaparigrahāya ||

16.33 True mindfulness, properly harnessed so as to bring one close to the truths; and true balance:
These two, pertaining to practice, are for mastery, based on tranquillity, of the mind.

kleśāṅkurān na pratanoti śīlaṃ bījāṅkurān kāla ivāvṛttaḥ |
śucau hi śīle puruṣasya doṣā manaḥ salajjā iva dharṣayanti ||

16.34 Integrity no more propagates the shoots of affliction than a bygone spring propagates shoots from seeds.
The faults, as long as a man’s integrity is untainted, venture only timidly to attack his mind.

kleśāṃs tu viṣkambhayate samādhir vegān ivādrir mahaot nadīnām |
sthite samādhau hi na dharṣayanti doṣā bhujaṅgā iva mantrabaddhāḥ ||

16.35 But balance casts off the afflictions like a mountain casts off the mighty torrents of rivers.
The faults do not attack a man who is standing firm in balanced stillness: like charmed snakes, they are spellbound.

prajñā tv aśeṣeṇa nihanti doṣāṃs tīradrumān prāvṛṣi nimnageva |
dagdhā yayā na prabhavanti doṣā vajrāgninevānusṛtena vṛkṣāḥ ||

16.36 And wisdom destroys the faults without trace, as a mountain stream in the monsoon destroys the trees on its banks.
Faults consumed by it do not stand a chance, like trees in the fiery wake of a thunderbolt.

triskandham etaṃ pravigāhya mārgaṃ praspaṣṭam aṣṭāṅgam ahāryam āryam |
duḥkhasya hetūn prajahāti doṣān prāpnoti cātyantaśivaṃ padaṃ tat ||

16.37 Giving oneself to this path with its three divisions and eight branches – this straightforward, irremovable, noble path –
One abandons the faults, which are the causes of suffering, and comes to that step which is total well-being.

asyopacāre dhṛtir ārjavaṃ ca hrīr apramādaḥ praviviktatā ca |
alpecchatā tuṣṭir asaṃgatā ca lokapravṛttāv aratiḥ kṣamā ca ||

16.38 Attendant on it are constancy and straightness; modesty, attentiveness, and reclusiveness;
Wanting little, contentment, and freedom from forming attachments; no fondness for worldly activity, and forbearance.

yāthātmyato vindati yo hi duḥkhaṃ tasyodbhavaṃ tasya ca yo nirdodham |
āryeṇa mārgeṇa sa sāntim eti kalyāṇamitraiḥ saha vartamānaḥ ||

16.39 For he who knows suffering as it really is, who knows its starting and its stopping:
It is he who reaches peace by the noble path – going along with friends in the good.

yo vyādhito vyādhim avaiti samyag vyādher nidānaṃ ca tadauṣadhaṃ ca |
ārogyam āpnoti hi so ’cireṇa mitrair abhijñair upacaryamāṇaḥ ||

16.40 He who fully appreciates his illness, as the illness it is, who sees the cause of the illness and its remedy:
It is he who wins, before long, freedom from disease – attended by friends in the know.

tad vyādhisaṃjñāṃ kuru duḥkhasatye doṣeṣv api vyādhinidānasaṃjñām |
ārogyasaṃjñāṃ ca nirdohasatye bhaiṣajyasaṃjñām api mārgasatye ||

16.41 So with regard to the truth of suffering, see suffering as an illness; with regard to the faults, see the faults as the cause of the illness;
With regard to the truth of stopping, see stopping as freedom from disease; and with regard to the truth of a path, see a path as a remedy.

tasmāt pravṛttiṃ parigaccha duḥkhaṃ pravartakān apy avagaccha doṣān |
nivṛttim āgaccha ca tannirodhaṃ nivartakaṃ cāpy avagaccha mārgam ||

16.42 Comprehend, therefore, that suffering is doing; witness the faults impelling it forward;
Realise its stopping as non-doing; and know the path as a turning back.

śirasy atho vāsasi saṃpradīpte satyāvabodhāya matir vicāryā |
dagdhaṃ jagat satyanayaṃ hy adṛṣṭvā pradahyate saṃprati dhakṣyate ca ||

16.43 Though your head and clothes be on fire direct your mind so as to be awake to the truths.
For in failing to see the purport of the truths, the world has burned, it is burning now, and it will burn.

yadaiva yaḥ paśyati nāmarūpaṃ kṣayīti taddarśanam asya samyak |
samyak ca nirvedam upaiti paśyān nandīkṣayāc ca kṣayam eti rāgaḥ ||

16.44 When a man sees psycho-physicality as subject to dissolution, that insight of his is accurate;
In seeing accurately he is disenchanted, and from the ending of exuberance ends the red taint of passion.

tayoś ca nandīrajasoḥ kṣayeṇa samyag vimuktaṃ pravadāmi cetaḥ |
samyag vimuktir manasaś ca tābhyāṃ na cāsya bhūyaḥ karaṇīyam asti ||

16.45 By the ending of the duality which is exuberance and gloom, I submit, his mind is fully set free.
And when his mind is fully liberated from that duality, there is nothing further for him to do.

yathāsvabhāvena hi nāmarūpaṃ tad dhetum evāstagamaṃ ca tasya |
vijānataḥ paśyata eva cāhaṃ bravīmi samyak kṣayam āsravāṇām ||

16.46 For in him who sees psycho-physicality as it is, and who sees its origin and passing away,
From the very fact of his knowing and seeing, I predict the complete eradication of the pollutants.

tasmāt paraṃ saumya vidhāya vīryaṃ śīghraṃ ghaṭasv āsravasaṃkṣayāya |
duḥkhān anityāṃś ca nirātmakāṃś ca dhātūn viśeṣeṇa parīkṣamāṇāḥ ||

16.47 So my friend garner your energy greatly and strive quickly to put an end to polluting influences,
Examining in particular the elements – as suffering, as impermanent and as devoid of self.

dhātūn hi ṣaḍ bhūsalilānalādīn sāmānyataḥ svena ca lakṣaṇena |
avaiti yo nānyam avaiti tebhyaḥ so ’tyantikaṃ mokṣam avaiti tebhyaḥ ||

16.48 For in knowing the six elements of earth, water, fire and the rest, generically, and each as specific to itself,
He who knows nothing else but those elements, knows total release from those elements.

kleśaprahāṇāya ca niścitena kālo ’bhyupāyaś ca parīkṣitavyaḥ |
yogo ’py akāle hy anupāyataś ca bhavaty anarthāya na tadguṇāya ||

16.49 One set on abandoning the afflictions, then, should attend to timing and method;
For even practice itself, done at the wrong time and relying on wrong means, makes for disappointment and not for the desired end.

ajātavatsāṃ yadi gāṃ duhīta naivāptuyāt kṣīram akāladohī |
kāle ’pi vā syān na payo labheta mohena śṛṅgād yadi gāṃ duhīta ||

16.50 If a cow is milked before her calf is born, milking at the wrong time will yield no milk.
Or even at the right time no milk will be got if, through ignorance, a cow is milked by the horn.

ārdrāc ca kāṣṭhā jvalanābhikāmo naiva prayatnād api vahnim ṛcchet |
kāṣṭhāc ca śuṣkād api pātganena naivāgnim āpnoty anupāapūrvam ||

16.51 Again, one who wants fire from damp wood, try as he might, will not get fire.
And even if he lays down dry wood, he won’t get fire from that, with bad bushcraft.

tad deśakālau vidhivat parīkṣya yogasya mātrām api cābhyupāyam |
balābale cātmani saṃpradhārya kāryāḥ prayatno na tu tadviruddhaḥ ||

16.52 Having given due consideration to the time and place as well as to the extent and method of one’s practice,
One should, reflecting on one’s own strength and weakness, persist in an effort that is not inconsistent with them.

pragrāhakaṃ yat tu nimittam uktam uddanyamāne hṛdi tan na sevyam |
evaṃ hi cittaṃ praśamaṃ na yāti [na vahri] nā vahnir iveryamāṇaḥ ||

16.53 That factor said to be “garnering” does not serve when the emotions are inflamed,
For thus the mind does not come to quiet, like a fire being fanned by the wind.

śamāya yat syān niyataṃ nimittaṃ jātoddhave cetasi tasya kālaḥ |
evaṃ hi cittaṃ praśamaṃ niyacchet pradīpyamāno ’gnir ivodakena ||

16.54 A factor ascertained to be calming has its time when one’s mind is excited;
For thus the mind subsides into quietness, like a blazing fire [doused] with water.

śamāvahaṃ yan niyataṃ nimittaṃ sevyaṃ na tac cetasi līyamāne |
evaṃ hi bhūyo layameti cittam anīryamāṇo ’gnir ivālpasāraḥ ||

16.55 A factor ascertained to bring calm does not serve when one’s mind is dormant;
For thus the mind sinks further into lifelessness, like a feeble fire left unfanned.

pragrāhakaṃ yan niyataṃ nimittaṃ layaṃ gate cetasi tasya kālaḥ |
kriyāsamarthaṃ hi manas tathā syān mandāyamāno ’gnir ivendhanena ||

16.56 A factor determined to be garnering, has its time when one’s mind is lifeless,
For thus the mind becomes fit for work, like a feebly-burning fire [plied] with fuel.

aupekṣikaṃ nāpi nimittam iṣṭaṃ layaṃ gate cetasi soddhave vā |
evaṃ hi tīvraṃ janayed anartham upekṣito vyādhir ivāturasya ||

16.57 Nor is equanimity a valid factor when one’s mind is either lifeless or excited.
For that might engender severe adversity, like the neglected illness of a sick man.

yat syād upekṣāniyataṃ nimittaṃ sāmyaṃ gate cetasi tasya kālaḥ |
evaṃ hi kṛtyāya bhavet prayogo ratho vidheyāśva iva prayātaḥ ||

16.58 A factor ascertained to conduce to equanimity has its time when one’s mind is in its normal state;
For thus one may set about work to be done, like a wagon setting off with well-trained horses.

rāgoddhavyākulite ’pi citte maitropasaṃhāravidhir na kāryaḥ |
rāgātmako muhyati maitrayā hi senhaṃ kaphakṣobha ivopayujya ||

16.59 Again, when the mind is filled with the red joys of passion, direction towards oneself of loving-kindness is not to be practised;
For a passionate type is stupefied by love, like a sufferer from phlegm taking oil.

rāgoddhate cetasi dhairyam etya niṣevitavyaṃ tv aśubhaṃ nimittam |
rāgātmako hy evam upaiti śarma kaphātmako rūkṣam ivopayujya ||

16.60 Steadiness lies, when the mind is excited by ardour, in resorting to an unpleasant factor;
For thus a passionate type obtains relief, like a phlegmatic type taking an astringent.

vyāpādadoṣeṇa manasy udīrṇe na sevitavyaṃ tv aśubhaṃ nimittam |
dveṣātmakasya hy aśubhā vadhāya pittātmanas śīta ivopacāraḥ ||

16.61 When the mind is wound up, however, with the fault of malice, unpleasantness is not the factor to be deployed;
For unpleasantness is destructive to a hating type, as acid treatment is to a man of bilious nature.

vyāpādadoṣakṣubhite tu citte sevyā svapakṣopanayena maitrī |
dveṣātmano hi praśamāya maitrī pittātmanaḥ śīta ivopacarāḥ ||

16.62 When the mind is agitated by the fault of malice, loving-kindness should be cultivated, by directing it towards oneself.
For loving-kindness is calming to a hate-afflicted soul, as cooling treatment is to the man of bilious nature.

mohānubaddhe manasaḥ pracāre maitrāśubhā caiva bhavaty ayogaḥ |
tābhyāṃ hi saṃmoham upaiti bhūyo vāyvātmako rūkṣam ivopanīya ||

16.63 When there is wandering of the mind, tied to delusion, both loving-kindness and unpleasantness are unsuitable,
For a deluded man is further deluded by these two, like a windy type given an astringent.

mohātmaikāyāṃ mansaḥ pravṛttau sevyas tv idaṃ pratyayatāvihāraḥ |
mūḍhe manasy eṣa hi śāntimārgo vāyvātmake snigdha ivopacāraḥ ||

16.64 When working of the mind is delusory, one should appreciate the causality therein;
For this is a path to peace when the mind is bewildered, like treating a wind condition with oil.

ulkāmukhastaṃ hi yathā suvarṇaṃ suvarṇakāro dhamatīha kāle |
kāle pariprokṣayate jalena krameṇa kāle samupekṣate ca ||

16.65 Holding gold in the mouth of a furnace, a goldsmith in this world blows it at the proper time,
Douses it with water at the proper time, and gradually, at the proper time, he leaves it be.

dahet suvarṇaṃ hi dhamann akāle jale kṣipan saṃśamayed akāle |
na cāpi samyak paripākam enaṃ nayed akāle samupekṣamāṇaḥ ||

16.66 For he might burn the gold by blowing at the wrong time, he might make it unworkable by plunging it into water at the wrong time,
And he would not bring it to full perfection if at the wrong time he were just to leave it be.

saṃpragrahasya praśamasya caiva tathaiva kāle samupekṣaṇasya |
samyaṅnimittaṃ manasā tv avekṣyaṃ nāśo hi yatno ’py anupāyapūrvaḥ ||

16.67 Likewise, for garnering as also for calming, as also when appropriate for leaving well alone,
One should readily attend to the appropriate factor; because even diligence is destructive when accompanied by a wrong approach.”

ity evam anyāyanivartanaṃ ca nyāyaṃ ca tasmai sugato babhāṣe |
bhūyaś ca tat tac caritaṃ viditvā vitarkahānāya vidhīn uvāca ||

16.68 Thus, on retreat from muddling through, and on the principle to come back to, the One Who Went Well spoke to [Nanda];
And knowing the varieties of behaviour, he detailed further the directions for abandoning ideas.

yathā bhiṣak pittakaphānilānāṃ ya eva kopaṃ samupaiti doṣaḥ |
śamāya tasyaiva vidhatte vyadhatta doṣeṣu tathairva buddhaḥ ||

16.69 Just as, for a disorder of bile, phlegm, or wind – for whatever disorder of the humours has manifested the symptoms of disease –
A doctor prescribes a course of treatment to cure that very disorder; so did the Buddha prescribe for the faults:

ekena kalpena sacen na hanyāt svabhyastabhāvād aśubhān vitarkān |
tato dvitīyaṃ kramam ārabheta na tv eva heyo guṇavān prayogaḥ ||

16.70 “It may not be possible, following a single method, to kill off bad ideas that habit has so deeply entrenched;
In that case, one should commit to a second course but never give up the good work.

anādikālopacitātmakatvād balīyasaḥ kleśagaṇasya caiva |
samyakprayogasya ca duṣkaratvāc chettuṃ na śakyāḥ sahasā hi doṣāḥ ||

16.71 Because of the instinct-led accumulation, from time without beginning, of the powerful mass of afflictions,
And because true practice is so difficult to do, the faults cannot be cut off all at once.

añvyā yathāṇyā vipulāṇir anyā nirvāhyate tadviduṣā nareṇa |
tadvad tad evākuśalaṃ nimittaṃ kṣipen nimittāntarasevanena ||

16.72 Just as a deep splinter, by means of the point of another sharp object, is removed by a man skilled in that task,
Likewise an unpromising stimulus may be dispensed with through deployment of a different stimulus.

tathāpy athādhyātmanavagrahatvān naivopaśāmyed aśubho vitarkaḥ |
heyaḥ sa taddoṣaparīkṣaṇena saśvāpado mārga ivādhvagena ||

16.73 There again, because of your personal inexperience, a bad idea might not give way.
You should abandon it by observing the fault in it, as a traveller abandons a path on which there is a wild beast.

yathā kṣudhārto ’pi viṣeṇa pṛktaṃ jijīviṣur necchati bhoktum annam |
tathaiva doṣāvaham ity avetya jahāti vidvān aśubhaṃ nimittam ||

16.74 A man who wishes to live, even when starving, declines to eat poisoned food.
Likewise, observing that it brings with it a fault, a wise person leaves alone an unpleasant stimulus.

na doṣataḥ paśyati yo hi doṣaṃ kas taṃ tato vārayituṃ samarthaḥ |
guṇaṃ guṇe paśyati yaś ca yantra sa vāryamāṇo ’pi tataḥ prayāti ||

16.75 When a man does not see a fault as a fault, who is able to restrain him from it?
But when a man sees the good in what is good, he goes towards it despite being restrained.

vyapatrapante hi kulaprasūtā mahaḥpracārair aśubhaiḥ pravṛttaiḥ |
kaṇṭhe manasvīva yuvā vapuṣmān acākṣuṣair aprayatair viṣaktaiḥ ||

16.76 For those born into a noble house are ashamed of unpleasant occurrences going on in the mind,
As one who is bright, young and good-looking is ashamed of unsightly, ill-arranged [objects] hanging around his neck.

nirdhūyamānās tv atha leśato ’pi tiṣṭheyur evākuśalā vitarkāḥ |
kāryāntarair adhyayanakriyād yaiḥ sevyo vidhir vismaraṇāya teṣām ||

16.77 If, though they are being shaken off, a trace persists of unhelpful thoughts,
One should resort to different tasks, such as study or physical work, as a means of consigning those thoughts to oblivion.

svaptavyam apy eva vicakṣaṇena kāyaklamo vāpi niṣevitavyaḥ |
na tv eva saṃcintyam asannimittaṃ yatrāvasaktasya bhaved anarthaḥ ||

16.78 A clear-sighted person should even sleep or resort to physical exhaustion,
But should never dwell on a bad stimulus, pending on which might be an adverse reaction.

yathā hi bhīto niśi taskarebhyo dvāraṃ priyebhyo ’pi na dātum icchet |
prājñas tathā saṃharati prayogaṃ samaṃ śubhasyāpy aśubhasya doṣaiḥ ||

16.79 For just as a man afraid of thieves in the night would not open his door even to friends,
So does a wise man withhold consent equally to the doing of anything bad or anything good that involves the faults.

evaṃprakārair api yady upāyair nivāryamāṇā na parāñmukhāḥ syuḥ |
tato yathāsthūlanibarhaṇena suvarṇadoṣā iva te praheyāḥ ||

16.80 If, though fended off by such means, [faults] do not turn back,
Then, eliminated in order of their grossness, they must be driven out like impurities from gold.

drutaprayāṇaprabhṛtīṃś ca tīkṣṇāt kāmaprayogāt parikhidyamānaḥ |
yathā naraḥ saṃśrayate tathaiva prājñena doṣeṣv api varitavyam ||

16.81 Just as a man who feels depressed following a torrid love affair takes refuge in activities like quick marching, so should a wise person proceed with regard to the faults.

te ced alabdhapratipakṣabhāvā naivopaāmyeyur asadvitarkāḥ |
muhūrtam apy aprativadhyamānā gṛhe bhujaṅgā iva nādhivāsyāḥ ||

16.82 If their counteragent cannot be found and unreal fancies do not subside,
They must not for a moment be left unchecked: no whiff of them should be tolerated, as if they were snakes in the house.

dante ’pi dantaṃ praṇidhāya kāmaṃ tālvagram utpīḍya ca jihvayāpi |
cittena cittaṃ prarigṛhya cāpi kāryaḥ prayatno na tu te ’nuvṛttāḥ ||

16.83 Grit tooth against tooth, if you will, press the tongue forward and up against the palate,
And grip the mind with the mind – make an effort, but do not yield to them.

kim atra citram yadi vītamoho vanaṃ gataḥ svasthamanā na muhyet |
ākṣipyamāṇo hṛdi tannimittair na kṣobhyate yaḥ sa kṛtī sa dhīraḥ ||

16.84 Is it any wonder that a man without any delusions should not become deluded when he has contentedly repaired to the forest?
[But] a man who is not shaken when challenged to the core by the stimuli of the aforementioned [ideas, thoughts, and fancies]: he is a man of action; he is a steadfast man.

tad āryasatyādhigamāya pūrvaṃ viśodhayānena nayena mārgam |
yātrāgataḥ śatruvinigrahārthaṃ rājevy lakṣmīm ajitāṃ jigīṣan ||

16.85 So, in order to make the noble truths your own, first clear a path according to this plan of action,
Like a king going on campaign to subdue his foes, wishing to conquer unconquered dominions.

etāny araṇyāny abhitaḥ śivāni yogānukūlāny ajaneritāni |
kāyasya kṛtvā pravivekamātraṃ kleśaprahāṇāya bhajasva mārgam ||

16.86 These salubrious wilds that surround us are suited to practice and not thronged with people.
Furnishing the body with ample solitude, cut a path for abandoning the afflictions.

kauṇḍinyananadakṛmilāniruddhās tipyopasenau vimalo ’tha rādhaḥ |
bāṣpottarau dhautakimoharājau kātyāyanadravyapinindavatsāḥ ||

16.87 Kauṇḍinya, Nanda, Kṛmila, Aniruddha, Tiṣya, Upasena, Vimala, Rādha,
Vāśpa, Uttara, Dhautaki, Moha-rāja, Kātyāyana, Dravya, Pilinda-vatsa,

bhaddālibhadrāyaṇasarpadāsasubhūtigodattsujātavatsāḥ |
saṃgrāmajidbhadrajidaśvajic ca śroṇaś ca śoṇaś ca sa koṭikarṇaḥ ||

16.88 Bhaddāli, Bhadrāyaṇa, Sarpa-dāsa, Subhūti, Go-datta, Sujāta, Vatsa,
Saṁgrāmajit, Bhadrajit, and Aśvajit, Śrona and Sona Koṭikarna,

kṣemājito nandakanandamātā vupālivāgīśayaśāoyaśodāḥ |
mahāhvayo valkalirāṣṭrapālau sudarśaanasvāgatameghikāś ca ||

16.89 Kṣemā, Ajita, the mothers of Nandaka and Nanda, Upāli, Vāgīśa, Yaśas, Yaśoda,
Mahāhvaya, Valkalin, Rāṣṭra-pāla, Sudarśana, Svāgata and Meghika,

sa kapphinaḥ kāśyapa auruvilvo mahāmahākāśyapatiṣyanandāḥ |
pūrṇaś ca pūrṇaś ca sa pūrṇakaś ca śonāparāntaś ca sa pūrṇa eva ||

16.90 Kapphina, Kāśyapa of Uruvilvā, The great Mahā-kāśyapa, Tiṣya, Nanda,
Pūrṇa and Pūrṇa as well as Pūrṇaka and Pūrṇa Śonāparānta,

śāradvatīputrasubāhucundāḥ kondeyakāpyabhṛgukuṇṭhadhānāḥ |
saśaivalau revatakauṣṭhilau ca maudgalyagotraś ca gavāṃ patiś ca ||

16.91 The son of Śāradvatī, Subāhu, Cunda, Kondeya, Kāpya, Bhṛgu, Kuṇṭha-dhāna,
Plus Śaivala, Revata and Kauṣṭhila, and he of the Maudgalya clan and Gavām-pati –

yaṃ vikramaṃ yogavidhāv akurvaṃs tam eva śīghraṃ vidhivat kuruṣva |
tataḥ padaṃ prāpsyasi tair avāptaṃ sukhāvṛtais tvaṃ nivataṃ niyataṃ yaśaś ca ||

16.92 Be quick to show the courage that they have shown in their practice, working to principle.
Then you will assuredly take the step that they took and will realise the splendour that they realised.

dravyaṃ yathā syāt kaṭukaṃ rasena tac copayuktaṃ madhuraṃ vipāke |
tathaiva vīryaṃ kaṭukaṃ śrameṇa tasyārthasiddhyai madhuro vipākaḥ ||

16.93 Just as a fruit may have flesh that is bitter to the taste and yet is sweet when eaten ripe,
So heroic effort, through the struggle it involves, is bitter and yet, in accomplishment of the aim, its mature fruit is sweet.

vīryaṃ paraṃ kāryakṛtau hi mūlaṃ vīryād ṛte kā cana nāsti siddhiḥ |
udeti vīryād iha sarvasaṃpan nirvīryatā cet sakalaś ca pāpmā ||

16.94 Directed energy is paramount: for, in doing what needs to be done, it is the foundation; without directed energy there is no accomplishment at all;
All success in this world arises from directed energy – and in the absence of directed energy wrongdoing is rampant.

alabdhasyālābho niyatam upalabdhasya vigamas tathaivātmāvajñā kṛpañam adhikebhyaḥ paribhavaḥ |
tamo nistejastvaṃ śrutiniyamatuṣṭivyuparamo nṛṇāṃ nirvīryāṇāṃ bhavati vinipātaś ca bhavati ||

16.95 No gaining of what is yet to be gained, and certain loss of what has been gained,
Along with low self-esteem, wretchedness, the scorn of superiors,
Darkness, lack of spirit, and the breakdown of learning, restraint and contentment:
For men without directed energy a great fall awaits.

nayaṃ śrutvā śakto yad ayam abhivṛddhiṃ na labhate paraṃ dharmaṃ jñātvā yad upari nivāsaṃ na labhate |
|gṛhaṃ tyaktvā muktau yad ayam upaśāntiṃ na labhate
nimittaṃ kausīdyaṃ bhavati puruṣasyātra na ripuḥ ||

16.96 When a capable person hears the guiding principle but realises no growth,
When he knows the most excellent method but realises no upward repose,
When he leaves home but in freedom realises no peace:
The cause is the laziness in him and not an enemy.

anikṣiptotsāho yadi khanati gāṃ vāri labhate prasaktaṃ vyāmathnan jvalanam araṇibhyāṃ janayati |
prayuktā yoge tu dhruvam upalabhante śramaphalaṃ
drutaṃ nityaṃ yānto girim api hi bhindanti saritaḥ ||

16.97 A man obtains water if he digs the ground with unflagging exertion,
And produces fire from fire-sticks by continuous twirling.
But those are sure to reap the fruit of their effort whose energies are harnessed to practice,
For rivers that flow swiftly and constantly cut through even a mountain.

kṛṣṭvā gāṃ paripālya ca śramaśatair aśnoti sasyaśāriyaṃ yatnena pravigāhya sāgarajalaṃ ratnaśriyā krīḍati |
śatrūṇām avadhūya vīryam iṣubhir bhuṅkte narendraśriyaṃ
tad vīryaṃ kuru śāntaye viniyataṃ vīrye hi sarvardddhayaḥ ||

16.98 After ploughing and protecting the soil with great pains, [a farmer] gains a bounteous crop of corn;
After striving to plumb the ocean’s waters, [a diver] revels in a bounty of coral and pearls;
After seeing off with arrows the endeavour of rival kings, [a king] enjoys royal dominion.
So direct your energy in pursuit of peace, for in directed energy, undoubtedly, lies all growth.”

saundarananade mahākāvya āryasatyavyākhyāno nāma ṣoḍaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 16th Canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Communicating the Noble Truths.”

athaivam ādesitatattvamārgo nandas tadā prāptavimokṣamārgaḥ |
sarveṇa bhāvena gurau praṇamya kleśaprahāṇāya vanaṃ jagāma ||

17.1 Having thus had pointed out to him the path of what is, Nanda took that path of liberation.
He bowed with his whole being before the Guru and, with a view to abandoning the afflictions, he made for the forest.

tatrāvakāśaṃ mṛdunīlaśaṣpaṃ dadarśa sāntaṃ taruṣaṇḍavantam |
niḥśabdayā nimnagayopagūḍhaṃ vaiḍūryanīlodakayā vahantyā ||

17.2 There he saw a clearing, a quiet glade, of soft deep-green grass,
Kept secret by a silent stream bearing water blue as beryl.

sa pādayos tatra vidhāya śaucaṃ śucau śive śrīmati vṛkṣamūle |
mokṣāya baddhvā vyavasāyakaṣāṃ paryaṅkam aṅkāvahitam babandha ||

17.3 Having washed his feet there, Nanda, by a clean, auspicious, and splendid tree-root,
Girded on the intention to come undone, and sat with legs fully crossed.

ṛjuṃ samagraṃ praṇidhāya kāyaṃ kāve smṛtiṃ cābhimukhīṃ vidhāya |
sarvendriyāṇy ātmani saṃnidhāya sa tatra yogaṃ pryataḥ prapede ||

17.4 By first directing the whole body up, and thus keeping his awareness turned towards the body,
And thus integrating in his person all the senses, there he threw himself all-out into practice.

tataḥ sa tattvaṃ nikhilaṃ cikīṣur mokṣānukūlāṃś ca vidhīṃś cikīrṣan |
jñānena lokyena śamena caiva cacāra cetaḥparikarmabhūmau ||

17.5 Wishing to practise, on that basis, the truth that has no gaps, and wishing to perform practices that would be favourable to release,
He moved, using mundane know-how, and stillness, into the stage of readying of consciousness.

saṃdhāya dhairyaṃ praṇidhāya vīryaṃ vyapohya saktiṃ parigṛhya śaktim |
praśāntacetā niyamasthacetāḥ svasthas tato ’bhūd viṣayeṣv anāsthaḥ ||

17.6 By holding firm, keeping direction of energy to the fore, by cutting out clinging and garnering his energy,
With consciousness that was calmed and contained, he came back to himself and was not concerned about ends.

ātaptabuddheḥ prahitātmano ’pi svabhyastabhāvād atha kāmasaṃjñā |
paryākulaṃ tasya manaś cakāra prāvṛṭsu vidyuj alam āgateva ||

17.7 Though his judgement had been tempered and his soul inspired, now a vestige of desire, arising out of habit,
Made his mind turbid – like lightning striking water in a monsoon.

sa paryavasthānam avetya sadyaś cikṣepa tāṃ dharmavighātgakartrīm |
priyām api krodhapāritacetā nārīm ivodvṛttaguṇāṃ manasvī ||

17.8 Being instantly aware of incompatibilities, he saw off that authoress of the dharma’s downfall,
As a man whose mind is seized by anger shoos away a loved but excitable woman, when he is trying to concentrate.

ārabdhavīryasya manaḥśamāya bhūyas tu tasyākuśalo vitarkaḥ |
vyādhipraṇāśāya niviṣṭabuddher upadravo ghora ivājagāma ||

17.9 Nanda re-directed his energy in order to still his mind, but as he did so an unhelpful thought reasserted itself,
As when, in a man intent on curing an illness, an acute symptom suddenly reappears.

sa tadvighātāya nimittam anyad yogānukūlaṃ kuśalaṃ prapede |
ārtāyanaṃ skṣīṇabalo balsthaṃ nirasyamāno balināriṇeva ||

17.10 To fend against that he turned skillfully to a different factor, one favourable to his practice,
Like an enfeebled [prince] who seeks out a powerful protector when being overthrown by a mighty rival.

puraṃ vidhāyānuvidhāya daṇḍaṃ mitrāṇi saṃgṛhya ripūn vighṛhya |
rājā yathāpnoti hi gām apūrvāṃ nītir mukukṣor api saiva yoge ||

17.11 For just as, by laying out fortifications and laying down the rod of the law, by banding with friends and disbanding foes,
A king gains hitherto ungained land, that is the very policy towards practice of one who desires release.

vimokṣakāmasya hi yogino ’pi manaḥ puraṃ jṇānavidhiś ca daṇḍaḥ |
guṇāś ca mitrāṇy arayaś ca doṣā bhūmir vimuktir yatate yadartham ||

17.12 Because, for a practitioner whose desire is release, the mind is his fortress, know-how is his rod,
The virtues are his friends, the faults are his foes; and liberation is the territory he endeavours to reach.

sa duḥkhajālān mahato mukukṣur vimokṣamārgādhigame vivikṣuḥ |
panthānam āryaṃ paramaṃ didṛkṣuḥ śamaṃ yayau kiṃ cid upāttacakṣuḥ ||

17.13 Desiring release from the great net of suffering; desiring to enter into possession of the pathways of release,
Desiring to experience the supreme noble path; he got a bit of the Eye, and came to quiet.

yaḥ syān niketas tamaso ’niketaḥ śrutvāpi tattvaṃ sa bhavet pramattaḥ |
yasmāt tu mokṣāya sa pātrabhūtas tasmān manaḥ svātmani saṃjahāra ||

17.14 Heedless would be the unhoused man who, despite hearing the truth, housed the darkness of ignorance;
But since [Nanda] was a man of the bowl, a receptacle for liberation, he had collected his mind into himself.

saṃbhārataḥ pratyayataḥ svabhāvād āsvādato doṣaviśeṣataś ca |
athātmavān niḥsaraṇātmataś ca dharmeṣu cakre vidhivat parīkṣām ||

17.15 On the grounds of their being held together, their causality, and their inherent nature, on the grounds of their flavour and their concrete imperfection,
And on the grounds of their tendency to spread out, he who was now contained in himself, carried out a methodical investigation into things.

sa rūpiṇaṃ kṛtsnam arūpiṇaṃ ca sāraṃ didṛkṣur vicikāya kāyam |
athāśuciṃ duḥkham anityam asvaṃ nirātmakaṃ caiva cikāya kāyam ||

17.16 Desiring to examine its total material and immaterial substance, he investigated the body,
And he perceived the body to be impure, full of suffering, impermanent, without an owner, and again, devoid of self.

anityatas tatra hi śūnyataś ca nirātmato duḥkhata eva cāpi |
mārgapravekeṇa sa laukikena kleśadrumaṃ saṃcalayāṃ cakāra ||

17.17 For, on those grounds, on the grounds of impermanence and of emptiness, on the grounds of absence of self, and of suffering,
He, by the most excellent among mundane paths, caused the tree of afflictions to shake.

yasmād abhūtvā bhavatīha sarvaṃ bhūtvā ca bhūyo na bhavaty avaśyam |
sahekutaṃ ca kṣayihetumac ca tasmād anityaṃ jagad ity avindat ||

17.18 Since everything, after not existing, now exists, and after existing it never exists again;
And since the world is causal, and has disappearance as a cause, therefore he understood that the world is impermanent.

yataḥ prasūtasya ca karmayogaḥ prasajyate bandhavighātahetuḥ |
duḥkhapratīkāravidhau sukhākhye tato bhavaṃ duḥkham iti vyapaśyat ||

17.19 Insofar as a creature’s industry, motivated by bond-making or bond-breaking impulse,
Is dependent on a prescription, named “pleasure,” for counteracting pain, he saw, on that account, that existence is suffering.

yataś ca saṃskarāgataṃ viviktaṃ na kārakaḥ kaś cana vedako vā |
sāmagryathaḥ saṃbhavati pravṛttiḥ śūnyaṃ tato lokam imaṃ dadarśa ||

17.20 And insofar as separateness comes from doings, there being no doer or knower,
And the activity done arises out of a totality, he realised, on that account, that this world is empty.

yasmān nirīhaṃ jagad asvatantraṃ naiśvaryam ekaḥ kurute kriyāsu |
tat tat pratītya prabhavanti bhāvā nirātmakaṃ tena viveda lokam ||

17.21 Since the throng of humanity is passive, not autonomous, and no one exercises direct control over the workings of the body,
But states of being arise dependent on this and that, he found, in that sense, that the world is devoid of self.

tataḥ sa vātaṃ vyajanād ivoṣṇe kāṣṭhāśritaṃ nirmathanād ivāgnim |
antaḥkṣitisthaṃ khananād ivāmbho lokattaraṃ vartima durāpam āpa ||

17.22 Then, like air in the hot season, got from fanning; like fire latent in wood, got from rubbing;
And like water under the ground, got from digging, that supramundane path which is hard to reach, he reached:

sajjñānacāpaḥ smṛtivarma baddhvā viśuddhaśīlavratavāhanasthaḥ |
kleśāribhiś cittaraṇājirasthaiḥ sārdhaṃ yuyustsur vijayāya tasthau ||

17.23 As a bow of true knowledge, clad in the armour of awareness, standing up in a chariot of pure practice of integrity,
He took his stance for victory, ready to engage in battle his enemies, the afflictions, who were ranged on the battlefield of his mind.

tataḥ sa bodhyaṅgaśitāttaśastraḥ samyakpradhānottamavāhanasthaḥ |
mārgāṅgamātaṅgavatā balena śanaiḥ śanaiḥ kleśacumūṃ jagāhe ||

17.24 Then, unsheathing a sword that the limbs of awakening had honed, standing in the supreme chariot of true motivation,
With an army containing the elephants of the branches of the path, he gradually penetrated the ranks of the afflictions.

sa smṛtyupasthānamayaiḥ pṛṣatkaiḥ śatrūn viparyāsamayān kṣaṇena |
duḥkhasya hetūṃś caturaś caturbhiḥ svaiḥ svaiḥ pracārāyatanair dadāra ||

17.25 With arrows made from the presence of mindfulness, instantly he shot those enemies whose substance is upside-down-ness:
He split apart four enemies, four causes of suffering, with four arrows, each having its own range.

āryair balaiḥ pañcabhir eva pañca cetaḥkhilāny apratimair babhañja |
mithyāñganāgāṃś ca tathāṅganāgair vinirdudhāvāṣṭabhir eva so ’ṣṭau ||

17.26 With the five incomparable noble powers, he broke five uncultivated areas of mental ground;
And with the eight true elephants which are the branches of the path, he drove away eight elephants of fakery.

athātmadṛṣṭiṃ sakalāṃ vidhūya caturṣu satyeṣv akathaṃ kathaḥ san |
viśuddhaśīlavratadṛṣṭadharmā dharmasya pūrvāṃ phalabhūmim āpa ||

17.27 And so, having shaken off every vestige of the personality view, being free of doubt in regard to the four truths,
And knowing the score in regard to pure practice of integrity, he attained the first fruit of dharma.

sa darśanād āryacatuṣṭayasya kleśaikadeśasya ca viprayogāt |
pratyātmikāc cāpi viśeṣalābhāt pratyakṣato jñānisukhasya caiva ||

17.28 By glimpsing the noble foursome, and by being released from one portion of the afflictions;
By realising for himself what was specific to him as well as by witnessing the ease of the sages;

dārḍhyāt prasādasya dhṛteḥ sthiratvāt satyeṣv asaṃmūḍhatayā caturṣu |
śīlasya cācchidratayottamasya niḥsaṃśayo dharmavidhau babhūva ||

17.29 Through the stability of his stillness and the constancy of his steadiness; through not being altogether bewildered about the four truths;
And through not being full of holes in the supreme practice of integrity, he became free of doubt in the truth of dharma.

kudṛṣṭijālena sa viprayukto lokaṃ tathābhūtam avekṣamāṇaḥ |
jñānāśrayāṃ prītim upājagāma bhūyaḥ prasādaṃ ca gurāv iyāya ||

17.30 Released from the net of shabby views, seeing the world as it really is,
He attained a joy pregnant with knowing and his quiet certainty in the Guru deepened all the more.

yo hi pravṛttiṃ niyatām avaiti naivānyahetor iha nāpy ahetoḥ |
pratītya tat tat samavaiti tat tat sa naiṣṭhikaṃ paśyati yaś ca dharmam |
tasyopadeṣṭāram athāryavaryaṃ sa prekṣate buddham avāptacakṣuṅ ||

17.31 For he who understands that the doing in this world is determined neither by any outside cause nor by no cause,
And who appreciates everything depending on everything: he sees the ultimate noble dharma.

śāntaṃ śivaṃ nirjarasaṃ virāgaṃ niḥśreyasaṃ paśyati yaś ca dharmaṃ |
tasyopadeṣṭāram athāryaṃ sa prekṣate buddham avāptacakṣuḥ ||

17.32 And he who sees as the greatest good the dharma that is peaceful, salutary, ageless, and free of the red taint of passion,
And who sees its teacher as the noblest of the noble: he, as one who has got the Eye, is meeting Buddha.

yathopadeśena śivena mukto rogād arogo bhiṣajaṃ kṛtajñaḥ |
anusmaran paśyati cittadṛṣṭyā maitryā ca śāstrajñatayā ca tuṣṭaḥ ||

17.33 When a healthy man has been freed from illness by salutary instruction, and he is aware of his debt of gratitude,
Just as he sees his healer in his mind’s eye, gratefully acknowledging his benevolence and knowledge of his subject,

āryeṇa mārgeṇa tathaiva muktas tathāgataṃ tattvavid āryatattvaḥ |
anusmaran paśyati kāyasākṣī maitryā ca sarvajñatayā ca tuṣṭaḥ ||

17.34 Exactly so is a finder of reality who, set free by the noble path, is the reality of being noble:
His body being a seeing Eye, he sees the Realised One, gratefully acknowledging his benevolence and all-knowingness.

sa nāśakair dṛṣṭigatair vimuktaḥ paryantam ālokya punarbhavasya |
bhaktvā ghṛṇāṃ kleśavijṛmbhiteṣu mṛtyor na tatrāsa na durgatibhyaḥ ||

17.35 Sprung free from pernicious theories, seeing an end to becoming,
And feeling horror for the consequences of affliction, [Nanda] trembled not at death or hellish realms.

tvaksnāyumedorduhirāsthimāṃsakeśādināmedhyagaṇena pūrṇam |
tataḥ sa kāyaṃ samavekṣamāṇaḥ sāraṃ vicintyāṇv api nopalebhe ||

17.36 As full of skin, sinew, fat, blood, bone, and flesh; as full of hair and a mass of other such unholy stuff,
[Nanda] then observed the body to be; he looked into its essential reality, and found not even an atom.

sa kāmarāgapratighau sthirātmā tenaiva yogena tanū cakāra |
kṛtvā mahoraskatanus tanū tau prāpa dvitīyaṃ phalam āryadharme ||

17.37 By the yoke of that very practice, he, firm in himself, minimised the duality of love and hate;
Being himself big across the chest, he made those two small, and so obtained the second fruit in the noble dharma.

sa lobhacāpaṃ parikalpabāṇaṃ rāgaṃ mahāvairiṇam alpaśeṣam |
kāyasvabhāvādhigatair bibheda yogāyudhāstrair aśubhāpṛṣatkaiḥ ||

17.38 A small vestige of the great enemy, red passion, whose straining bow is impatient desire and whose arrow is a fixed conception,
He destroyed using weapons procured from the body as it naturally is – using the darts of unpleasantness, weapons from the armoury of practice.

dveṣāyudhaṃ krodhavikīrṇabāṇaṃ vyāpādam antaḥprasavaṃ sapatnam |
maitrīpṛṣatkair dhṛtitūṇasaṃsthaiḥ kṣamādhanurjyāvisṛtair jaghāna ||

17.39 That gestating love-rival, malice, whose weapon is hatred and whose errant arrow is anger,
He slayed with the arrows of kindness, which are contained in a quiver of constancy and released from the bow-string of patience.

mūlāny atha trīṇy āsudhasya vīras tribhir vimokṣāyatanaiś cakarta |
camūmukhasthān dhṛtakārmukāṃs trīn arīn ivāris tribhir āyasāgraiḥ ||

17.40 And so the hero cut the three roots of shameful conduct using three seats of release,
As if three rival princes, bearing bows in the van of their armies, had been cut down by one prince using three metal points.

sa kāmadhātoḥ samtikramāya pārṣṇigrahāṃs tān abhibhūya śatrūn |
yogād anāgāmiphalaṃ prapadya dvārīva nirvāñapurasya tasthau ||

17.41 In order to go entirely beyond the sphere of desire, he overpowered those enemies that grab the heel,
So that he attained, because of practice, the fruit of not returning, and stood as if at the gateway to the citadel of nirvāṇa.

kāmair vikitaṃ malinaiś ca dharmair vitarkavac cāpi vicāravac ca |
vivekajaṃ prītisukhopapannaṃ dhyānaṃ tataḥ sa prathamaṃ prapede ||

17.42 Distanced from desires and tainted things, containing ideas and containing thoughts,
Born of solitude and possessed of joy and ease, is the first stage of meditation, which he then entered.

kāmāgnidhāhena sa vipramukto hlādaṃ paraṃ dhyānasukhād avāpa |
sukhaṃ vigāhyāpsv iva gharmakhinnaḥ prāpyeva cārthaṃ cipulaṃ daridraḥ ||

17.43 Released from the burning of the bonfire of desires, he derived great gladness from ease in the act of meditating –
Ease like a heat-exhausted man diving into water. Or like a pauper coming into great wealth.

tatrāpi taddharmagatān vitarkān guṇāguṇe ca prasṛtān vicārān |
buddhvā manaḥkṣobhakarān aśāntāṃs tadviprayogāya matiṃ cakāra ||

17.44 Even in that, he realised, ideas about aforesaid things, and thoughts about what is or is not good,
Are something not quieted, causing disturbance in the mind, and so he decided to cut them out.

kṣobhaṃ prakurvanti yathormayo hi dhīraprasannāmbuvahasya sindhoḥ |
ekāgrabhūtasya tahtormibhūtāś cittāmbhasaḥ kṣobhakarā vitarkāḥ ||

17.45 For, just as waves produce disturbance in a river bearing a steady flow of tranquil water,
So ideas, like waves of thought, disturb the water of the one-pointed mind.

khinnasya suptasya ca nirvṛtasya bādhaṃ yathā saṃjanayanti śabdāḥ |
adhyātmam aikāgryam upāgatasya bhavanti bādhāya tathā vitarkāḥ ||

17.46 And just as noises are a source of bother to one who is weary, and fallen fast asleep,
So do ideas become bothersome to one who is indulging in his original state of unitary awareness

athāvitarkaṃ kramaśo ’vicāram ekāgrabhāvān manasaḥ prasannam |
samādhijaṃ prītsukhaṃ dvitīyaṃ dhyānaṃ tad ādhyātmaśivaṃ sa dadhyau ||

17.47 And so gradually bereft of idea and thought, his mind tranquil from one-pointedness,
He realised the joy and ease born of balanced stillness – that inner wellbeing which is the second stage of meditation.

tad dhyānam āgamya ca cittamaunaṃ lebhe parāṃ prītim alabdhapūrvām |
prītau tu tatrāpi sa doṣadarśī yathā vitarkeṣv abhavat tathaiva ||

17.48 And on reaching that stage, in which the mind is silent, he experienced an intense joy that he had never experienced before.
But here too he found a fault, in joy, just as he had in ideas.

prītiḥ parā vastuni yatra yasya viparyayāt tasya hi tara duḥkham |
prītāv ataḥ prekṣya sa tatra doṣān prītikṣaye yogam upāruroha ||

17.49 For when a man finds intense joy in anything, paradoxically, suffering for him is right there.
Hence, seeing the faults there in joy, he kept going up, into practice that goes beyond joy.

prītedr virāgāt sukham āryajuṣṭaṃ kāyena vindann atha saṃprajānan |
upekṣakaḥ sa smṛtimān vyahārṣīd dhyānaṃ tṛtīyaṃ pratilabhya dhīraḥ ||

17.50 And so experiencing the ease enjoyed by the noble ones, from non-attachment to joy, knowing it totally, with his body,
He remained indifferent, fully aware, and, having realised the third stage of meditation, steady.

yasmāt paraṃ tatra sukhaṃ sukhebhyas tataḥ paraṃ nāsti sukhapravṛttiḥ |
tasmād babhāṣe śubhakṛtsnabhūmiṃ parāparajñaḥ parameti maitryā ||

17.51 Since the ease here is beyond any ease, and there is no progression of ease beyond it,
Therefore, as a knower of higher and lower, he realised it as a condition of resplendent wholeness which he deemed – in a friendly way – to be superlative.

dhyāne ’pi tatrātha dadarśa doṣaṃ mene paraṃ śāntam aniñjam eva |
ābhogato ’pīñjayati sma tasya cittaṃ pravṛttaṃ sukham ity ajasram ||

17.52 Then, even in that stage of meditation, he found a fault: he saw it as better to be quiet, not excited,
Whereas his mind was fluctuating tirelessly because of ease circulating.

yatreñjitaṃ spanditam asti tatra yatrāsti ca spanditam asti duḥkham |
yasmād atas tat sukham iñjakatvāt praśāntikāmā yatayas tyajanti ||

17.53 In excitement there is interference, and where there is interference there is suffering,
Which is why, insofar as ease is excitatory, devotees who are desirous of quiet give up that ease.

atha prahāṇāt sukhaduḥkhayoś ca manovikārasya ca pūrvam eva |
dadhyāv upekṣāmṛtimad viśuddhaṃ dhyānaṃ tathāduḥkhasukhaṃ caturtham ||

17.54 Then, having already transcended ease and suffering, and emotional reactivity,
He realised the lucidity in which there is indifference and full awareness: thus, beyond suffering and ease, is the fourth stage of meditation.

yasmāt tu tasmin na sukhaṃ na duḥkhaṃ jñānaṃ ca tatrāsti tad arthacāri |
tasmād upekṣāsmṛtipāriśuddhir nirucyate dhyānavidhau caturthe ||

17.55 Since in this there is neither ease nor suffering, and the act of knowing abides here, being its own object,
Therefore utter lucidity through indifference and awareness is specified in the protocol for the fourth stage of meditation.

dhyānaṃ sa niśritya tataś caturtham arhattvalābhāya matiṃ cakāra |
saṃdhāya maitraṃ balavantam āryaṃ rājeva deśān ajitān jigīṣuḥ ||

17.56 Consequently, relying on the fourth stage of meditation, he made up his mind to win the worthy state,
Like a king joining forces with a strong and noble ally and then aspiring to conquer unconquered lands.

ciccheda kārtsnyena tataḥ sa pañca prajñāsinā bhāvanayeritena |
ūrdhvaṅgamāny uttamabandhanāni saṃyojanāny uttamabandhanāni ||

17.57 Then he cut the five upper fetters: with the sword of intuitive wisdom which is raised aloft by cultivation of the mind,
He completely severed the five aspirational fetters, which are bound up with superiority, and tied to the first person.

bodhyaṅganāgair api saptabhiḥ sa saptaiva cittānuśayān mamarda |
dvīpān ivopasthitavipraṇāśān kālo grahaiḥ saptabhir eva sapta ||

17.58 Again, with the seven elephants of the limbs of awakening he crushed the seven dormant tendencies of the mind,
Like Time, when their destruction is due, crushing the seven continents by means of the seven planets.

agnidrumājyāmbuṣu yā hi vṛttiḥ kavandhavāvyagnidivākarāṇām |
doṣeṣu tāṃ vṛttim iyāya nando nirvāpaṇotpāṭanadāhaśoṣaiḥ ||

17.59 The action which on fire, trees, ghee and water is exerted by rainclouds, wind, a flame and the sun,
Nanda exerted that action on the faults, quenching, uprooting, burning, and drying them up.

iti trivegaṃ trijhaṣaṃ trivīcam ekāmbhasaṃ pañcarayaṃ dvikūlam |
dvigrāham aṣṭāṅgavatā plavena duḥkhārṇavaṃ custaram uttatāra ||

17.60 Thus he overcame three surges, three sharks, three swells, the unity of water, five currents, two shores,
And two crocodiles: in his eight-piece raft, he crossed the flood of suffering which is so hard to cross.

arhattvam āsādya sa satkriyārho nirutsuko niṣpraṇayo nirāśaḥ |
vibhīr viṣug vītamado virāgaḥ sa eva dhṛtyānya ivābabhāse ||

17.61 Having attained to the seat of arhathood, he was worthy of being served. Without ambition, without partiality, without expectation;
Without fear, sorrow, pride, or passion; while being nothing but himself, he seemed in his constancy to be different.

bhrātuś ca śāstuś ca tayānuśiṣṭyā nandas tataḥ svena ca vikrameṇa |
praśāntacetāḥ paripūrṇakāryo vāṇīm imām ātmagatāṃ jagāda ||

17.62 And so Nanda, who, through the instruction of his brother and teacher and through his own valiant effort,
Had quieted his mind and fulfilled his task, spoke to himself these words

namo ’stu tasmai sugatāya yena hitaiṣiṇā me karuṇatmakena |
bahūni duḥkhāny apavartitāni sukhāni bhūyāṃsy upasaṃhṛtāni ||

17.63 “Praise be to him, the Sugata, the One Gone Well, through whose compassionate pursuit of my welfare,
Great agonies were turned away and greater comforts conferred.

ahaṃ hy anāryeṇa śarīrajena duḥkhātmake vartmani kṛṣyamāṇaḥ |
nivartitas tadvacanāṅkuṣena darpānvito nāga ivāṅkuśena ||

17.64 For while being dragged, by ignoble physicality, down a path pregnant with suffering,
I was turned back by the hook of his words, like an elephant in musk by a driver’s hook.

tasyājñayā kāruṇikasya śāstur hṛdistham utpāṭya hi rāgaśalyam |
adyaiva tāvat sumahat sukhaṃ me sarvakṣaye kiṃ bata nirvṛtasya ||

17.65 For through the liberating knowledge of the compassionate teacher who extracted a dart of passion that was lodged in my heart,
Now such abundant ease is mine – Oh! how happy I am in the loss of everything!

nirvāpya kāmāgnim ahaṃ hi dīptaṃ dhṛtyambunā pāvakam ambuneva |
hlādaṃ paraṃ sāṃpratam āgato ’smi śītaṃ hradaṃ gharma ivāvatīrṇaḥ ||

17.66 For, by putting out the burning fire of desires, using the water of constancy, as if using water to put out a blaze,
I have now come to a state of supreme refreshment, like a hot person descending into a cool pool.

na me priyaṃ kiṃ cana nāpriyaṃ me na me ’nurodho ’sti kuto virodhaḥ |
tayor abhāvāt sukhito ’smi sadyo himātapābhyām iva vipramuktaḥ ||

17.67 Nothing is dear to me, nor offensive to me. There is no liking in me, much less disliking.
In the absence of those two, I am enjoying the moment, like one immune to cold and heat

mahābhayāt kṣemam ivopalabhya mahāvarodhād iva vipramokṣam |
mahārṇavāt pāram ivāplavaḥ san bhīmāndhakārād iva ca prakāśam ||

17.68 Like gaining safety after great danger; like gaining release after long imprisonment;
Like having no boat and yet gaining the far shore, after a mighty deluge; and like gaining clarity, after fearful darkness;

rogād ivārogyam asahyarūpād ṛṇād ivānṛṇyam anantasaṃkhyāt |
dviṣatsakāśad iva cāpayānaṃ durchikṣayogāc ca yathā subhikṣam ||

17.69 Like gaining health out of incurable illness, relief from immeasurable debt,
Or escape from an enemy presence; or like gaining, after a famine, plentiful food:

tadvat parāṃ śāntim upāgato ’haṃ yasyānubhāvena vināyakasya |
karomi bḥūyaḥ punar uktam asmai namo namo ’rhāya tathāgatāya ||

17.70 Thus have I come to utmost quiet, through the [quieting] influence of the teacher.
Again and repeatedly I do homage to him: Homage, homage to the Worthy One, the Realised One!

yenāhaṃ girim upanīya rukmaśṛṅgaṃ svargaṃ ca plavagavadhūnidarśanena |
kāmātmā tridivacarībhir aṅganābhir niṣkṛṣṭo yuvatimaye kalau nimagnaḥ ||

17.71 By him I was taken to the golden-peaked mountain, and to heaven, where, with the example of the she-monkey,
And by means of the women who wander the triple heaven, I who was a slave to love, sunk in girl-filled strife, was lifted up and out.

tasmāc ca vyasanaparād anarthapaṅkād utkṛṣya kramaśithilaḥ karīva paṅkāt |
śānte ’smin virajasi vijvare viśoke saddharme vitamasi naiṣṭhike vimuktaḥ ||

17.72 From that extreme predicament, from that worthless mire, up he dragged me, like a feeble-footed elephant from the mud,
To be released into this quieted, dustless, feverless, sorrowless, ultimate true reality, which is free from darkness.

taṃ vande param anukampakaṃ maharṣiṃ mūrdhnāhaṃ prakṛtiguṇajñam āśayajñam |
saṃbuddhaṃ daśabalinaṃ bhiṣakpradhānaṃ trātāraṃ punar api cāsmi saṃnatas tam ||

17.73 I salute the great supremely compassionate Seer, bowing my head to him, the knower of types, the knower of hearts,
The fully awakened one, the holder of the ten powers, the best of healers, the deliverer: again, I bow to him.

saundaranande mahākāvye ’mṛtādhigamo nāma saptadaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 17th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Obtaining the Deathless Nectar.”

atha dvijo bāla ivāptavedaḥ kṣipraṃ vaṇik prāpta ivāptalābhaḥ |
jitvā ca rājanya ivārsainyaṃ nandaḥ kṛtārtho gurum abhyagacchat ||

18.1 And so like a young initiate who mastered the Vedas, like a trader who turned a quick profit,
Or like a royal warrior who conquered a hostile army, a success, Nanda approached the Guru.

draṣṭuṃ sukhaṃ jñānasamāptikāle gurur hi śiṣyasya guroś ca śiṣyaḥ |
pariśramas te saphalo mayīti yato didṛkṣāsya munau babhūva ||

18.2 For it is pleasant, at a time when wisdom has been fully realized, for teacher to see student, and for student to see teacher,
[Each thinking], “Your toil has rewarded me”; for which same reason the wish to see [Nanda] arose in the Sage.

yato hi yenādhigato viśeṣas tasyottamāṅge ’rhati kartumiḍyām |
āryaḥ sarāgo ’pi kṛtajñabhāvāt prakṣīṇamānaḥ kimu vītarāgaḥ ||

18.3 Thus is a noble person obliged to pay respect, to his face, to the one through whom he has acquired distinction.
Even a noble person who retains the taint of redness is so obliged, out of gratitude: How much more is one with no red taint, all pride having perished?

yasyārthakāmaprabhavā hi bhaktis tato ’sya sā tiṣṭhati rūḍhamūlā |
dharmānvayo yasya tu bhaktirāgas tasya prasādo hṛdayāvagāḍhaḥ ||

18.4 For when devotion springs from an agenda or desire, there it remains rooted;
But when a person has love and devotion for dharma, that person is steeped to the core in tranquillity.

kāṣāyavāsāḥ kanakāvadātas tataḥ sa mūrdhnā gurave praṇeme |
vāteritaḥ pallavatāmrarāgaḥ puṣpojjvalaśrīr iva karṇikāraḥ ||

18.5 And so, a glowing gold in his yellow-red robe, he bowed his head to the Guru
Like a karnikāra tree, with an outburst of ruddy shoots, and a glorious blaze of flowers, nodding in the wind.

athātmanaḥ śiṣyaguṇasya caiva mahāmuneḥ śāstṛguṇasya caiva |
saṃdarśanārthaṃ sa na mānahetoḥ svāṃ kāryasiddhiṃ kathayāṃ babhūva ||

18.6 Then, as a manifestation of his individual merit as a student and, indeed, of the great Sage’s merit as a teacher,
And not out of pride, he described his own accomplishment of the work that has to be done:

yā dṛṣṭiśalyo hṛdayāvagāḍhaḥ prabho bhṛśaṃ mām atudat sutīkṣṇaḥ |
tvadvākyasaṃdaṃśamukhena me sa samuddhṛtaḥ śalyahṛteva śalyaḥ ||

18.7 “The splinter of a view, that had penetrated to my core, O Mighty One, was paining me intensely, being very sharp;
Via the jaws of the pincers of your words – by means of a means and by way of a mouth – it was pulled out of me, as a splinter is removed by a surgeon.

kathaṅkathābhāvagato ’smi yena chinnaḥ sa niḥsaṃśaya saṃśayo me |
tvacchāsanāt satpatham āgato ’smi sudeśikasyeva pathi pranaṣṭaḥ ||

18.8 A doubt, by which I fell into a state of hesitant questioning, O One Beyond Doubt, has been eradicated in me –
Through your teaching I have arrived at a true path like a straggler, under a good guide, getting on the road.

yat pītam āsvādavaśendriyeṇa darpeṇa kandarpaviṣaṃ mayāsīt |
tan me hataṃ tvadvacanāgadena viṣaṃ vināśīva mahāgadena ||

18.9 With senses ruled by relishing, I madly drank the drug of love;
Its action was blocked in me by the antidote of your words, as a deadly poison is by a great remedy.

kṣayaṃ gataṃ janma nirastajanman saddharmacaryām uṣito ’smi samyak |
kṛtsnaṃ kṛtaṃ me kṛtakārya kāryaṃ lokeṣu bhūto ’smi na lokadharmā ||

18.10 Rebirth is over, O Refuter of Rebirth! I am dwelling as one with observance of true dharma.
What was for me to do, O Doer of the Necessary! is totally done. I am present in the world without being of the world.

maitrīstanīṃ vyañjanacārusāsnāṃ saddharmadugdhāṃ pratibhānaśṛṅgām |
tavāsmi gāṃ sādhu nipīya tṛptas tṛṣeva gām uttamavatsavarṇaḥ ||

18.11 Having drunk from the milk-cow of your voice, whose udder is loving-kindness, whose lovely dewlap is figures of speech, who is milked for true dharma, and whose horns are boldness of expression,
I am properly satisfied, O Most Excellent One, like a little calf that, because of thirst, has drunk milk.

yat paśyataś cādhigamo mamāyaṃ tan me samāsena mune nibodha |
sarvajña kāmaṃ viditam tavaitat svaṃ tūpacarāṃ pravivakṣur asmi ||

18.12 And so, O Sage, hear from me in brief what, through seeing, I have made my own.
Though you know it anyway, O All-knowing One, still I wish to mention how I have worked on myself.

anye ’pi santo vimumukṣavo hi śrutva vimokṣāya nayaṃ parasya |
muktasya rogād iva rogavantas tenaiva mārgeṇa sukhaṃ ghaṭānte ||

18.13 For true freedom-loving people (however individual they are) when they hear of another person’s plan that led to freedom
Will happily work at [freedom] via that same path, like sick men [hearing the plan] of one who became free from a disease.

urvyādikān janmani vedmi dhātūn nātmānam urvyādiṣu teṣu kiṃ cit |
yasmād atas teṣu na me ’sti saktir bahiś ca kāyena samā matir me ||

18.14 In a birth, I perceive earth and the other elements, but in earth and those other elements, I perceive no self at all.
On that basis, there is no attachment in me to those elements; my orientation is equal with regard to my body and outside.

skandhāṃś ca rūpaprabhṛtīn daśārdhān paśyāmi yasmāc capalān asārān |
anātmakāṃś caiva vadhātmakāṃś ca tasmād vimukto ’smy aśivebhya ebhyaḥ ||

18.15 Again, the five skandhas, beginning with the organized body, I see to be inconstant and without substance,
As well as unreal and life-negating; therefore I am free from those pernicious [constructs].

yasmāc ca paśyāmy udayaṃ vyayaṃ ca sarvāsv avasthāsv aham indriyāṇām |
tasmād anityeṣu nirātmakeṣu duḥkheṣu me teṣv api nāsti saṃgaḥ ||

18.16 Since I see for myself an arising and a vanishing in all situations in the realms of the senses,
Therefore, again, there is in me no clinging to those [aforementioned elements] which are impermanent, impersonal, and unsatisfactory.

yataś ca lokaṃ samajanmaniṣṭhaṃ paśyāmi niḥsāram asac ca sarvam |
ato dhiyā me manasā vibaddham asmīti me neñjitam asti yena ||

18.17 Again, on the grounds that I see the whole world as emerging and in the same moment passing away, as having no essential meaning and not being as it ought to be,
On these grounds, because of meditation, [the world] is bound fast by my mind in such a way that there is no flicker in me of ‘I am.’

caturvidhe naikavidhaprasaṃge yato ’ham āhāravaidhāv asaktaḥ |
amūrchitaś cāgrathitaś ca tatra tribhyo vimukto ’smi tato bhavebhyaḥ ||

18.18 There is all manner of indulging in the four sorts of food, but since I am not attached to how I take food,
Since when it comes to food I am not congealed or trussed up, I am free, on that score, from three kinds of becoming.

aniśritaś cāpratibaddhacitto dṛṣṭaśutādau vyavahāradharme |
yasmāt samātmānugataś ca tatra tasmād visaṃyogagato ’smi muktaḥ ||

18.19 In the daily round of dharma-practice since I am neither certain about nor bound in mind to visual, auditory and other kinds of perception,
And since through that [dharma-round] I am graced by trailing equanimity, on that account I am detached and am free.”

ity evam uktvā gurubāhumānyāt sarveṇa kāyena sa gāṃ nipannaḥ |
praverito lohitacandanākto haimo mahāstambha ivābhāse ||

18.20 After speaking thus, he prostrated himself on the ground with his whole body, out of deep appreciation for the Guru;
He looked like a great fallen column of gold tinged with red sandalwood.

tataḥ pramādāt prasṛtasya pūrvaṃ śrutvā dhṛtiṃ vyākaraṇaṃ ca tasya |
dharmānvayaṃ cānugataṃ prasādaṃ meghasvaras taṃ munir ābabhāṣe ||

18.21 Then, after listening to him who had emerged already out of heedlessness, after hearing his firmness and his testimony
And a clarity consistent with the gist of dharma, the Sage boomed at him like a thundercloud:

uttiṣṭha dharme sthita śiṣyajuṣṭe kiṃ pādayor me patito ’si mūrdhnā |
abhyarcanaṃ me na tathā praṇāmo dharme yathaiṣā pratipattir eva ||

18.22 “You who stands firm in the dharma which is loved by those who study it, stand up! Why are you fallen with your head at my feet?
The prostration does not honour me so much as this surefootedness in the dharma.

adyāsi supravrajito jitātmann aiśvaryam apy ātmani yena labdham |
jitātmanaḥ pravrajanaṃ hi sādhu calātmano na tv ajitendriyasya ||

18.23 Today, conqueror of yourself, you have truly gone forth, since you have thereby gained sovereignty over yourself.
For in a person who has conquered himself, going forth has worked; whereas in an impulsive person whose senses remain unconquered, it has not.

adyāsi śaucena pareṇa yukto vākkāyacetāṃsi śucīni yat te |
ataḥ punaś cāprayatām asaumyāṃ yat saumya no vekṣyasi garbhaśayyām ||

18.24 Today you are possessed of purity of the highest order, in that your voice, body, and mind are untainted,
And in that, henceforward, my gentle friend, you will not again be confined in the ungentle womb of unready slumber.

adyārthavat te śrutavac chrutaṃ tac chrutānurūpaṃ pratipadya dharmam |
kṛtaśruto vipratipadyamāno nindyo hi nirvīrya ivāttaśastraḥ ||

18.25 Listening [ears open] to the [truth] which is replete with listening, and with purpose, today you stand surefooted in the dharma, in a manner that befits the listening tradition.
For a man equipped with listening [ears] who is wavering is like a swordsman lacking valour: he is worthy of blame.

aho dhṛtis te ’viṣayātmakasya yat tvaṃ matiṃ mokṣavidhāv akārṣīḥ |
yāsyāmi niṣṭhām iti bāliśo hi janmakṣayāt trāsam ihābhyupaiti ||

18.26 Ah! What firmness in you, who is a slave to objects no more, in that you have willed the means of liberation.
For, facing the end of existence in this world and thinking ‘I will be finished,’ it is a fool who gives in to a state of quivering anxiety.

diṣṭyā durāpaḥ kṣaṇasaṃnipāto nāyaṃ kṛto mohavaśena moghaḥ |
udeti duḥkhena gato hy adhastāt kūrmo yugacchidra ivārñavasthaḥ ||

18.27 Happily, this meeting with the present moment, which is so hard to come by, is not being wasted under the sway of ignorance.
For a man who has been down goes up with difficulty, like a turtle to a hole in a yoke, in the foaming sea.

nirjitya māraṃ yudhi durnivāram adyāsi loke raṇaśīrṣūraḥ |
śūro ’py āsūraḥ sa hi veditavyo doṣair amitrair iva hanyate yaḥ ||

18.28 Having conquered Māra, who is so hard to stop in battle, today, at the forefront of the fight, you are a hero among men.
For even a hero is not recognized as a hero who is beaten by the foe-like faults.

nirvāpya rāgāgnim udīrṇam adya diṣṭyā sukhaṁ svapsyasi vītadāhaḥ |
duḥkhaṃ hi śete śayane ’py udāre kleśāgninā cetasi dhayamānaḥ ||

18.29 Today, having extinguished the flaming fire of redness, happily, you will sleep well, free of fever.
For even on a fabulous bed he sleeps badly who is being burned in his mind by the fires of affliction.

abhyucchrito dravyamadena pūrvam adyāsi tṛṣnoparamāt samṛddhaḥ |
yāvat satarṣaḥ puruṣo hi loke tāvat samṛddho ’pi sadā daridraḥ ||

18.30 You used markedly to be mad about possessions; today, because you have stopped thirsting, you are rich.
For as long as a man in the world thirsts, however rich he may be, he is always deprived.

adyāpadeṣṭuṃ tava yuktarūpaṃ śuddhodhano me nṛpatiḥ piteti |
bhraṣṭasya dharmāt pitṛbhir nipātād aślāghaniyo hi kulāpadeśaḥ ||

18.31 Today you may fittingly proclaim that King Śuddhodana is your father.
For it is not commendable for a backslider, after falling from the dharma alighted on by ancestors, to proclaim his lineage.

diṣṭyāsi śāntiṃ paramām upeto nistīrṇakāntāra ivāptasāraḥ |
sarvo hi saṃsāragato bhayārto yathaiva kāntāragatas tathaiva ||

18.32 How great it is that you have reached the deepest tranquillity, like a man making it through a wasteland and gaining possession of treasure.
For everybody in the flux of saṁsāra is afflicted by fear, just like a man in a wasteland.

āraṇyakaṃ kbhaikṣacaraṃ vinītaṃ dkraṣyāmi nandaṃ nibhṛtaṃ kadeti |
āsīt purastāt tvayi me didṛkṣā tathāsi diṣṭyā mama darśanīyaḥ ||

18.33 ‘When shall I see Nanda settled, given over to the living of a forest beggar’s life?’,
So thinking, I had harboured from the start the desire to see you thus. What a wonderful sight you are for me to behold!

bhavaty arūpo ’pi hi darśanīyaḥ svalaṅkṛtaḥ śreṣṭhatamair guṇaiḥ svaiḥ |
doṣaiḥ parīto malinīkarais tu sudarśanīyo ’pi virūpa eva ||

18.34 For even an unlovely sort is a sight to behold when he is well-adorned with his own best features.
But a man who is full of the befouling faults, strikingly beautiful man though he may be, is truly ugly.

adya prakṛṣtā tava buddhimattā kṛtsnaṃ yayā te kṛtam ātmakāryam |
śrutonnatasyāpi hi nāsti buddhir notpadyate śreyasi yasya buddhiḥ ||

18.35 Developed in you today is the real wisdom by which you have done, totally, the work you had to do on yourself.
For even a highly educated man lacks wisdom, if wisdom fails to show in his practice of a better way.

unmīlitasyāpi janasya madhye nimīlitasyāpi tathaiva cakṣuḥ |
prajñāmayaṃ yasya hi nāsti cakṣuś cakṣur na tasyāsti sacakṣuṣo ’pi ||

18.36 So it is with seeing, among people with eyes open and with eyes closed.
For when a man lacks sight that is packed with intuition, though he has eyes, the Eye is not present in him.

duḥkhapratīkāranimittam ārtaḥ kṛṣyādibhiḥ khedam upaiti lokaḥ |
ajasram āgacchati tac ca bhūyo jñānena yasyādya kṛtas tvayāntaḥ ||

18.37 Struck by calamity, stung to do something to combat suffering, the world exhausts itself with work like ploughing;
And yet it is ceaselessly revisited by that [suffering], to which, using what you know, you today have put an end.

duḥkhaṃ na me syāt sukham eva me syād iti pravṛttaḥ stataṃ hi lokaḥ |
na vetti tac caiva tathā yathā syāt prāptaṃ tvayādyāsulabhaṃ yatāvat ||

18.38 People in the world are impelled ever forward by thinking ‘There might be for me no hardship, just happiness....’
And yet [the world] does not know a means whereby that [happiness] might come to be – that rarely attained [happiness] which you today have properly realized.”

ity evamādi sthirabuddhicittas tathāgatenābhihito hitāya |
staveṣu nindāsu ca nirvyapekṣaḥ kṛtāñjalir vākyam uvāca nandaḥ ||

18.39 While the Tathāgata told him this and more for his benefit Nanda remained firm in his judgement and thinking
And was indifferent to plaudits or criticisms. With hands joined, he spoke these words:

aho viśeṣeṇa viṣeṣadarśiṃs tvayānukampā mayi darṣiteyam |
yat kāmapaṇke bhagavan nimagnas trāto ’smi saṃsārabhayād akāmaḥ ||

18.40 “Oh, how particular, O Seer of Particularities, is this compassion that you have shown to me!
Since I who was sunk, Glorious One, in the mire of love have been a reluctant refugee from the terror of saṁsāra.

bhrātrā tvayā śreyasi daiśikena pitrā phalasthena tataiva mātrā |
hato ’bhaviṣyaṃ yadi na vyamokṣyaṃ sārthāt paribhraṣṭa ivākṛtārthaḥ ||

18.41 If not set free by you, a brother, a guide along a better way, a fruitful father, and equally a mother,
I would be done for; like a straggler dropped from a caravan, I would not have made it.

śāntasya tuṣṭasya sukho viveko vijñātattvasya parīkṣakasya |
prahīṇamānasya ca nirmadasya sukhaṃ virāgatvam asaktabuddheḥ ||

18.42 Solitude is sweet for one who is calm and contented, who looks into and has learned what is.
Again, for one who is sober and shorn of conceits, for one who is detached in his decision-making, dispassion is a pleasure.

ato hi tattvaṃ parigamya samyañ nirdhūya doṣān adhigamya śāntim |
svaṃ nāśrayaṃ saṃprati cintayāmi na taṃ janaṃ nāpsaraso na devān ||

18.43 And so, through squarely realising what is, through shaking off faults and coming to quiet,
I worry now neither about my own place, nor about the person there, nor about apsarases, nor about gods.

idaṃ hi bhuktvā suci śāmikaṃ sukhaṃ na me manaḥ kāṃṣati kāmjaṃ sukham |
mahārham apy annam adaivāhṛtaṃ divaukaso bhuktavataḥ sudhām iva ||

18.44 For now that I have tasted this pure, peaceful happiness, my mind no longer hankers after happiness born of desires –
Just as the costliest earthly fare [cannot entice] a god who has supped the heavenly nectar.

aho ’ndhavijñānanimīlitaṃ jagat paṭāntare paśyati nottamaṃ sukham |
sudhīram adhyātmasukhaṃ vyapāsya hi śramaṃ tathā kāmasukhārtham ṛcchati ||

18.45 Alas, the world has its eyes closed by blind unconsciousness; it does not see utmost happiness in a different robe.
Flinging away lasting inner happiness, it exhausts itself so, in pursuit of sensual happiness.

yathā hi ratnākaram etya durmatir vihāya ratnāny asato maṇin haret |
apāsya saṃbodhisukhaṃ tathottamaṃ śramaṃ vrajet kāmasukhopaabdhaye ||

18.46 For just as a fool, having made it to a jewel mine, might leave the jewels and carry off inferior crystals,
So would one reject the highest happiness of full awakening and struggle to gain sensual gratification.

aho hi satteṣv atimaitracetasas tathāgatasyānujighṛkṣutā parā |
apāsya yad dhyānasukhaṃ mune paraṃ parasya duḥkhoparamāya khidyase ||

18.47 Oh! high indeed, then, is the order of that desire to favour living beings which the Tathāgata has, overflowing with benevolence:
Since, O Sage, you throw away the highest-order happiness of meditation and are consumed by your effort to stop others suffering.

mayā na śakyaṃ pratikartum adya kiṃ gurau hitaiṣiṇy anukampake tvayi |
samuddhṛto yena bhavārṇavād ahaṃ mahārṇavāc cūrṇitanaur ivormibhiḥ ||

18.48 How today could I possibly repay you, my compassionate Guru whose desire is others’ welfare,
By whom I was taken totally up and out of the foaming sea of becoming, like a man out of a great ocean when his boat is being battered by waves?”

tato munis tasya niśamya hetumat prahīṇasarvāsravasūcakaṃ vacaḥ |
idaṃ babhāṣe vadatām anuttamo yad arhati śrīghana eva bhāṣitum ||

18.49 Then the Sage, hearing his well-founded words which signified the removal of all pollutants,
Voiced, as the Very Best of Speakers, these lines that none but a buddha, being ‘Sheer Radiance,’ should voice:

idaṃ kṛtārthaḥ paramārthavit kṛtī tvam eva dhīmann abhidhātum arhasi |
atītya kāntāram avāptasādhanaḥ sudaiśikasyeva kṛtaṃ mahāvaṇik ||

18.50 “As a man of action who got the job done and who knows the primary task, none but you, O crafty man!, should express this affirmation –
Like a great trader, having crossed a wasteland and got the goods, who affirms the work of a good guide.

avaiti buddhaṃ naradamyasārthiṃ kṛtī yathārhann upśāntamānasaḥ |
na dṛṣṭasatyo ’pi tathāvabudhyate pṛthagjanaḥ kiṃ bata buddhimān api ||

18.51 An arhat, a man of action whose mind has come to quiet, knows the Buddha as a charioteer of human steeds who needed taming:
Not even a truth-seer appreciates the Buddha in this manner: how much less does an ordinary person, however intelligent he may be?

rajastamobhyāṃ parimuktacetasas tavaiva ceyaṃ sadṛsī kṛtajñatā |
rajaḥprakarṣeṇa jagaty avasthite kṛtajñabhāvo hi kṛtajña durlabhaḥ ||

18.52 This gratitude is fitting, again, in none but you whose mind has been liberated from the dust of the passions and from darkness.
For while dust prevails in the world, O man of gratitude! real gratitude is a rare state of being.

ato ’sti bhūyas tvayi me vivakṣitaṃ nato hi bhaktaś ca niyogam arhasi ||

18.53 O possessor of dharma! Since, because of abiding by dharma, you have skill in making it your own and quiet confidence in me,
I have something else to say to you. For you are surrendered and devoted, and up to the task.

avāptakāryo ’si parāṃ gatiṃ gato na te ’sti kiṃ cit karaṇīyam aṇv api |
ataḥparaṃ saumya carānukampayā vimokṣayan kṛcchragatān parān api ||

18.54 Walking the transcendent walk, you have done the work that needed to be done: in you, there is not the slightest thing left to work on.
From now on, my friend, go with compassion, freeing up others who are pulled down into their troubles.

ihārtham evārabhate naro ’dhamo vimadhyamas tūbhayalaukikīṃ kriyām |
kriyām amutraiva phalāya madhyamo viśiṣṭadharmā punar apravṛttaye ||

18.55 The lowest sort of man only ever sets to work for an object in this world. But a man in the middle does work both for this world and for the world to come.
A man in the middle, I repeat, works for a result in the future. The superior type, however, tends towards abstention from positive action.

ihottamebhyo ’pi mataḥ sa tūttamo ya uttamaṃ dharmam avāpya naiṣṭhikam |
acintayitvātmagataṃ pariśramaṃ śamaṃ parebhyo ’py upadeṣṭum icchati ||

18.56 But deemed to be higher than the highest in this world is he who, having realized the supreme ultimate dharma,
Desires, without worrying about the trouble to himself, to teach tranquillity to others.

vihāya tasmād iha kāryam ātmanaḥ kuru sthirātman parakāryam apy atho |
bhramatsu sattveṣu tamovṛtātmasu śrutapradīpo niśi dhāryatām ayam ||

18.57 Therefore forgetting the work that needs to be done in this world on the self, do now, stout soul, what can be done for others.
Among beings who are wandering in the night, their minds shrouded in darkness, let the lamp of this transmission be carried.

bravītu tāvat puri vismito janas tvayi sthite kurvati dharmadeśanāḥ |
aho batāścaryam idaṃ vimuktaye karoti rāgī yad ayam kathām iti ||

18.58 Just let the astonished people in the city say, while you are standing firm, voicing dharma-directions,
‘Well! What a wonder this is, that he who was a man of passion is preaching liberation!’

dhruvaṃ hi saṃśrutya tava sthiraṃ mano nivṛttanānāviṣayair manorathaiḥ |
vadhūr gṛhe sāpi tavānukurvatī kariṣyate strīṣu virāgiṇīḥ kathāḥ ||

18.59 Then, surely, when she hears of your steadfast mind with its chariots turned back from sundry objects,
Your wife following your example will also talk, to women at home, the talk of dispassion.

tvayi paramadhṛtau niviṣṭatattve bhavanagatā na hi raṃsyate dhruvaṃ sā |
manasi śamadamātmaike vivikte matir iva kāmasukhaiḥ parīkṣakasya ||

18.60 For, with you showing constancy of the highest order, as you get to the bottom of what is, she surely will not enjoy life in the palace,
Just as the mind of an enlightened man does not enjoy sensual pleasures when his mental state is tranquil and controlled, and his thinking is detached and distinct.”

ity arhataḥ paramakāruṇikasya śāstur mūrdhnā vacaś ca caraṇau ca samaṃ gṛhītvā |
svasthaḥ praśāntahṛdayo vinivṛttakāryaḥ pārśvān muneḥ pratiyayau vimadaḥ karīva ||

18.61 Thus spoke the Worthy One, the instructor whose compassion was of the highest order,
Whose words and equally whose feet [Nanda] had accepted, using his head;
Then, at ease in himself, his heart at peace, his task ended,
He left the Sage’s side like an elephant free of rut.

bhikṣarthaṃ samaye viveśa sa puraṃ dṛṣṭīr janasyākṣipan lābhālābhasukhāsukhādiṣu samaḥ svasthendriyo niḥspṛhaḥ |
nirmokṣāya cakāra tatra ca kathāṃ kāle janāyārthine naivonmārgagatān parān paribhavan nātmānam utkarṣayan ||

18.62 When the occasion arose he entered the town for begging and attracted the citizens’ gaze;
Being impartial towards gain, loss, comfort, discomfort, and the like and with his senses composed, he was free of longing;
And being there, in the moment, he talked of liberation to people so inclined –
Never putting down others on a wrong path or raising himself up.

ity eṣā vyupaśāntaye na rataye mokṣārthagarbhā kṛtiḥ śrotṝṇāṃ grahaṇārtham anyamanasāṃ kāvyopacārāt kṛtā |
yan mokṣāt kṛtam anyad atra hi mayā tat kāvyadharmāt kṛtaṃ pātuṃ tiktam ivauṣadhaṃ madhuyutaṃ hṛdyaṃ kathaṃ syād iti ||

18.63 This work is pregnant with the purpose of release: it is for cessation, not for titillation;
It is wrought out of the figurative expression of kāvya poetry in order to capture an audience whose minds are on other things –
For what I have written here not pertaining to liberation, I have written in accordance with the conventions of kāvya poetry.
This is through asking myself how the bitter pill might be made pleasant to swallow, like bitter medicine mixed with something sweet.

prāyeṇālokya lokaṃ viṣayaratiparaṃ mo kṣāt pratihataṃ kāvyavājena tattvaṃ kathitam iha mayā mokṣaḥ param iti |
tad buddhvā śāmikaṃ yat tad avahitam ito grāhyaṃ na lalitaṃ pāṃsubhyo dhātujebhyo niyatam upakaraṃ cāmīkaram iti ||

18.64 Seeing, in general, that the world is moved primarily by fondness for objects and is repelled by liberation,
I for whom liberation is paramount have told it here like it is, using a kāvya poem as a pretext.
Being aware of the deceit, take from this [verb-rooted dust] what pertains to peace and not to idle pleasure.
Then elemental dust, assuredly, shall yield up abundant gold.

saundaranande mahākāvya ājñāvyākaraṇo nāmāṣṭādaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 18th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Knowing & Affirming."

āryasuvarṇākṣīputrasya sāketakasya bhikṣor ācāryabhadantāśvaghoṣasya mahākaver mahāvādinaḥ kṛtir iyam ||

This is the work of a beggar, the respected teacher Aśvaghoṣa of Saketa, son of the noble Suvarṇākṣī, crafter of epic poetry and talker of the great talk.

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