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Aśvaghoṣa: Saundarananda

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ā ī ū ṛ ṝ ḷ
ḹ ’ ṃ ḥ ṅ ñ
ṭ ḍ ṇ ṣ ś ź
š č ǰ γ    
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Aśvaghoṣa: Saundarananda
    Click to Expand/Collapse Option Complete text
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO I: Kapilavāstuvarṇana
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO II: Rājavarṇana
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO III: Tathāgatavarṇana
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO IV: Bhāryāyācitaka
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO V: Nandapravrājana
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO VI: Bhāryāvilāpa
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO VII: Nandivilāpa
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO VIII: Strīvighāta
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO IX: Madāpavāda
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO X: Svarganidarśana
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XI: Svargāpavāda
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XII: Paryavamarśa
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XIII: Śīlendriyajaya
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XIV: Ādiprasthāno
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XV: Vitarkaprahāṇa
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XVI: Āryasatyavyākhyāna
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XVII: Amṛtādhigama
Click to Expand/Collapse OptionCANTO XVIII: Ājñāvyākaraṇa
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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.” 
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Enhet: Det humanistiske fakultet   Utviklet av: IT-seksjonen ved HF
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