Bibliotheca Polyglotta

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.”

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