Passage 1
श्रीशुक उवाच— प्रत्यक्चितिः परानन्दा सहजानामशब्दिता। रामभक्तिः शुभगुणा न तां स्तोतुमहं क्षमः॥१॥
Śrī Śuka said: She is inward consciousness, supreme bliss, the one designated by the name Sahajā, auspicious Rāma-bhakti itself; I am not capable of praising her.
Passage 2
अनेकनामरूपात्मा स्वानन्दरसकेलिनी। चिन्मये परमे धाम्नि प्रमोदवनसंज्ञिनि॥२॥
Her being assumes countless names and forms, and she sports in the rasa of her own bliss within the supreme conscious realm called Pramodavana.
Passage 3
नानाभावमयैर्भोगैः क्रीडत्येषा दिवानिशम्। रामेण स्वानुकूलेन चिदानन्दाह्वयात्मना॥३॥
Day and night she plays through enjoyments filled with many devotional moods, together with Rāma, who is wholly favorable to her and whose nature is called conscious bliss.
Passage 4
अप्राकृतानुभावेन स्वरूपानन्दलीलया। सा कदाचिद्दधौ मानं रहःकेलीरसोदये॥४॥
Through a supramundane display in the play of her intrinsic bliss, she once assumed loving displeasure when the rasa of private sport arose.
Passage 5
क्रीडन्त्येव मनोरम्ये रसकुञ्जे रसात्मिका। अन्तर्दधे सखीलोकैः सार्धं लीलामनस्विनी॥५॥
Even as the embodiment of rasa played in the delightful rasa-grove, that playful-minded lady vanished together with her companions.
Passage 6
ततस्तद्विरहेणैव दूयमानहृदुन्मदः। छन्नो विरहजैर्भावैः सात्त्विकैश्च स्खलन्मनाः॥६॥
Tormented by separation from her, his heart maddened, his mind faltering, and his form covered by sāttvika transformations born of separation, Rāma could not compose himself.
Passage 7
चलितुं नाशकत्कुञ्जात्कृती स रसवित्तमः। सान्तर्धाय ततः कुञ्जाच्छ्रीनन्दनगृहेऽभवत्। राजिन्यां गोपतेर्वध्वां प्रसादसुमुखाकृतिः॥७॥
That consummate knower of rasa could not leave the grove. Concealing himself, he then appeared in Śrī Nandana's house, while she assumed a gracious and lovely form in Rājinī, the cowherd lord's wife. Janaka Asks About the Divine Cowherd Birth
Passage 8
जनक उवाच— कस्माच्छ्रीनन्दनगृहे सहजानन्दिनी गता। एषा खलु परालक्ष्मीः प्रत्यग्ज्योतिश्चिदात्मिका। एतं मे संशयं छिन्धि त्वं श्रीशुक महामुने॥८॥
Janaka said: Why did Sahajānandinī go to Śrī Nandana's house? She is indeed the supreme Lakṣmī, the inward light whose nature is consciousness. Great sage Śuka, dispel this doubt of mine.
Passage 9
अहो भाग्यं गोपवंश्यस्य तस्य श्रीनन्दस्य ग्रामवास्तोर्जनस्य। श्रीराजिन्याश्चैव मातुः परायास्तस्याः श्रीमदादिलक्ष्म्याः स्वयं वै॥९॥
Oh, how blessed was that cowherd-born Śrī Nandana, that village-dweller, and how blessed was her exalted mother Śrī Rājinī, for the glorious primal Lakṣmī herself became theirs!
Passage 10
किं ताभ्यां सुकृतं तादृक्कृतं लोकोत्तरं तपः। कर्म वा दुश्चरं किञ्चिद्येनेषा कन्यतां गता॥१०॥
What such merit did the two perform, what transcendent austerity or arduous deed, by which she became their daughter? Vivasvān and Prabhā Perform Austerity
Passage 11
श्रीशुक उवाच— विवस्वान् भगवान् देवः प्रभा चैव महामनाः। तौ दम्पती प्रचक्राते सहस्रं शरदां तपः॥११॥
Śrī Śuka said: The divine Vivasvān and noble-minded Prabhā were husband and wife. They performed austerity for a thousand years.
Passage 12
मन्दाकिन्यास्तटे शुद्धे सुमेरुशिखरोपरि। कल्पवृक्षवने रम्ये तस्थतुस्तौ तयोरतौ॥१२॥
Intent upon that practice, they remained on the pure bank of Mandākinī atop Mount Sumeru, in a delightful forest of wish-fulfilling trees.
Passage 13
अन्येन च स्वरूपेण भास्वन्मण्डलमूहतुः। तयोर्मण्डलवर्ती यो वैकुण्ठसदनेश्वरः॥१३॥
Through another form they sustained the solar orb. The Lord dwelling within that orb is the sovereign of the abode of Vaikuṇṭha.
Passage 14
लक्ष्मीनारायणो देवो युगलात्मा तडिद्घनः। तस्याप्यंशी परो देवः श्रीरामः सहजासखः। स एव भावितस्ताभ्यां योगयुक्तेन चेतसा॥१४॥
He is Lord Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, the united pair like lightning and cloud. Beyond him and the source even of him is Śrī Rāma, Sahajā's beloved. It was Rāma whom the two contemplated with minds absorbed in yoga. Janaka Asks How They Knew the Supreme Pair
Passage 15
जनक उवाच— ताभ्यां केनोपदिष्टौ वै श्रुत्यगोचरविग्रहौ। परौ श्रीसहजारामौ तडिद्घननिभाकृती॥१५॥
Janaka said: Who taught the two about the supreme Sahajā and Rāma, whose forms, like lightning and cloud, are inaccessible to the Vedas?
Passage 16
चिदानन्दघनं ब्रह्म प्रभाभूतं हि यत्तनोः। तदेव सहजारामयुग्ममित्थं त्वयोदितम्॥१६॥
You have said that the dense conscious bliss which shines as the radiance of their bodies is itself Brahman—the pair Sahajā and Rāma. Brahmā Teaches Vivasvān the Revelation of Rāma
Passage 17
श्रीशुक उवाच— स्वयंभूरेष भगवान् ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः। येन वेदः पुरा सृष्टः शब्दब्रह्ममयोऽखिलः॥१७॥
Śrī Śuka said: It was the self-born Lord Brahmā, the grandsire of the worlds, by whom the Veda, consisting entirely of Brahman as sound, was first brought forth.
Passage 18
स एव भगवानेतं ससर्ज लोकविस्तरम्। साक्षात्परम्पराभेदादेकोऽनेकश्च कारणम्॥१८॥
That Lord created this expanse of worlds. Because direct and mediated causation are not ultimately separate, he is one and many, and is the cause.
Passage 19
स एवाण्डं ससर्जेदमपायन्तः स्ववीर्यधृक्। तासु गर्भमभूद्भूयो ब्रह्माण्डं यदनन्तकम्॥१९॥
Bearing his own potency, he created this cosmic egg within the waters. From it arose as an embryo the immeasurable brahmāṇḍa.
Passage 20
ब्रह्माण्ड्यप्सु निहितमापस्तद्विश्वतेजसि। स वै विश्वतेजसो वह्निः संस्थितः परमानिले॥२०॥
The cosmic egg rests in the waters; those waters rest in the universal radiance; that fire of universal radiance is established in the supreme wind.
Passage 21
परमानिल आसीनः परमे व्योम्नि कार्यशः। एतद्विश्वत उद्भूतं महामनस उद्भवात्॥२१॥
The supreme wind rests functionally in the supreme ether. This cosmos arose from the manifestation of the cosmic mind.
Passage 22
तन्महाहंकृतौ व्याप्तं महा महति सा तता। महा महन्महामाया महाप्रकृतिसंज्ञके॥२२॥
That mind pervades the cosmic ego, which is spread through the great principle; the great principle abides in Mahāmāyā, called the great Prakṛti.
Passage 23
अव्यक्ताख्ये परे व्योम्नि प्रधाने सर्वकारणे। अव्यक्तमन्तरङ्गायां महाशक्तौ परात्मनः। परमात्माक्षरं ब्रह्म वेदानां स्थानमुत्तमम्॥२३॥
That Prakṛti rests in the supreme ether called the unmanifest, the primal cause of all. The unmanifest rests in the Supreme Self's inward great power. The imperishable Brahman, the Supreme Self, is the Vedas' highest ground.
Passage 24
समन्वयो यत्र गिरां पराणां वेदाख्यानामुपनिषदाह्वयानाम्। तदक्षरं ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति यद्वेत्तारस्तं परमाप्नुवन्ति॥२४॥
There the highest utterances called the Vedas and Upaniṣads find their unity. Knowers of Brahman call that the imperishable; those who know it attain the Supreme.
Passage 25
परमः पुरुषो रामो भगवान् पुरुषोत्तमः। यतो भुवनमुद्भूतं यस्मिन् परिसमाप्यते॥२५॥
The supreme Person is Rāma, the blessed Puruṣottama, from whom the cosmos arises and in whom it comes to its end.
Passage 26
यतो वेदाश्च सम्भूतास्तद्ब्रह्मास्य प्रभामयम्। इति ज्ञात्वा स भगवान् ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः॥२६॥
From him the Vedas arise, and Brahman is his radiant splendor. Knowing this, the blessed Brahmā, grandsire of the worlds—
Passage 27
तदंशभूतः सकलं सृष्टवान् भुवनं विधिः। यः सोऽण्डं व्यसृजत्पूर्वं तत्र जातः स्वयं च यः॥२७॥
—created the whole cosmos as his partial manifestation: he who first emitted the cosmic egg and was himself born within it.
Passage 28
विवस्वानेष भगवान् द्योतमानस्त्रयीमयः। स्वयंभूर्भगवान् सर्वमुवाचैवं विवस्वते॥२८॥
This resplendent Vivasvān embodies the threefold Veda. The self-born Lord taught all of this to Vivasvān.
Passage 29
विशिष्टं ब्रह्मणस्तत्त्वं साङ्गोपाङ्गरहस्यकम्। तस्मै तन्त्रं समाचख्यौ कृत्स्नं सकर्मपद्धतिम्॥२९॥
He explained to him Brahman's distinctive truth with all its limbs, subsidiary limbs, and mysteries, and the complete tantra together with its ritual method.
Passage 30
ततश्चोपनिषत्सारं ज्ञानयोगं तपोयुतम्। भक्तिशास्त्रं रसमयं सोपासनमुदाहृतम्॥३०॥
Then he taught the essence of the Upaniṣads, knowledge-yoga joined with austerity, and the rasa-filled scripture of devotion together with worship.
Passage 31
तत्त्वं निदर्शयामास करामलकवत्स्फुटम्। सोऽंशः साक्षात्स्वयं रामस्यांशो देवस्त्रयीमयः॥३१॥
He showed that reality as clearly as an āmalaka fruit in one's hand. That god embodying the threefold Veda is directly a portion of Rāma's own portion.
Passage 32
स्वयं चाधिजगे सर्वं विवस्वान् सकलाः श्रुतीः। साङ्गाः सरहस्याश्च पृथक्संस्थाक्रियामयीः॥३२॥
Vivasvān himself mastered all the revelations, with their limbs and mysteries, each consisting of its own arrangement and rites.
Passage 33
शब्दब्रह्माखिलं ज्ञात्वा दृष्टिं चक्रेऽस्य गोचराम्। समासव्यासतो जज्ञे रामं सर्वार्थरूपिणम्॥३३॥
Having known the whole of Brahman as sound, he made Rāma the object of his vision and understood him, both in essence and in detail, as the embodiment of every meaning.
Passage 34
यावन्तो वै मताः शब्दास्ते सर्वे रामवाचकाः। रामो विशुद्धतत्त्वं तद्रामाख्यं धाम शर्मभृत्॥३४॥
All accepted words denote Rāma. Rāma is that perfectly pure reality, and the realm called Rāma bears supreme bliss.
Passage 35
राममुष्य तपश्चक्रे विवस्वान् प्रभया सह। निराहारौ जितात्मानौ जितैहामुष्मिकस्पृहौ॥३५॥
For the sake of that Rāma, Vivasvān and Prabhā performed austerity without food, self-controlled, and free of desire for rewards here or hereafter.
Passage 36
सहस्रवर्षपर्यन्तं तपोनिष्ठौ बभूवतुः। तयोराविर्बभूवासौ रामः सहजया सह॥३६॥
They remained devoted to austerity for a thousand years. Then Rāma appeared before them together with Sahajā.
Passage 37
तौ विलोक्य प्रभासूर्यौ लोकोत्तरगुणाकरौ। प्रेम्णा श्रीसहजारामौ शृङ्गाररसविग्रहौ। तयोरासीन्मतिर्भूयः पुत्र ईदृग्भवेन्नः॥३७॥
Prabhā and Vivasvān lovingly beheld Sahajā and Rāma—repositories of transcendent virtues and embodiments of amorous rasa—and the thought arose in them: “May we have such a son.” Rāma Grants Their Desire
Passage 38
श्रीभगवानुवाच— इमं मनोरथं प्रादामदित्यै कश्यपाय च। इयं तु सहजा देवी प्रिया मम रसात्मिका॥३८॥
The Lord said: “I have already granted this desire to Aditi and Kaśyapa. But this goddess Sahajā, the embodiment of rasa, is my beloved.
Passage 39
भवित्री युवयोः कन्या पराश्रीर्विश्वतैजसी। अहं चेश्वरभावेन प्राप्स्यामि भवतोः कुलम्। भूत्वा जामातृरूपेण गुप्तो जारव्रते स्थितः॥३९॥
The supreme Śrī, radiant throughout the universe, will become your daughter. I shall enter your family in the majesty of the Lord, become your son-in-law in outward form, and secretly abide in the paramour vow.
Passage 40
विवस्वानुवाच— भूत्वापि प्रकटोऽस्मासु जारभावेन किं प्रभो। भविष्यसि श्रीसहजा यतस्तव सदा वधूः॥४०॥
Vivasvān said: “Lord, even after appearing openly among us, why will you adopt the paramour mood, since Śrī Sahajā is always your wife?
Passage 41
भवता लालितां देवीं नित्यं परमभूषिताम्। कं स्वादं लप्स्यसे राम नित्यसिद्धास्वरूपतः॥४१॥
What new savor will you obtain, Rāma, from the eternally perfected goddess whom you always cherish and supremely adorn?”
Passage 42
श्रीराम उवाच— अधिकोऽत्र रसानन्दो भावे स्नेहरसात्मके। दौर्लभ्यं नाम स्पृहाया वर्णं परमं मतम्॥४२॥
Śrī Rāma said: “In a loving mood whose essence is affectionate rasa, the bliss of rasa is greater. The condition called difficulty of attainment is held to be longing's highest coloring.
Passage 43
स्पृहा सञ्चारिणी स्नेहे पूर्णभावविभाविनी। अतोऽयं रसभावो वै भविता वां गृहेषु नौ॥४३॥
Longing moves within affection and manifests fullness of feeling. Therefore this rasa-mood of ours will indeed arise in your home.” The Boon Is Fulfilled in the Cowherd Līlā
Passage 44
इत्युक्त्वा सप्रसादेन गते रामे स्वरामया। पूर्णचित्तौ निववृतुस्तपसस्तौ च दम्पती॥४४॥
Having spoken thus, Rāma departed graciously with his beloved. Their hearts fulfilled, the husband and wife brought their austerity to an end.
Passage 45
प्रेमाणं समुपाश्रित्य मनोनिर्वृतिमीयतुः। अतोऽस्मिन्नन्तरे रामा सहजा सुविलासिनी॥४५॥
Taking refuge in love, they attained peace of mind. Therefore, at the time described here, the delightful Sahajā, Rāma's beloved—
Passage 46
श्रीरामे रमणे मानमात्रेण रसवर्धनम्। तस्मिन् माने स्वस्वरूपमन्तर्धाय व्रजेश्वरी॥४६॥
—enhanced rasa with her lover Śrī Rāma through loving displeasure alone. While in that māna, the queen of Vraja concealed her own form.
Passage 47
अधिकानन्दरतये लुभ्यमानमनाः सदा। नन्दनस्य गृहे जाता देवस्य श्रीविवस्वतः॥४७॥
Her mind always yearning for delight in still greater bliss, she was born in the house of Nandana, the divine Śrī Vivasvān.
Passage 48
विवस्वान् भगवानेष गोपः श्रीनन्दनाह्वयः। प्रभा च राजिनी माता तद्गृहे सहजाभवत्॥४८॥
That blessed Vivasvān became the cowherd named Śrī Nandana, and Prabhā became the mother Rājinī; in their house Sahajā took birth.