Bibliotheca Polyglotta

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.”

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