athāvatīryāśva-ratha-dvipebhyaḥ
śākyā yathā-sva-rddhi-gṛhīta-veṣāḥ /
Then
the Śākyas, each clothed in accordance with his wealth and
accomplishments, got down from their horses, chariots, and elephants,
mahāpaṇebhyo
vyavahāriṇaś-ca mahāmunau bhakti-vaśāt praṇemuḥ // 5.1 //
And
the traders came out of their big
shops: by dint of their devotion, they bowed down before the great
Sage.
ke-cit
praṇamyānuyayur-muhūrtaṃ ke-cit praṇamyārtha-vaśena jagmuḥ
/
Some
bowed and then followed for a while; some bowed and went, being
compelled to work;
ke-cit
svakeṣv-āvasatheṣu tasthuḥ kṛtvāñjalīn
vīkṣaṇa-tat-parākṣāḥ // 5.2 //
Some
stood still at their own dwelling-places, their hands joined and eyes
observing him in the distance.
buddhas-tatas-tatra
narendra-mārge sroto mahad-bhaktimato janasya /
The
Buddha then, and there, on the royal road, struggled on
jagāma
duḥkhena vigāhamāno jalāgame srota ivāpagāyāḥ // 5.3 //
Into
the gushing throng of the greatly devoted, as if entering the torrent
of a river in the rains.
atho
mahadbhiḥ pathi saṃpatadbhiḥ saṃpūjyamānāya tathāgatāya
/
And
so, with the great and the good rapidly converging on the road, to
honour the Tathāgata,
kartuṃ
praṇāmaṃ na śaśāka nandas-tenābhireme tu guror-mahimnā //
5.4 //
Nanda
was unable to make a bow; but still he could delight in the Guru's
greatness.
svaṃ
cāvasaṅgaṃ pathi nirmumukṣur-bhaktiṃ janasyānya-mateś-ca
rakṣan /
Wishing
to shake off adherents
to him on the road, while tending the devotion of people who were
differently minded,
nandaṃ
ca gehābhimukhaṃ jighṛkṣan mārgaṃ tato 'nyaṃ sugataḥ
prapede // 5.5 //
And
wishing to take Nanda in hand, who was turning for home, the One Gone
Well therefore took a different
path.
tato
viviktaṃ ca vivikta-cetāḥ sanmārga-vin mārgam-abhipratasthe /
He
of the solitary and separate mind, a knower of the true path, took a
solitary and separate path;
gatvāgrataś-cāgryatamāya
tasmai nāndī-vimuktāya nanāma nandaḥ // 5.6 //
And
Nanda whose name was Joy, going out in front, could bow to him, the
One gone beyond joy, who was furthest out in front.
śanair-vrajann-eva
sa gauraveṇa paṭāvṛtāṃso vinatārdha-kāyaḥ /
Walking
forward meekly, with respectful seriousness, with cloak over one
shoulder, body half-stooped,
adho-nibaddhāñjalir-ūrdhva-netraḥ
sagadgadaṃ vākyam-idaṃ babhāṣe // 5.7 //
Hands
held down and eyes raised up, Nanda stuttered these words:
prāsāda-saṃstho
bhagavantam-antaḥ-praviṣṭam-aśrauṣam-anugrahāya /
"While
I was in the palace penthouse, Glorious One, I learned that you came
in for our benefit;
atas-tvarāvān-aham-abhyupeto
gṛhasya kakṣyā-mahato 'bhyasūyan // 5.8 //
And
so I have come in a hurry, indignant with the many members of the
palace household.
tat-sādhu
sādhu-priya mat-priyārtham tatrāstu bhikṣūttama bhaikṣa-kālaḥ
/
Therefore,
rightly, O Favourer of the Righteous, and as a favour to me, be there
[at the palace], O Supreme Seeker of Alms, at the time for eating
alms,
asau
hi madhyaṃ nabhaso yiyāsuḥ kālaṃ pratismārayatīva sūryaḥ
// 5.9 //
For
the sun is about to reach the middle of the sky, as if to remind us
of the time."
ity-evam-uktaḥ
praṇatena tena snehābhimānonmukha-locanena /
Thus
addressed by the bowing Nanda, whose expectant eyes looked up with
tender affection,
tādṛṅ
nimittaṃ sugataś-cakāra nāhāra-kṛtyaṃ sa yathā viveda //
5.10 //
The
One Gone Well made a sign such that Nanda knew he would not be taking
a meal.
tataḥ
sa kṛtvā munaye praṇāmaṃ gṛha-prayāṇāya matiṃ cakāra
/
Then,
having made his bow to the Sage, he made up his mind to head home;
anugrahārthaṃ
sugatas-tu tasmai pātraṃ dadau puṣkara-pattra-netraḥ // 5.11
//
But,
as a favour, the One Gone Well, with lotus petal eyes, handed him his
bowl.
tataḥ
sa loke dadataḥ phalārthaṃ pātrasya tasyāpratimasya pātram /
The
Incomparable Vessel was offering his own vessel, to reap a fruit in
the human world,
jagrāha
cāpa-grahaṇa-kṣamābhyāṃ padmopamābhyāṃ prayataḥ
karābhyām // 5.12 //
And
so Nanda, outstretched, held the bowl with lotus-like hands, which
were better suited to the holding of a bow.
parāṅmukhas-tv-anya-manaskam-ārād
vijñāya nandaḥ sugataṃ gatāstham /
But
as soon as he sensed that the mind of the One Gone Well had gone
elsewhere and was not on him, Nanda backtracked;
hasta-stha-pātro
'pi gṛhaṃ yiyāsuḥ sasāra mārgān-munim-īkṣamāṇaḥ //
5.13 //
Wanting,
even with the bowl in his hands, to go home, he sidled away from the
path -- while keeping his eye on the Sage.
bhāryānurāgeṇa
yadā gṛhaṃ sa pātraṃ gṛhītvāpi yiyāsur-eva /
Then,
at the moment that he in his yearning for his wife, despite holding
the bowl, was about to head for home,
vimohayām-āsa
munis-tatas-taṃ rathyā-mukhasyāvaraṇena tasya // 5.14 //
Just
then the Sage bamboozled him, by blocking his entrance to the
highway.
nirmokṣa-bījaṃ
hi dadarśa tasya jñānaṃ mṛdu kleśa-rajaś-ca tīvram /
For
he saw that in Nanda the seed of liberation, which is wisdom, was
tenuous; while the fog of the afflictions was terribly thick;
kleśānukūlaṃ
viṣayātmakaṃ ca nandaṃ yatas-taṃ munir-ācakarṣa // 5.15
//
And
since he was susceptible to the afflictions and sensual by nature,
therefore the Sage reined him in.
saṃkleśa-pakṣo
dvividhaś-ca dṛṣṭas-tathā dvikalpo vyavadāna-pakṣaḥ /
There
are understood to be two aspects to defilement; correspondingly,
there are two approaches to purification:
ātmāśrayo
hetu-balādhikasya bāhyāśrayaḥ pratyaya-gauravasya // 5.16 //
In
one with stronger motivation, there is self-centredness; in one who
assigns weight to conditions, there is outer-dependence.
ayatnato
hetu-balādhikas-tu nirmucyate ghaṭṭita-mātra eva /
The
one who is more strongly self-motivated loosens ties without even
trying, on receipt of the slightest stimulus;
yatnena
tu pratyaya-neya-buddhir-vimokṣam-āpnoti parāśrayeṇa // 5.17
//
Whereas
the one whose mind is led by circumstances struggles to find freedom,
because of his dependence on others.
nandaḥ
sa ca pratyaya-neya-cetā yaṃ śiśriye tan-maya-tām avāpa /
And
Nanda, whose mind was led by circumstances, became absorbed into
whomever he depended on;
yasmād-imaṃ
tatra cakāra yatnaṃ taṃ sneha-paṅkān munir ujjihīrṣan //
5.18 //
The
Sage, therefore, made this effort in his case, wishing to lift him
out of the mire of love.
nandas-tu
duḥkhena viceṣṭamānaḥ śanair-agatyā gurum-anvagacchat /
But
Nanda followed the Guru meekly and helplessly, squirming
with discomfort,
bhāryā-mukhaṃ
vīkṣaṇa-lola-netraṃ vicintayann-ārdra-viśeṣakaṃ tat //
5.19 //
As
he thought of his wife's face, her eyes looking out restlessly, and
the painted marks still moist.
tato
munis-taṃ priya-mālya-hāraṃ vasanta-māsena kṛtābhihāram /
And
so the Sage led him, lover of garlands of pearls and flowers, whom
the month of Spring, Love's friend, had appropriated,
nināya
bhagna-pramadā-vihāraṃ vidyā-vihārābhimataṃ vihāram // 5.20
//
To
a playground where women were a broken amusement -- to the vihāra,
beloved as a pleasure-ground of learning.
dīnaṃ
mahā-kāruṇikas-tatas-taṃ dṛṣṭvā muhūrtaṁ
karuṇāyamānaḥ /
Then
the Greatly Compassionate One, watching him in his moment of misery
and pitying him,
kareṇa
cakrāṅka-talena mūrdhni pasparśa caivedam-uvāca cainam // 5.21
//
Put
a hand, with wheel-marked palm, on his head and spoke to him thus:
yāvan-na
hiṃsraḥ samupaiti kālaḥ śamāya tāvat kuru saumya buddhim /
"While
murderous Time has yet to come calling, set your mind, my friend, in
the direction of peace.
sarvāvavasthāsu
hi vartamānaḥ sarvābhisāreṇa nihanti mṛtyuḥ // 5.22 //
For
operating in all situations, using all manner of attacks, Death
kills.
sādhāraṇāt
svapna-nibhād-asārāl-lolaṃ manaḥ kāmasukhān-niyaccha /
Restrain
the restless mind from sensual pleasures, which are common,
dream-like, and insubstantial;
havyair-ivāgneḥ
pavaneritasya lokasya kāmair-na hi tṛptir-asti // 5.23 //
For
no more than a wind-fanned fire is sated by offerings are men
satisfied by pleasures.
śraddhā-dhanaṃ
śreṣṭhatamaṃ dhanebhyaḥ prajñā-rasas-tṛpti-karo
rasebhyaḥ /
Most
excellent among gifts is the gift of confidence. Most satisfying of
tastes is the taste of real wisdom.
pradhānam-adhyātma-sukhaṃ
sukhebhyo 'vidyā-ratir-duḥkhatamā ratibhyaḥ // 5.24 //
Foremost
among comforts is being comfortable in oneself. The bliss of
ignorance is the sorriest bliss.
hitasya
vaktā pravaraḥ suhṛdbhyo dharmāya khedo guṇavān śramebhyaḥ
/
The
kindest-hearted friend is he who tells one what is truly salutary.
The most meritorious
effort is to exhaust oneself in pursuit of the truth.
jñānāya
kṛtyaṃ paramaṃ kriyābhyaḥ kim-indriyāṇām-upagamya dāsyam
// 5.25 //
Supreme
among labours is to work towards true understanding. Why would one
enter into service of the senses?
tan-niścitaṃ
bhī-klama-śug-viyuktaṃ pareṣv-anāyattam-ahāryam-anyaiḥ /
Select
then that which is conclusive, which is beyond fear, fatigue and
sorrow, and which is neither dependent on others nor removable by
others:
nityaṃ
śivaṃ śānti-sukhaṃ vṛṇīṣva
kim-indriyārthārtham-anartham-ūḍhvā // 5.26 //
Select
the lasting and benign happiness of extinction. What is the point of
enduring disappointment, by making an object of sense-objects?
jarā-samā
nāsty-amṛjā prajānāṃ vyādheḥ samo nāsti jagaty-anarthaḥ
/
Nothing
takes away people's beauty like aging, there is no misfortune in the
world like sickness,
mṛtyoḥ
samaṃ nāsti bhayaṃ pṛthivyām-etat-trayaṃ khalv-avaśena
sevyam // 5.27 //
And
no terror on earth like death. Yet these three, inevitably, shall be
obeyed.
snehena
kaś-cin-na samo 'sti pāśaḥ sroto na tṛṣṇā-samam-asti hāri
/
There
is no fetter like love, no torrent that carries one away like thirst,
rāgāgninā
nāsti samas-tathāgnis-tac-cet trayaṃ nāsti sukhaṃ ca te 'sti
// 5.28 //
And
likewise no fire like the fire of passion. If not for these three,
happiness would be yours.
avaśya-bhāvī
priya-viprayogas-tasmāc-ca śoko niyataṃ niṣevyaḥ /
Separation
from loved ones is inevitable, on which account grief is bound to be
experienced.
śokena
conmādam-upeyivāṃso rājarṣayo 'nye 'py-avaśā viceluḥ //
5.29 //
And
it is through grief that other seers who were princes have gone mad
and fallen helplessly apart.
prajñā-mayaṃ
varma badhāna tasmān-no kṣānti-nighnasya hi śoka-bāṇāḥ /
So
bind on the armour whose fabric is wisdom, for the arrows of grief
are as naught to one steeped in patience;
mahac-ca
dagdhuṃ bhava-kakṣa-jālaṃ saṃdhukṣayālpāgnim-ivātmatejaḥ
// 5.30 //
And
kindle the fire of your own energy to burn up the great tangled web
of becoming, just as you would kindle a small fire to burn up
undergrowth collected into a great heap.
yathauṣadhair-hasta-gataiḥ
savidyo na daśyate kaś-cana pannagena /
Just
as a man concerned with science, herbs in hand, is not bitten by any
snake,
tathānapekṣo
jita-loka-moho na daśyate śoka-bhujaṃgamena // 5.31 //
So
a man without concern, having overcome the folly of the world, is not
bitten by the snake of grief.
āsthāya
yogaṃ parigamya tattvaṃ na trāsam-āgacchati mṛtyu-kāle /
Staying
with practice and fully committed to what is, at the hour of death he
is not afraid --
ābaddha-varmā
sudhanuḥ kṛtāstro jigīṣayā śūra ivāhava-sthaḥ // 5.32
//
Like
a warrior-hero standing in battle, clad in armour, and equipped with
a good bow, with skill in archery, and with the will to win."
ity-evam-uktaḥ
sa tathāgatena sarveṣu bhūteṣv-anukampakena /
Addressed
thus by the One Thus Come, the Tathāgata, in his compassion for all
living beings,
dhṛṣṭaṃ
girāntarhṛdayena sīdaṃs-tatheti nandaḥ sugataṃ babhāṣe
// 5.33 //
Nanda
while sinking inside said boldly to the Sugata, the One Well Gone:
"So be it!"
atha
pramādāc-ca tam-ujjihīrṣan matvāgamasyaiva ca pātra-bhūtam /
And
so wishing to lift him up out of heedlessness, and deeming him to be
a vessel worthy of the living tradition,
pravrājayānanda
śamāya nandam-ity-abravīn-maitra-manā maharṣiḥ // 5.34 //
The
Great Seer, with kindness in his heart, said: "Ānanda!
Let Nanda go forth towards tranquillity."
nandaṃ
tato 'ntarmanasā rudantam-ehīti vaideha-munir-jagāda /
Then
the sage of Videha
said to Nanda, who was weeping inside: "Come!"
śanais-tatas-taṃ
samupetya nando na pravrajiṣyāmy-aham-ity-uvāca // 5.35 //
At
this Nanda approached him meekly and said "I won't go forth."
śrutvātha
nandasya manīṣitaṃ tad buddhāya vaideha-muniḥ śaśaṃsa /
On
hearing Nanda's idea, the Videha sage related it to the Buddha;
saṃśrutya
tasmād-api tasya bhāvaṃ mahā-munir-nandam-uvāca bhūyaḥ //
5.36 //
And
so, after hearing from him also as to
Nanda's actual state, the Great Sage spoke to Nanda again:
mayy-agraje
pravrajite 'jitātmane bhrātṛṣv-anupravrajiteṣu cāsmān /
"O
you who have yet to conquer yourself! Given that I, your elder
brother, have gone forth, and your cousins have gone forth after me,
jñātīṃś-ca
dṛṣṭvā vratino gṛha-sthān saṃvinna-vit te 'sti na vāsti
cetaḥ // 5.37 //
And
seeing that our relatives who remain at home are committed to
practice, are you minded to be conscious of consciousness, or are you
not?
rājarṣayas-te
viditā na nūnaṃ vanāni ye śiśriyire hasantaḥ /
Evidently
the royal seers are unbeknown to you who retreated smiling into the
forests;
niṣṭhīvya
kāmān-upaśānti-kāmāḥ kāmeṣu naivaṃ kṛpaṇeṣu saktāḥ
// 5.38 //
Having
spat out desires, they were desirous of tranquillity and thus not
stuck in lower order desires.
bhūyaḥ
samālokya gṛheṣu doṣān niśāmya tat-tyāga-kṛtaṃ ca
śarma /
Again,
you have experienced the drawbacks of family life and you have
observed the relief to be had from leaving it,
naivāsti
moktuṃ matir-ālayaṃ te deśaṃ mumūrṣor-iva sopasargam //
5.39 //
And
yet you, like a man in a disaster area who is resigned to his death,
have no intention of giving up and leaving house and home.
saṃsāra-kāntāra-parāyaṇasya
śive kathaṃ te pathi nārurukṣā /
How
can you be so devoted to the wasteland of saṁsāra and so devoid of
desire to take the auspicious path
āropyamāṇasya
tam-eva mārgaṃ bhraṣṭasya sārthād-iva sārthikasya // 5.40
//
When
-- like a desert trader who drops out from a caravan -- you have been
set on that very path?
yaḥ
sarvato veśmani dahyamāne śayīta mohān-na tato vyapeyāt /
One
who in a house burning on all sides, instead of getting out of there,
would lie down in his folly to sleep,
kālāgninā
vyādhi-jarā-śikhena loke pradīpe sa bhavet pramattaḥ // 5.41 //
Only
he might be heedless, in a world burning in the fire of Time, with
its flames of sickness and aging.
praṇīyamānaś-ca
yathā vadhāya matto hasec-ca pralapec-ca vadhyaḥ /
Again,
like the condemned man being led, drunkenly laughing and babbling, to
the stake,
mṛtyau
tathā tiṣṭhati pāśa-haste śocyaḥ pramādyan viparīta-cetāḥ
// 5.42 //
Equally
to be lamented is one whose mind is
upside-down, cavorting while Death stands by, with noose in
hand.
yadā
narendrāś-ca kuṭumbinaś-ca vihāya bandhūṃś-ca
parigrahāṃś-ca /
When
kings and humble householders, leaving relations and possessions
behind,
yayuś-ca
yāsyanti ca yānti caiva priyeṣv-anityeṣu kuto 'nurodhaḥ //
5.43 //
Have
gone forth, will go forth,
and even now are going forth, what is the point of pandering to
fleeting fondnesses?
kiṁ-cin-na
paśyāmi ratasya yatra tad-anya-bhāvena bhaven-na duḥkham /
I
do not see any pleasure which might not, by turning into something
else, become pain.
tasmāt
kva-cin-na kṣamate prasaktir-yadi kṣamas-tad-vigamān-na śokaḥ
// 5.44 //
Therefore
no attachment bears scrutiny
-- unless the grief is bearable that arises from the absence of its
object.
tat-saumya
lolaṃ parigamya lokaṃ māyopamaṃ citram-ivendrajālam /
So,
my friend, knowing the human world to be fickle, a net of Indra, a
web of fictions, like a gaudy magic show,
priyābhidhānaṃ
tyaja mohajālaṃ chettuṃ matis-te yadi duḥkhajālam // 5.45 //
Abandon
the net of delusion you call 'my love,' if you are minded to cut the
net of suffering.
varaṃ
hitodarkam-āniṣṭam-annaṃ na svādu yat syād-ahitānubaddham /
Unfancied
food that does one good is better than tasty food that may do harm:
yasmād-ahaṃ
tvā viniyojayāmi śive śucau vartmani vipriye 'pi // 5.46 //
On
that basis I commend you to a
course which, though unpalatable, is wholesome and honest.
bālasya
dhātrī vinigṛhya loṣṭaṃ yathoddharatyāsya-puṭa-praviṣṭam
/
Just
as a nurse keeps firm hold of an infant while taking out soil it has
put in its mouth,
tathojjihīrṣuḥ
khalu rāga-śalyaṃ tat-tvām-avocaṃ paruṣaṃ hitāya // 5.47
//
So,
wishing to draw out the dart of passion, have I spoken to you sharply
for your own good.
aniṣṭam-apy-auṣadham-āturāya
dadāti vaidyaś-ca yathā nigṛhya /
And
just as a doctor restrains a patient then gives him bitter medicine;
tadvan-mayoktaṃ
pratikūlam-etat-tubhyaṃ hitodarkam-anugrahāya // 5.48 //
So
have I given you, in order to help you, this disagreeable advice with
beneficial effect.
tad-yāvad-eva
kṣaṇa-saṃnipāto na mṛtyur-āgacchati yāvad-eva /
Therefore,
while you are meeting the present moment, while death has yet to
come,
yāvad-vayo
yoga-vidhau samarthaṃ buddhiṃ kuru śreyasi tāvad-eva // 5.49 //
So
long as you have the energy for practice, decide on better."
ity-evam-uktaḥ
sa vināyakena hitaiṣiṇā kāruṇikena nandaḥ /
Addressed
thus by his benevolent and compassionate guide,
kartāsmi
sarvaṃ bhagavan vacas-te tathā yathā-jñāpayasīty-uvāca //
5.50 //
Nanda
said, "I shall do, Glorious
One, all that you say, just as you teach it."
ādāya
vaideha-munis-tatas-taṃ nināya saṃśliṣya viceṣṭamānam /
At
this
the sage of Videha reclaimed him, and held him close as he led him
off writhing,
vyayojayac-cāśru-pariplutākṣaṃ
keśa-śriyaṃ chatra-nibhasya mūrdhnaḥ // 5.51 //
And
then, while Nanda's eyes welled with tears, he separated the crowning
glory of his hair from the royal umbrella of his head.
atho
nataṃ tasya mukhaṃ sabāṣpaṃ pravāsyamāneṣu śiro-ruheṣu
/
As
his hair was thus being banished, his tearful downcast face
vakrāgra-nālaṃ
nalinaṃ taḍāge varṣodaka-klinnam-ivābabhāse // 5.52 //
Resembled
a rain-sodden lotus in a pond with the top of its stalk sagging down.
nandas-tatas-taru-kaṣāya-virakta-vāsāś-cintāvaśo
nava-gṛhīta iva dvipendraḥ /
Thence,
in drab garb with the dull yellow-red colour of tree bark, and
despondent as a newly-captured elephant,
pūrṇaḥ
śaśī bahula-pakṣa-gataḥ kṣapānte bālātapena pariṣikta
ivāvabhāse // 5.53 //
Nanda
resembled a waning full moon at night's end, sprinkled by the powdery
rays of the early morning sun.
saundaranande
mahā-kāvye nanda-pravrājano nāma pañcama sargaḥ //5//
The
5th canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda,
titled "Nanda Is Caused to Go Forth."
