Passage 1
सुन्दरं नाम राजन्यकुमारं रामसुन्दरम्। वीक्ष्य तास्तुष्टुवुः सर्वा गोप्यो विरहविह्वलाः॥१॥
“Seeing the handsome prince named Sundara—beautiful like Rāma—all the cowherd women, overwhelmed by separation, began to praise him.
Passage 2
तस्यालापपटोः साक्षाद्रामभक्तस्य वर्ष्मणा। स्निग्धश्यामावदातेन गोप्यो रामं सुसस्मरुः॥२॥
“The cowherd women vividly remembered Rāma through the gracious, dark, radiant form of that skilled speaker, who was himself a devotee of Rāma.
Passage 3
तं संदेशहरं ज्ञात्वा रामारामाः शुचिस्मिताः। रामं विषयमालक्ष्य प्रोचुर्वचनमादरात्॥३॥
“Knowing him to be a bearer of messages, those pure-smiling women whose joy was Rāma perceived that Rāma was his subject and addressed him respectfully. The cowherd women said:
Passage 4
कुवलयवनबन्धो निर्गतं संमतं ते कृतवधमबलानां चोचितं तारकेश। प्रतिदिनविकलङ्क प्रीतये संप्रविश्याच्- चरमदिशि ततायां दुष्टतां नाभ्युपैषि॥४॥
“O friend of the blue-lotus grove, O spotless lord of the stars, your going forth is approved—and the slaying of helpless women is surely fitting for you! Entering the outspread western quarter each day for delight, you do not suppose that you incur any wickedness.
Passage 5
अनुल्लङ्घ्यमसहत्वं मार्दवं नः शरीरे तदुभयमपि युष्मन्मानसे राम नास्ति। प्रणतिरपि विहन्त्री प्रीतिसंप्राणनस्य प्रियमुखपरिदर्शोऽप्यस्ति नो तद्विशेषः॥५॥
“Our bodies possess an insurmountable inability to endure and great tenderness, Rāma, but neither quality is present in your heart. Even a bow of submission destroys the very life of love; nor, for us, is merely seeing the beloved’s face any different.
Passage 6
निगम इति वचस्ते श्रव्यमाचम्य कान्त श्रवणकसुपुटाभ्यां तथ्यपथ्यं सुधाक्तम्। तदपि यदि विषं स्यात् साधुवादस्य देशे किमु पतितमरिष्टं नैव तिष्ठेत् त्वया तत्॥६॥
“Beloved, your speech is Veda: with the twin cups of our ears we have sipped its true, wholesome words anointed with nectar. If even that becomes poison in the realm of noble speech, what calamity could fall there and not remain because of you?
Passage 7
स्मृतिपरिचरणाभ्यां ध्यानसंकीर्तनाभ्यां श्रवणनिगमनाभ्यां भक्तिसंसेवनाभ्याम्। परिणमसि बहूनां क्षिप्रमेव प्रसह्य क्षिपसि च दुरदृष्टं कालरूपं च विघ्नम्॥७॥
“Through remembrance and attendance, meditation and chanting, hearing and assimilation, devotion and loving service, you swiftly manifest for many and powerfully cast away misfortune and the obstacle that takes the form of Time.
Passage 8
वयमिह कुमुदिन्यस्त्वं कलानां निधिश्चेद् वससि कथमकस्मात् कालहालाहलौघम्। त्रिभुवनजनताया मङ्क्षु संजीविनी सा क्व नु खलु निहताङ्ग स्वात्मनः क्वापि वृत्तिः॥८॥
“We here are night lotuses, and you are the treasury of the moon’s rays; why, then, do you suddenly harbor a flood of the deadly poison of Time? That power of yours which quickly revives the people of all three worlds—where indeed, dear one, has that function of your own nature been slain?
Passage 9
अथ यदि दुरदृष्टं जायते नोऽन्तरायो वरद किमु न नाश्यं तत्त्वयाधोक्षजेन। अघतत्पशुपक्षिप्राणिनस्तांस्तिरश्चो विरचयसि विमुक्तिप्राज्यभाजः प्रभुस्त्वम्॥९॥
“If ill fortune has arisen as an obstacle to us, O giver of boons, can it not be destroyed by you, Adhokṣaja? You are the Lord who makes even sin-bound animals, birds, living creatures, and beasts recipients of abundant liberation.
Passage 10
रघुकुलजलधीशः पूर्ण एवासि नित्यं प्रकटयसि किमस्मास्वङ्ग वैकल्यमेवम्। स्थिरचरजनतायाः प्राणिनः साधु भूत्वा- प्यवकिरसि तमिश्रं मोहमूर्छादिमिश्रम्॥१०॥
“You are eternally full, the moon risen from the ocean of Raghu’s lineage; dear one, why do you display such deficiency only toward us? Though you are the benefactor of every moving and unmoving being, you scatter over us a darkness mixed with delusion, fainting, and more.
Passage 11
कुहकमिदमपूर्वं राघवेन्द्र त्वयीत्थं स्थगयति सकलं ते सान्तरं साधुवादम्। सरसमधुपरागोत्सौरभं केतकाङ्गे परित इव विलग्नः कण्टकोघः कठोरः॥११॥
“Rāghavendra, this unprecedented deceit of yours conceals all the goodness within you, like a hard mass of thorns clinging around the body of a ketakī flower fragrant with sweet honey and pollen.
Passage 12
त्वयि किमु वचनीयं लोचनानन्दहेतो- र्दिशि ननु चरमायामस्ति नोऽमर्ष एव। अमुमनुपमकीर्तिं स्वान्तराले दधाति द्रुतमखिलजनानां भूय आच्छिद्य दुःखम्॥१२॥
“What more can be said of you, the cause of delight to every eye? Toward your dwelling in the western quarter we have only wounded indignation. Yet your heart bears this matchless fame: again and again you swiftly cut away the sorrow of every person.
Passage 13
तव चरणसरोजैकाश्रयान् नित्यमस्मान् लुप्यसि विरहाग्निज्वालनैः किं हिमांशो। प्रकृतिरपि तवासौ कच्चिदन्तर्धिमागात् कलयसि किमु कच्चित् कौतुकवृत्तिमुग्राम्॥१३॥
“O moon, why do you consume us—who forever take sole refuge in your lotus feet—with the blazing flames of separation? Has that true nature of yours perhaps vanished, or are you enacting some fierce sport?
Passage 14
तुहिनकर तवोग्रा विधिलिपिः किं तु वाच्या वद दहनसदृक्षा स्माकमक्षद्रुमाणाम्। किरति यदि भवानेवामृतं रूपसारं परिगिलति तदा सा प्लोषिका शोषिका वा॥१४॥
“O maker of coolness, what can be said of the cruel decree fate has written for you? Tell us: is it like a fire among the trees of our eyes? If you pour out nectar itself, the essence of beauty, that scorching, withering fate swallows it at once.
Passage 15
यदि तव करुणार्द्रा चित्तवृत्तिः सखेऽस्ति द्रुतमवयवदाहं तत् सुनिर्वापय त्वम्। अथ यदि सुतरां चेन्निर्दयोऽपि प्रकाशं किमु भवसि प्रचण्डोऽस्मासु यद्धृतकृतान्तः॥१५॥
“Friend, if the disposition of your heart is softened by compassion, then quickly extinguish this burning of our limbs. But if you are utterly merciless, why do you reveal yourself among us so fiercely, as though you had assumed the form of Death?
Passage 16
सुत इह सुखितस्य त्वं च माङ्गल्यकाया दशरथमुपगं चेद्यासि कौशल्यकां च। अनुभवसि पृथिव्यां भूरिसाम्राज्यसौख्यं पशुरपि न सहेत कः स्वप्रियस्य प्रभावम्॥१६॥
“Here you are the son of Sukhita and Māṅgalyakā; if you go to Daśaratha and Kauśalyā, you will enjoy on earth the vast happiness of imperial sovereignty. Yet who—even an animal—could bear the overwhelming glory of one’s beloved?
Passage 17
त्रिभुवनमनुभावैः प्रीणयन् भासि शश्वद् विहर न कथमस्मानेव दुःखाकरोषि। यदसि शिशिरशोचिस्तत्कुले वासि जातः प्रमुदवनविधोस्ते किं न नित्यः स्वभावः॥१७॥
“You shine forever, delighting the three worlds with your powers; roam as you will, but why do you make only us sorrowful? Since you are cool-rayed and were born in that lineage, is the eternal nature of Pramoda-vana’s moon not truly yours?
Passage 18
इह मुदयति नोपालम्भनं त्वय्यनन्ते प्रभवति जगदीशे किंतु विज्ञापनं नः। तदखिलमवधार्यागम्यतां रामचन्द्र वनभुवमुरुदुःखद्रावितां सानुकम्प॥१८॥
“No reproach toward you, the Infinite Lord of the world, arises here; this is only our plea. Having understood it all, compassionate Rāmacandra, please come to this woodland ground, now dissolved in immense sorrow.”
Passage 19
इत्युदीर्य वचो गोप्यस्तूष्णीमासन् विलोचनैः। उदश्रैर्ज्ञापयन्त्यो वियोगस्योद्भवं हृदि॥१९॥
Having spoken these words, the cowherd women fell silent, their tear-filled eyes revealing the anguish of separation arisen within their hearts.
Passage 20
तासां विरहसंतापशान्त्यर्थं राजपुत्रकाः। सखायो रामचन्द्रस्य प्रोचुस्तत्त्वार्थवित्तराः॥२०॥
To quiet their torment of separation, the princes—Rāmacandra’s friends and profound knowers of truth—spoke.
Passage 21
भवतीमहिमानं वै अवाङ्मनसगोचरम्। भवन्त एव जानन्ति यूयं कान्ताप्रियश्च सः॥२१॥
“Your greatness lies beyond the reach of speech and mind. Only you yourselves know it—you, his beloveds, and he, your beloved.
Passage 22
साक्षात्पद्मालया यूयं रामो नारायणः स्वयम्। प्रभुणा कोऽपि संदेश उदितो वो व्रजाङ्गनाः॥२२॥
“You are directly the abodes of Lakṣmī, and Rāma is Nārāyaṇa himself. Women of Vraja, the Lord has spoken a message for you.
Passage 23
तच्छृण्वन्तु भवन्त्यो वै पीयूषशिशिराक्षरम्। मां वेद धर्मरक्षार्थमवतीर्णं स्वलोकतः॥२३॥
“Please hear its syllables, cool as nectar: ‘Know that I have descended from my own divine realm to protect dharma.
Passage 24
प्रमोदाख्याद्विजानीत तत्करिष्यामि वै द्रुतम्। हनिष्याम्यसुरस्तोमं स्थित्वा राज्यपदस्थितः॥२४॥
“‘Know that I come from the realm called Pramoda. I shall quickly accomplish that purpose: established in royal office, I shall destroy the hosts of demons.
Passage 25
ब्रह्मक्षत्रियविट्शूद्रान् वैष्णवान् स्वस्वभावतः। समुद्धरिष्ये सहसा कार्यमेतन्ममैव हि॥२५॥
“‘I shall swiftly uplift the Vaiṣṇavas among brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, each according to their own nature. This task is mine alone.
Passage 26
ततोऽहमागमिष्यामि व्रजभूमिं मनोहराम्। भवतीनां हरिष्यामि वियोगजनितां रुजम्॥२६॥
“‘Then I shall come to the enchanting land of Vraja and remove the pain born of your separation.
Passage 27
तावन्मदंशसंलीना यूयं स्थास्यथ गोपिकाः। इत्युवाच व्रजेशो वः कान्ताविश्लेषविह्वलः॥२७॥
“‘Until then, cowherd women, remain absorbed in my own portion.’ Thus your lord of Vraja spoke, himself overwhelmed by separation from his beloveds.
Passage 28
तद्यापयत तद्ध्यानात् कानिचिद्दिवसान्यलम्। ध्यानेनापि प्रभुर्ह्येष साक्षाद्भवति सेविनाम्। परमात्मा व्यापकात्मा प्रत्यग्ज्योतिः सनातनः॥२८॥
“Therefore pass these few days wholly in meditation upon him. Through meditation this Lord becomes directly present to those who serve him: he is the Supreme Self, the all-pervading Self, the eternal light within.” --- Thus ends the sixty-eighth chapter, entitled “The Hymn to Moonlight,” in the dialogue of Brahmā and Bhuśuṇḍa in the Śrīmad Ādi Rāmāyaṇa. Textual notes The chapter begins on source leaf 427, occupies leaves 427–430, and ends with its colophon on physical PDF page 431. All twenty-eight numbered passages were transcribed directly from the 1975 scan; archive OCR was used only as a locating and typing aid. The running head on printed page 299 prematurely reads “Chapter 69,” although verses 21–28 and the colophon plainly complete Chapter 68; Chapter 69 begins below that colophon. Passage 28 is a three-line printed unit under one source number and is retained as such. The difficult printed readings अघतत्… (9), इह मुदयति (18), and the compressed compounds in passages 4–15 are preserved conservatively; the English follows their contextual sense without silently substituting a different root text.