Bibliotheca Polyglotta

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.”

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