The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
Story of the miserly Kir疸a.
Argument:--Perfection of chud疝・and the imbecility of the
Prince;
efficacy of instruction and its elucidation in the tale
of niggardly Kit疸a.
VASISHTHA continued:---Thus the royal dame was possest
of the qualities of contracting and expanding herself to
any form, and became so expert in these by their
continued
practice of them;
2. That she made her aerial journey and navigated at
pleasure over the expanse of waters; she moved on the
surface
of the earth, as the river Ganges glides on in her silent
course.
3. She dwelt in the bosom of her lord, as the goddess of
prosperity abides in the heart of Hari, and travelled in
a
moment with her mind over every city and country over the
earth.
4. This fairy lady fled in the air, and flashed like the
lightning with the flashes of her twinkling eyes; she
passed as
a shadow over the earth, as a body of clouds passes over
a range
of mountains.
5. She passed without any hazard through the grass and
wood, stones and clods of earth, and through fire and
water and
air and vacuum, as a thread passes through hole of a
heart.
(Milton says:--That with no middle flight, to the heaven
of heavens I have presented through an earthly quest).
6. She lightly skimmed over the mountain peaks, and pryed
through the regions of the regents of all the sides of
heaven;
she penetrated into the cavities of the empty womb of
vacuity,
and have a pleasant trip whatever she directed in her
flight.
(All this is brain action and no reality at all).
7. She conversed freely with all living beings,
wheather[** spl.?] they
move or prone on the ground as the beast of earth, or
crawl
upon it as the snakes and insects. She talked with the
savage
Pis當ha tribes and communicated with men and the immortal
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Gods and demi-gods also. (The clever princess like the
far-seeing
seer saw every thing with her mind's eye, and held her
commerce (vyavah疵a) with all).
8. She tried[** typo corrected from "trud"]
much to communicate her
knowledge to her
ignorant husband, but he was no way capable of receiving
her
spiritual instruction, (Atmajnana means also her
intuitive or self
taught[** typo "traught" corrected] knowledge).
9. He understood her as no other than his young princess
and the mistress of his house, and skilled only in the
arts of
coquetry and house wifery, (and quite ignorant of higher
things
because the ladies of India were barred from spiritual
knowledge).
10. Until this time the prince had been ignorant of the
qualifications of the princess ch疆疝a, and knew not that
she
had made her progress in the spiritual science, as a
young
student makes his proficiency in the different branches
of learning.
11. She also was as reserved to show her consummate
learning
to her unenlightened husband; as a Brahman declines to
show his secret rites to a vile sudra.
12. R疥a said:--If it was impossible, sir, for the
seerness
of consummate wisdom to communicate her knowledge to her
husband sikhidhwaja, with all her endeavours to enlighten
him
on the subject; how can it be possible for others, to be
conversant
in spiritual knowledge in any other means.
13. Vasishtha answered:--R疥a, it is obedience to the rule
of attending to the precepts of the preceptor, joined
with the
intelligence of the pupil, which is the only means of
gaining
instruction.
14. The hearing of sermon nor the observance of any
religious rite, is of any efficacy towards the knowledge
of the
soul; unless one will employ his own soul, to have the
light of
the supreme soul shine upon it. It is the spirit alone
that can
know the spirit, as it is the serpent only that can trace
out the
path of another serpent.
15. R疥a rejoined:--If such is the course of the world,
that we can learn nothing without the instruction of our
pro-*[** looks preto
me?]
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*ceptors; then tell me, O sage! how the precepts of the
wise lead
to our spiritual knowledge also.
16. Vasishtha replied:--Hear me R疥a, relate to you a tale
to this effect. There lived an old Kir疸a of yore, who was
miserly in his conduct as he was rich in his possessions
of
wealth and grains. He dwelt with his family by the side
of
the vyndian woods, as a poor Brahman lives apart from his
kith
and kin.
17. He happened to pass by his native forest at one time,
and slip a single couri from his purse, which fell in a
grassy
furze and was lost under the grass.
18. He ran on every side, and beat at the bush for three
days to find out his lost couri, and impelled by his
niggardliness
to leave no fallen leaf unturned over the ground.
19. As he searched and turned about, he ran and turned it
ever in his mind, saying:--Ah! this single couri would
make
four by its commerce, and that would bring me eight in
time,
and this would make a hundred and a thousand, and more
and
more by repeatition, so I have lost a treasure in this.
20. Thus he counted over and over, over the gains he
would
gain, and sighed as often at the loss he did sustain; and
took
into no account of the rustic peasantry on his foolish
penury.
21. At the end of the third day he came across a rich
jewel,
as brilliant as the bright moon in the same forest; which
compensated
for the loss of his paltry couri by a thousand fold.
22. He returned gladly with his great gain to his homely
dwelling, and was highly delighted with the thought of
keeping
off poverty for ever from his door. (The word Korate is
commonly used for Kir疸a-the miser).
23. Now as the Kir疸a was quite satisfied, with his
unexpected
gain of the great treasure, in the search of his trifling
couri; and passed his days without any care or fear of
the
changeful world.
24. So the student comes to obtain his spiritual
knowledge
from his preceptor, while he has been in quest of his
temporal
learning, which is but a trifle in comparison to his
eternal
concern.
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25. But then, O sinless R疥a! it is not possible to attain
to
divine knowledge, by the mere lectures of the preceptor;
because the lord is beyond the preception[**spl.?] of
senses, and can
neither be expressed by nor known from the words of the
instructor's
mouth. (It requires one's intuition and spiritual
inspiration
also to see the spirit in one's own spirit).
26. Again it is not possible to arrive to spiritual
knowledge,
without the guidance of the spiritual guide; for can one
gain
the rich gem without his search after the couri like the
miserly
Kir疸a? (This means that it is impossible to attain the
esoteric
or abstract knowledge of the soul, without a prior
acquaintance
of the exoteric and concrete).
27. As the search of couri became the cause of or was
attended with the gain of the gem, so our attendance on
secular
instructions of the preceptor, becomes an indirect cause
to our
acquirement of the invaluable treasure of spiritual
knowledge.
28. R疥a, look at this wonderful eventualities of nature,
which brings forth events otherwise than the necessary
results
of our pursuits: (as the search of couri resulted the
gain of
the gem).
29. As it often comes to pass, that our attempts are
attended
with other result than those which are ought; it is
better
for us to remain indifferent with regard to the result of
out act:[** should be a full stop?]
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CHAPTER LXXXIV.
Pilgrimage of prince Sikhidhwaja
Argument:--Sikhidhwaja's abandonment of the world, and
remaining
as religious Recluse on the Mand疵a mountain; followed by
the
visit of the Princess and her admonition to him.
VASISHTHA related:--the prince Sikhydhwaja continued
in utter darkness, without the sight of his spiritual
knowledge; and groped his way amidst the gloom of the
world, as a childless man passes his woeful days, in
utter despair
of any glimpse of hope. (As son is the hope of a man
both in this world as well as in the next).
2. His heart burned disconsolate in the flame of his
anxieties,
without the consolation of his salvation; and the great
affluence of his fortune, served as full to feed the fire
of his
hopelessness, for want of the cooling shower of religion.
3. He found his consolation in lonely retreats, in the
caves
of mountains and beside their falling waters; where he
strayed
at large, like the beasts of prey flying from the arrows
of
huntsmen.
4. R疥a, he became as distracted as you had been before;
and discharged his daily rituals, at the humble request
and
repeated solicitations of his attending servants.
5. He was as inexcitable and cold blooded, as a religious
recluse; he desisted from the enjoyments of his princely
pleasures, and abstained also from his usual food.
6. He gave his homage with large largesses of lands and
gifts of gold and kine to the gods, Brahmans and his
relatives
also.
7. He went on performing the austerities of the religious
rites, and the rigorous cerimonies[** typo for
ceremonies?] of the
chand疵yana and
others; he travelled through wilds and deserts and
inhabited
tracts, to his pilgrimages far and near.
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8. Yet he found nowhere the consolation of his mind,
which
he kept seeking all-abouts; as a miner digs the sterile
soil
in quest[** typo "inquest" corrected] of some
mineral, where there is no
such thing to be
found.
9. He was pining away under the ardour of his anxiety, as
it were under the fiery heat of the sun; in search[**
typo "insearch"
corrected] of some
remedy for his worldly cares, which hunted him
sucessantly[** ? perhaps
typo for "incessantly"]
both by day and night.
10. Being absorbed in his thoughts, he sought not for
aught of the poisonous pleasures of his realm; and with
the
meekness of his spirit and mind, he did not look at the
grand
estate which lay before him.
11. It happened one day, as he was sitting with his
beloved
princess reclining on his lap; that he spoke to her as
followed,
in his mellifluent speech.
12. Sikhidhwaja said:--I have long tasted the pleasures
of my realm, and enjoyed the sweet and bitter of my large
property and landed possessions. I am now grown as weary
of them, as they are both the same and stale to me.
13. Know my delighted lady, that the silent sage is
exempt
from pleasure and pain; and no prosperity nor adversity,
can
ever betide the lonely hermit of the forest.
14. Neither the fear of the loss of lives in battle, nor
the
dread of losing the territory in the reverse of victory,
can ever
betake the lonely hermit of the forest[** typo
"frost" corrected]; wherefore
I ween[** typo for "seen"?] his
helpless state, to be happier far than the dignity of
royalty.
15. The woodland parterres are as pleasing to me, as
thyself with the clusters of their blossoms in spring,
and
with their ruddy leaves resembling thy rosy palms; their
twisted filaments are as the fillets of thy curling
hairs, and
the hoary and flimsy clouds in the air, are as their
white and
clean vests and raiments.
16. The blooming flowers resemble their ornaments, and
their pollen is the scented powder on their persons; and
the
seats of reddish stones, bear resemblance to the
protruberances
on their posteriors.
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17. The ambient and pearly rills flowing amidst them,
resemble the pendant strings of pearls on their necks;
and their
foaming waves seen as clusters of pearls, tied as the
knots of
their vestures. The tender creepers are as their playful
daughters,
and the frisking fawns are as their playsome darlings.
18. Perfumed with the natural fragrance of flowers, and
having the swarming bees for their eye-lids and eyebrows;
and
wearing the flowery garment of flowers, they are offering
an
abundance of fruits for the food of the passengers.
19. The pure waters of the falling cas-cades[** ?] are
sweet to
taste, and cool the body as thy company[** typo
"compay" corrected]
gratifies my senses. I
foster therefore an equal fondness for these woodland
scenes,
as I bear for thy company also.
20. But the calm composures which these solitudes seem to
afford to the soul, are in my estimation far superior to
the
delight, that I derive from the cooling moon light, and
the bliss
that I might enjoy in the paradise of India and in the
heaven
of Brahm・himself.
21. Now my dear one, you ought to put no obstacle to
these designs of mine; because no faithful wife ever
presents
any obstructions to the desire of her lord.
22. Chud疝・replied.--The work done in its proper time,
is commendable as seasonable and not that which is
unseasonable
or intempestivous;[** ?] it is as delightful to see the
blossoming of
flowers in the vernal season, as it is pleasant to find
the ripened
fruits and grains in autumn.
23. It is for the old and decrepit and those broken down
in their bodies by age, to resort in their retirement in
the woods;
and does not befit a young man as yourself to fly from
the
world, wherefore I do not approve your choice. (So says
the
poet, "O that my weary age may find a peaceful
hermitage)."
24. Let us remain at home, O young prince, so long as we
have not passed our youth, and flourish here as flowers
which
do not forsake the parent tree, until the flowering time
is over.
25. Let us like flowery creepers grow hoary with grey
hairs
on our heads, and then get out together from our home; as
a
pair of fond herons fly from the dried lake for ever.
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26. Mind also my noble lord, the great sin that awaits on
the person of that disgraceful prince of the royal race,
who
forsakes to seek after the welfare of his people during
the time
of his rule and reign. (Abdication of the crown was not
allowable
without an apparent heir).
27. More over mind the opposition you will have to meet
with from your subjects, who are authorized to check your
unseasonable
and unworthy act, as you are empowered to put a
check to theirs. (The Hindu law is opposed to the spirit
of
despotism and lawlessness of the ruling power).
28. Sikhidhwaja rejoined:--Know my royal dame, that
thy application is all in vain to my determination of
going
away from here; and know me as already gone from thee and
thy realm to the retreat woods afar from hence.
29. Thou art young and handsome, and aught not accompany
me[** typo "to" missing?] dreary deserts and
forests; which are [** typo
"in" missing?] many respects
dreadful to and impassable by men.
30. Women however hardy they may be, are never able to
endure the hardships of forest life; as it is impossible
for the
tender tendril to with stand[** typo for
"withstand"?] the stroke of the
felling axe.
31. Do thou remain here, O excellent lady, to rule over
this
realm in my absence; and take upon thee the burden of
supporting
thy dependants, which is the highest and best duty of
women.
32. Vasishth related:--Saying so to the moon-faced
princess,
the self governed prince rose from his seat; to make
his daily ablution and discharge his multitudinous[**
typo corrected]
duties of the
day.
33. Afterwards the prince took leave of his subjects,
notwithstanding
all their entreaties to detain him; and departed
like the setting sun towards his sylvan journey, which
was
unknown to and impassable by every one.
34. He set out like the setting sun shorn of his glory,
and
disappeared like the sun from the sight of every body;
veil of
melancholy covered the face of the princess, as she saw
the
egress of her lord from the recess of her chamber; as the
face of nature is obscured from the shadow of darkness,
upon
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the disappearance of day light below the horizon. (Here
is a
continued simile between the parting sun and the
departing
prince, and the face of nature and that of the princess).
35. Now the dark night advanced, veiling the world under
her mantle of the ash-coloured dusk; as when the God Hara
forsakes the fair Gang・ and takes the nigrescent Yamuna
to
his embrace. (The day and night representing the two
consorts
of the sun).
36. The sides of heaven seemed to smile all around, with
the denticulated clumps of evening clouds; and with the
brightness
of the moon beams, glittering on the shoots of Tamala
trees. (i. e. The skies seesmed[** typo
"seesmed" corrected] to smile[**
typo "smiles" corrected] with their glittering
teeth of the evening clouds, and smiling moon beams all
around).
37. And as the lord of the day departed towards the
setting
mountain of Sumeru on the other side of the horizon, in
order to rove over the elysian garden or paradise of the
gods
on the north; so the brightness of the day began to fail,
as the
shade of evening prevailed over the face of the forsaken
world.
38. Now sable night accompanied by her lord the nocternal
luminary, advanced on this side of the southern
hemisphere;
to sport as a loving couple with this cooling light and
shade.
39. Then were the clusters of stars seen spangled in the
etherial sphere under the canopy of heaven, and appeared
as
handfuls of l疔as or fried rice scattered by the hands of
celestial
maiden on the auspicious occasion.
40. The sable night gradually advanced to her puberty,
with the buds of lotuses as her budding breasts; she then
smiled with her moony face, and littered in the opening
of
the nightly flowers.
41. The prince returned to his beloved princess after
performing
his evening services, and was drowned in deep sleep;
as the mount Mainaka has drowned in the depth of the sea.
(Mainaka is a hidden rock in the sea).
42. It was now the time of midnight, when all was still
and quiet all about; and the people were all as fast
asleep, as
if they were pent up in the bosom of stones.
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43. He finding her fast asleep in her soft and downy bed,
and lolling in the lap of indolence like the female bee
in the
cup of the lotus.
44. The prince started from his sleep, and parted the
sleeping partner of his bed from his cold embrace; as the
ascending
node of r疉u slowly lets off from its mouth, the eclipsed
moon in the east.
45. He got up from one-half of the bed cloth, while the
supine princess lay on the other-half of it; as when the
God
Hari rises from his bed of the waters of the milky ocean,
leaving the lonely Lakshmi roll in the waves after him.
46. He walked out of the palace, and bade the guards to
stand at their places; while he was going, he said to
arrest
a gang of robbers beyond the skirts of the city, with his
full
confidence in himself.
47. Farewell my royalty, said he, and then passed onward
out of his princedom; and passed through inhabited tracts
and
[** duplicate "and" deleted] forest lands, as
the course of a river runs to
the sea.
48. He passed amidst the gloom of night and through the
thickets of the forest beset by thorny bushes; and full
of heinous
beasts and reptiles, with his firm fortitude.
49. In the morning he arrived at an open tract of land
which was free from woods and jungles, and ran the course
of
the day with his perigrination[** spl.?] on foot from sun
rise to the
setting sun; when he took refuge under the bower of the
grove.
50. The sun departing from sight left him to the darkness
of night, when he performed his bathing and the daily
rite; and
having eaten some root or fruit which he could get, he
passed
the night resting on the barren ground under him. (The
custom
of evening bath, is now falling into disuse).
51. Again and again the morning appeared and brought to
light many new cities and districts, and many hills and
rivers;
which he passed over bravely for twelve repeated days and
nights.
52. He then reached at the foot of the Mand疵a mountain,
which was covered by a dense and immense forest which no
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human foot could penetrate; and lay (stood) afar from the
reach
of man and the boundaries[** typo corrected] of human
habitation.
53. There appeared a spot beset by sounding rills amidst
it,
and set with rows of trees with aqueducts under them;
here
the relics of a delapidated[** spl.?] dwelling came to
sight, and seemed
to bear the appearance of the deserted mansion of some
holy
hermit.
54. It was clear of all heinous reptiles and small
insects, and
was planted with sacred plants and creepers for the
sacerdotal
purposes of the holy siddhas; while it was full of fruit
trees
which supplied its occupant with ample food.
55. There was seen a level and pure spot of ground with a
water course, and presenting the green verdure and
verdant
trees; loaded with luxuriant fruits and stretching a
cooling
shade all over it.
56. The prince built here a bower of verdant creepers and
leafy branches, which with their blooming blossoms
glistened;
as the bluevault of heaven under the lightnings of the
rainy
season.
57. He made for himself a staff of bamboo and some
vessels
for his food and drink, as also some plates to put his
offerings
of fruits and flowers in them; and a jar for the
presentation of
holy water. He likewise strung some seeds together for
the
purpose of his saintly rosary.
58. He procured the hides of dead animals and the
deer-skin
for his seat and cover let in cold, and placed them
carefully
in his holy hermit's cell.
59. He also collected all other things, which were of use
in the discharge of his sacerdotal functions; and
preserved
in his sacred cell, as the Lord of creatures has stored
the
earth, with every provisions requisite for living beings.
60. He made his morning devotion, and turned his beads
with the muttering of his mantras in the hours of his
forenoon;
and then performed his sacred ablution, and offered the
flowers
in the service of the Gods in the afternoon.
61. He afterwards took some wild fruits and ground roots,
and the soft lotus stalks for his food in the evening,
and then
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passed the night with his lonely self-possession, and in
the
meditation of his Maker.
62. Thus did the prince of Malwa pass his days with
perfect
cheer of his heart in the cottage cell, which he had
constructed
at the foot of the Mand疵a mountain; and though no
more of his princely pleasures which were utterly lost
under
the influence of the resignation, which had now taken
full
possession of his entire soul and mind.
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CHAPTER LXXXV
INVESTIGATION INTO TRUE HAPPINESS.
Argument.--The princess goes in quest of the Prince.
Their Meeting
and the Admonition of the Princess.
VASISHTHA continued.--In this manner, the prince
sikhidhwaja
remained in his monastery in the forest, in his state
of perfect felicity; while the princess remained at home,
and did
as you shall now hear from me.
2. After the prince had gone away from the palace at
midnight,
chud疝・started from her sleep; as a timid fawn lying in
the village, is startled by fear.
3. She found the bed vacated by her husband and though[**
must be
changed to "thought" to make it meaningful?]
it as dreary as the sky, without the sun and moon. (A deserted[**
space
added]
wife is as forlorn as a deserted village or desolate
country).
4. She rose up with a melancholy face, and with her heart
full of sorrow and sadness; and her limbs were as lank as
the
leaves of plants, without being well watered in summer.
5. Sorrow sat heavy in her heart, and drove the charm
and cheerfulness of her contenance[** spl.?]; and she
remained as a
winter day, over cast by a cloud or covered by a
hoar-frost
over its face.
6. She sat awhile on the bedstead, and thought with
sorrow in herself; saying, "Ah woe unto me"
that my lord
is gone away from here, and abandoned a kingdom for a
retreat
in the woods.
7. What then can I do now, than repair to my husband;
where he is, because it is appointed both by the law of
nature
and God, that the husband is the only resort and support
of
the wife.
8. Having thought so, chud疝・rose up to follow her husband
and she fled by the door of a window into the open air.
(This
means that her spirit fled into air, by the power of her
yoga).
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9. She roamed in her aerial course, and by the force of
her breath on the wings of air; and appeared before the
face
of the aerial spirits (siddhas), as a second moon moving
in the
skies.
10. As she was passing at the night time, she happened to
behold her lord roving about with a sword in his hand;
and
appearing as a ghost of a vet疝a or demon wondering[**
typo -must be
"wandering"?] in the
solitary forest.
11. The princess seeing her husband in this manner from
her aerial seat, she began to reflect on the future state
which
awaited on her husband; and which she foresaw by power of
her yoga.
12. It is certain, O R疥a! that whatever is alloted in
the book of fate to befall on any body at any time or
place or
manner, the same is sure to take place at the very moment
and spot and in the same way; (and all this is well known
to be[** typo?-must be "the"] holy seer and
seeress by the prophetic
power, which they
acquire by their knowledge and practice of yoga).
13. The princess seeing plainly in her presence, whatever
is to take place on her husband; and knowing it to be
averted
by no means, she stopped from going to him to communicate
the same.
14. Be my visit postponed to him to a future occasion,
when it is destined for me to be in his company again.
15. Thinking so in her mind chud疝・turned her course
from him, and returned to her inner apartment and
reclined
on her milk white pillow; as the crescant[** spl.?] of
the moon lies
recumbent on the hoary forehead of Hara.
16. She proclaimed to her people, that the prince was
gone
on some important occassion[**typo for occasion]; and
having relieved
with the
consolation of his quick return, she took the reins of
the government
in her own hands.
17. She managed the state in the manner of her husband,
according to the established[** typo-e added] rules of
toleration; and with
the
same care and vegilance[** spl.?], as the husband-woman
guards her
ripening cornfields.
18. In this manner they passed their days without seeing
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one another, and the conjugal pair lived separated from
each
other; in their respective habitations of the royal
palace and
the solitary forest.
19. And in this manner passed on their days and nights,
their weeks and fortnights, their months and seasons in
regular
succession over one and another; the one counting his
days in
the woods and the other in her princely palace.
20. What is the use of a lengthy description of full
eighteen
years, which glided on slowly over the seperated[**
typo-'separated'?]
couple, the
one dwelling in her palatial dome, and the other in his
wood
land retreat.
21. Many more years elapsed in this manner, until the
hermit prince Sikhidhwaja was overtaken by the hoary old
age; in his holy hermitage in a cell of the great Mand疵a
mountain.
22. Knowing the passions of the prince to be on the wane,
with his declining age and grey hairs, and finding
herself not
yet too old to overtake him in the distant forest.
23. And believing that it was the proper time for her to
prevail on him, and to bring him back to the palace, she
thought of joining her husband where he was.
24. With these thoughts, she made up her mind of going
towards the Mand疵a mountain; and started from her home at
night, and mounted on the wings of air to the upper sky.
25. As she was moving onward on the pinions of air, she
beheld in the upper sky some Siddhawomen, wearing the
thin
bark of the kalpatree[** typo - it should either be
"kalpa tree" or
"kalpatru"- a Sanskrit word] and girt with jewels
of clustering gems.
26. These were the inhabitants of the garden of paradise,
and going out to meet their Siddha husbands; and
sprinkled
over with perfumeries, shedding their dews as bright moon
beams.
27. She breathed the air perfumed by the flowers of the
garden of paradise, and worn by the Siddhas of Eden; and
wallowed in the moon beams, waving like the billows of
the
milky ocean.
28. She felt a purer moon light, as she ascended the
higher
atmosphere; and she passed amidst the clouds, as the
flashing
-----File:
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lightning moves in their midst. (The fair princess
flashed as
the lightning).
29. She said, this flashing lightning though situated in
the
bosom of her cloudy spouse, is yet looking at him
repeatedly
with the winkling of her eyes; so must I look out for my
absent lord, as I pass like the lightning in the midway
sky.
30. It is true, she said, that nature is impossible
during
the life time of a person; hence it is impossible for my
disquieted
mind, to have its quiet without the sight of my loving
and
lion like lord.
31. My mind roves and runs mad, when I say, I will see
my lord, and when I will see these creepers turning round
and
clasping their supporting tree. (And all my philosophy
avails
me naught against my nature).
32. My mind loses its patience to see the contract of
these
senseless creepers, and the excursion of the superior
siddha
females inquest of their consorts. (All animated nature
from
the vegitable to the immortal are bound by conjugal
love).
33. How then and when, shall I like them come to meet
the man that is situated in my heart.
34. These gentle breezes, and these cooling moon-beams
and those plants of the forest, do all continue to
disquiet my
heart and set it on fire; (instead of cooling its
fervour).
35. O my simple heart, why dost thou throb in vain[**
typo - space added]
and
thrill at every vein within me? and oh my faithful mind,
that
art pure as air, why dost thou loose thy reason and right
discretion?
36. It is thou O faithless mind! that dost excite my
heart
to run after its spouse; better remain with thy
yearnings[** typo-corrected]
in
thyself, than torment my quiet spirit with thy longings.
37. Or why is it, O silly woman! that thou dost long in
vain after thy husband, who possibly become too old (to
require
thee any more); he is now an ascetic and too week[** typo
for weak] in his
bodily frame, and devoid of all his earthly desires.
38. I think thee, desires of the enjoyment of his
princely
honors and pleasures, have now been utterly rooted out of
his
mind; and the plant of his fondness for sensual
gratifications, is
-----File:
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now as dry as a channel that pours forth its waters into
a
large river or sea.
39. I think my husband, who was as fond of me as to form
one soul with myself; has become as callous to soft
passions,
as a dried and withered tree.
40. Or I will try the power of my yoga to waken his mind
to sense, and infuse the eager longings and throbbings of
my
heart into his.
41. I will collect the thoughts of the ascetic devotee to
one
focus, and employ them towards the government of his
realm;
where we may be settled for ever to our hearts content.
42. O I have after long discovered the way to my object,
and it is by infusing my very thoughts into the mind of
thy
husband.
43. The unanimity of the minds of the wedded pair, and
the pleasure of their constant union; contribute to the
highest
happiness of human beings on earth.
44. Revolving in this manner in her mind, the princess
chud疝・passed onward in his[** typo for "her"]
aerial journey; now
mounting on
mountains and mountainous clouds, and then passing the
bounds
of lands and visible horizons; she reached the sight of
Mand疵a,
and found the glen and cavern in it.
45. She entered the grove as an aerial[** ?] spirit
invisible to
sight, and passed as the air amidst it known by the
shaking of
the leaves of trees. (The spirits like winds have motion
and
the power of moving other bodies).
46. She beheld a leafy hut in one corner of the wood, and
knew her husband by the power of her yoga; though
appeared
to be transformed to another person.
47. She found his body that was decorated before by a
variety of jewels, and glitted[** typo for
"glittered"] as the mount of Meru
with its
gold; to have grown as lean and thin and as dark and dry,
as a
withered and dried leaf.
48. He wore a vest of rays, and seemed as if he had
dipped
in a fountain of ink; he sat alone in one spot, and
appeared as
the god Siva to be wholly devoid of all desire.
49. He was sitting on the barren ground, and stringing
-----File:
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the flowers to his braided hairs; when the
beautious[**beauteous?]
princess
approached before him.
50. She was moved to sorrow at the sight of his miserable
plight, and thus bespoke to herself inaudibly in her
mind.
Alas, how painful is it to behold this pitious[**piteous]
sight!
51. O! the great stupidity that rises from ignorance of
spiritual knowledge, and which has brought on this
miserable
condition on this self-deluded prince.
52. I must not call him unfortunate, as long as he is
my husband; though the deep darkness of his mind
(ignorance)
hath brought to this miserable plight. (The living
husband
however miserable, is always to be called true fortunate
by the
faithful wife.)
53. I must try my best to bring him to the knowledge of
truth, which will no doubt restore him to his sense of
enjoyment
here, and of his liberation hereafter; and change his
figure to his
another form altogether.
54. I must advance nearer to him to instil[**instill?]
understanding in
his mind, or else my words will make no effect in him;
who
treats me always as his young and silly wife,
55. I will therefore admonish my husband in the figure of
a
devotee, and it is possible that my admonition delivered
in this
manner, will make its effect in him; who is now grown
hoary
with age: (old age must have abated the ardour of youth).
56. It is possible that good senses may dawn in the clear
understanding, which is not perverted from its nature;
saying so
the princess chud疝・took the shape of a Brahman boy on
herself.
57. She reflected a little on the Agni-soma-mantra, and
changed her form as the water turns to a wave; and then
alighted
on the earth, in the shape of a Brahman's lad.
58. She advanced toward her lord with a smiling
countenance,
and the prince Sikidkwaja beheld the Brahman boy
advancing
towards him.
59. He appeared to come from some other forest, and stood
before him in the form of devotion itself; his body was
as bright
-----File: 497.png---------------------------------------------------------
as the molten gold, and his person was ornamented with a
string
of pearls.
60. The white sacrificial thread graced his neck, and his
body
was covered with two pieces of milk white vests; he held
the sacred
water pot on one hand, and with his pupils staff in the
other, he
made his approach to the prince. (The order of the
students
was called dandi from their holding the sacred stick in
one hand,
like the pilgrim staff in Europe).
61. His wrist was entwined by a string of beads, and a
long
and double chain of rosary hang from his neck to the
ground,
(Double and trible threads of sacred seeds worn about the
necks
of saints).
62. His head was covered over by long and flowing jet
black hairs, in the manner of the strings of black bees,
fluttering
about the tops of white lotuses; and the radiance of his,
shed
a lustre on the spot.
63. His face ornamented with earrings, glowed as the
rising
sun with his lustre of rosy rays, and the knotted hair on
the top
of his head with the mand疵a flower fastened on it,
appeared as
pinnacle of a mountain with the rising moon above it.
64. The husband that sat quiet with his tall stature, and
his limbs and senses under his subjection; appeared as a
mount
of ice with the ashes rubbed all over his body.
65.He saw the Brahman boy appearing before him, as
the full moon, rising on the aureate[** ?] mount of Meru;
and rose
before him with the respect. (Which is paid to that
luminary
by her worshippers).
66. Thinking his guest as the son of some God, the prince
stood with his bare feet[** space added] before him; and
addressed him
saying,
obeisance to thee O thou son of a God, take this seat and
sit
thyself there.
67. He pointed out to him with his band the leafy bed
that
was spread before him, and offered him a handful of
flowers
which be poured into his hands.
68. The brahman boy responded to him saying: "I
greet
thee in return, O thou son of a king! that lookest like a
dew
drop or the beaming moon-light sparkling on a lotus
leaf." He
-----File: 498.png---------------------------------------------------------
then received the flowers from his hand and sat upon the
leafy
bed.
69. Sikhidhwaja said:--Tell me O thou heaven born boy,
whence thou comest and whither thou goest, as for me it
is lucky
day that has brought thee to my sight.
70. Please accept this pure water, and fragrant flowers
and
this honorarium also; and receive this string of flowers,
that I
have strung with my hands; and so be all well with thee.
71. Vasishtha related:-So saying, Sikhidhwaja offered the
flowers, the wreathed blossoms, the honorariums and other
offerings;
as directed by the cerimonial[**ceremonial?] law to his
worshipful lady.
72. Chud疝・said:--I have travelled far and wide over many
countries on the surface of this earth, and have never
met with
so hearty a reception and such honors; as I have now
received
from thee.
73. Thy humility, courtesy and complacence bespeak thee
to be highly favoured of the Gods, and betoken thee to be
attended
with long life on earth. (Because the meek and gentle
are said to be long lived on earth).
74. Tell me O devotee, whether you have ever applied your
mind towards the acquirement of your final liberation and
extinction;
after the abandonment of all your earthly desires, by
the magnamity[**magnanimity] and tranquilization of your
soul for a long
time.
(It is true you have long forsaken the vanities of the
world,
but have you set your heart to seek the eternal
emancipation of
your soul?
75. You have, my dear Sir, chosen a very painful
alternative
for your final liberation, that you have made the vow of
your
undergoing the hardship of this forest life, by forsaking
the
care of your large dominion. (The care of the state is
painful,
but the pains of hermitage are much more so).
76. Sikhidhwaja replied:--I wonder not that thou must
know all things, being a God thyself and thou wearest
this form
of the Brahman boy, yet the supernatural beauty of thy
person,
bespeaks thee to be an all-knowing deity.
77. Methinks these members of the body, are beduded
-----File:
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with the ambrosial beam of moon light, or how could thy
very
appearance shed such nectarious peice[**peace] even at
the first sight.
78. O handsome boy! I see in thy person a great
resemblance
of the features of my beloved one, who is now reigning
over my kingdom; (and whom perhaps I will see no more in
this life).
79. Please now to refresh thy fair and fatigued frame,
with
wearing these flowery chaplet from the head to foot; as
the
vest of a hoary cloud, invests a mountain from its top to
bottom.
80. I see thy face as beautiful, as the stainless moon;
and
thy limbs as delicate, as tender petals of flowers; and I
find
them now waning and fading under the solar gleams.
81. Know pretty youth that I[**it] was for the service of
the
Gods, that I had wreathed the flowers together; and now I
offer and bequeath them to thee, that art no less a God
to me.
82. My life is crowned to day with its best luck by its
service of a guest like thyself, for it is said by the
wise that
attendance on guests is meritorius[**meritorious] than
the merit of
attending
on the Gods. (Hence the law of Hospitality is not less
binding
on the Hindu that[**than] it is with the
Beduian[**Beduin] Arabs).
83. Now deign O moon faced deva (deity) to reveal unto
me what God thou art, and the progeny of what deity that
dost deign to dignify me with thy visit; please tell me
all this
and remove the doubts that disturb my breast.
84. The Brahman boy replied:--Hear me, prince, relate
to thee all that thou requirest to know of me; for who is
there
so uncivil, that will deceive and not comply to the
request of
his humble suppliant.
85. There lives in this world, the well known the holy
saint Narada by name; who is the snowy spot of pure
camphor,
on the face of those that are famed for the purity of
their
lives.
86. It was at one time that this Godly saint sat in his
devotion
in a cavern of the golden mountain; where the holy river
of gang畆**Gang畩, fast flows with her running current and
huge billows
dashing against the shore.
-----File:
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87. The saint stepped out once to the beach of the river,
to see how it glided on in its course; like a necklace of
gems
torned[**torn] down from the mountain on high[**.]
88. He heard there at once the tinkling sound of trinkets
and bracelets, and a mixed murmur of vocal voice; and
felt the
curiosity to know what it was and whence it came.
89. He lightly looked towards the sacred stream and
observed
there an assemblage of young ladies, who equalled the
celestial nymphs Rambh・and Tilottam・in the beauty of
their
persons; who had come out to sport by and bath in the
clear
waters of the holy river.
90. They plunged and played in the waters removed from
the sight of men, and were all naked with their uncovered
breasts; blooming as the buds of golden lotuses in the
lake.
91. These were jogging to and fro and dashing against one
another like the ripened fruits of trees, and seemed to
be filled
with flavoured liquor for the gidding of their observers.
92. Their swollen bosoms formed the sanctuary of the God
of love, and were washed by the pure waters of the sacred
river.
93. Their fullness with luscious liquor, put to blush the
sweet waters of the sacred river of Gang・ they were as
mound
in the garden of paradise, and as the wheels of the car
for the
God K疥a to ride upon.
94. Their buttocks were as pillars of the bridge in
water,
obstructing and dividing the free passage of the waters
of the
Ganges; and their upper part of the body, gives a lustre
of
world's beauty.
95. The shadow of one another's body was clearly visible
to
the-naked eye, on the limpid waters of the Gang・ like a
Kalpa tree[**space added] in rainy season, with all its
branches.
96. The thick verdure of the verdant season, had put to
shade the light of the day; and the flying dust of
flowers, had
filled the forest air with fragrance.
97. Water-fowls of various kinds were sporting on the
banks, as they do by the sea side and about the watering
places
-----File:
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round the trees; while the budding breasts of these
dames,
had put to blush the blooming buds of lotuses.
98. They held up their faces, which were as beautiful as
a
bud of lotuses; while their loosened hairs hang by them,
like
swarms of bees; and the loose glances of their eye-balls,
were
playing as the fluttering black-bees.
99. Their swollen breasts resembling the aureate lotuses,
which were used by the Gods as golden cups to hide their
ambrosial
nectar; therein for fear of its being
ravashed[**ravished] by the demons
and demi-Gods.
100. They were now seen to be hide themselves in the
secret
bowers and caverns of the mountain, like lotuses hidden under
foliage; and now hastening to the cooling beach of the
river, to
leave their lovely limbs in its limpid stream.
101. The saint saw the bevy of the young ladies,
resembling
the body of the full moon complete with all its digits;
and his
mind was ravished with their beauty: (as the minds of men
are
turned to the delirium of lunacy by looking at the
moon-light).
102. He lost the balance of his reason, and became elated
with giddiness; and his breath of his life throbbed in
his heart,
by impulse of the delight that raged and boiled in his
breast.
103. At last the excess of his rapture, gave effusion of
his
passion; as the fullness of a cloud in summer, breaks out
in water
in the rainy weather.
104. The saint turned as wan waning moon, and as the pale
moon-light in frost; and like a fading plant, torn from
its supporting
tree.
105. He faded as the stalk of a creeper parted in two,
and
withered away as a sapling after it has lost its juicy
sap.
106. Sikhidhwaja asked:--How is it that the pure and
pureless[**?] saint, who is liberated in his life time
and acquainted
with all knowledge; who is void of desires and devoid of
passions,
and who is as pure as the clear air both in the in side
as well as out side of his body;
107. How is it that even he the holy N疵ada himself, could
loose[**lose] his patience and contenance[**countenance]
who leads his
life of celibacy
all allong[**along]?
-----File:
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108. Chud疝・replied:--Know, O princely sage! that all
living beings in the three worlds not excepting even the
Gods;
have their bodies composed of both ingredients (of good
and
evil) by their very nature.
109. Some remain in ignorance, and other in knowledge to
the end of their lives; and some remaining in happiness,
and
others in misery to the end of their days.
110. Some thrive in happiness with their virtue of
contentment
and the like, and are enlightened in their minds like a
room by the light of the lamps; and as the bosom of the
sea by
the light of the luminaries of heaven.
111. Some are tormented by their hunger and poverty, and
are involved in misery like the face of nature under the
darkness
of clouds.
112. The true and pure reality of the soul (divine
spirit),
being once lost to one's sight (the visible or phenomenal
world):
makes its appearance before him, like a dark and thick
cloud of
rainy weather.
113. Though one may be employed in his continuous
investigation
into spirituality, yet a moments[**moment's] neglect of
his
spiritualism is sure to darken his spiritual light; as
the apparition
of the world appears to sight.
114. As the succession of light and darkness makes the
course of the day and night, so the return of the pain
and
pleasure indicates the progress of life. (This variety
kills the
monotony of life).
115. Thus the two states of pleasure and pain, are known
to
accompany over lives from birth to death; as the results
of our
prior acts (of merit and demerit).
116. This impression of past life marks the lives of the
ignorant entirely, as the red colouring sticks for ever
in a
cloth; but it is not so wish[**with] the intelligent,
whose knowledge of
truth wipes off the stigma of their pristine acts.
117. As the eternal hue of a gem, whether it be good or
bad, is exhibited on the outside of it; and also as a
crystal
stone however clear it may be, takes the colour of the
out-*
-----File:
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ward object in it; (so the ignorant exhibit their
inherent nature
in their outward conduct, and partake also the qualities
of their
surroundings).
118. But it is not so with the intelligent knower of
truth
(tatwajna), whose soul is free from all inward and
outward impressions
in his life time; and whose mind is never tinged like
that of the ignorant, by the reflexion of anything about
him.
(Knowledge of truth is vitiated by nothing).
119. It is not only the contiguity or presence of things
or
pleasures, that taint the minds of the ignorant; but the
absence
and loss also are causes of great regret, from the stain
they live[**leave]
in the memory; as it is not only a new paint that paints
a thing,
but also the vestiges that it leaves behind, give it also
a colouring. (The
remembrance of past things, gives a colouring to the
character of man).
120. Thus as the minds of the ignorant are never cleansed
from the taint of their favourite objects, so they are
never [**free] from
their bondage in this world; like the liberated sage by
his want
of earthly attachment. Because it is the parvitude of our
desires
that contributes to our liberation, while the amplitudes
of our
wishes lead us to our continued bondage in this world.
(This
passage presents us with the pains of memory, instead of
the
pleasures which some poets have portrayed on its face).
121. Sikhidhwaja said:--Tell me my lord, why men feel
sorry or joyous at their pain or pleasure, to which they
are
bound by their birth in this world; and for what is far
off from
them: (either as past or gone and what is in their
expectation
in future, since both the past and future are absent from
us)?
122. I find your words my lord to be as clear as they are
petty[**pretty] and full of meaning, and the more I hear
them so much
the more do I thirst to listen to them; as the peacock is
insatiate
with the roarings of clouds.
123. Chud疝・answered:--It is pleasant to inquire into the
cause of our birth, and how the soul being accompanied
with
the body, derives its knowledge through the senses, and
feels
thereby a delight which is apparant[**apparent] in babes:
(We see by
-----File:
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observation how babies are pleased with the exercise of
their
limbs and senses).
124. But the living soul (or the vital
principal[**principle]), which is
contained in the heart and runs through the
Kundalin・artery
as the breath of life; is subject to pain and sorrow by
its very
birth. (Hence we see, new born child coming to cry out no
sooner it comes to life after its birth).
125. The living soul or vital spirit (which is as free as
air),
comes to be confined in the arterial chains of the prison
houses
of the different bodies; by its entering into the lungs
breathing
with the breath of life. (The spirit of God was breathed
into
the nostrils of man).
126. The breath of life circulating through the body, and
touching its different parts or the organs of sense,
raise their
sensations in the soul; and as the moisture of the ground
grows
the trees and shrubs on earth, so doth our vitality
produce the
sensations of the pleasure and pain in the soul.
127. The living soul being confined in the arteries of
different bodies, gives a degree of happiness and
steadiness to
some, which the miserable can never enjoy. (The poor are
bereft to the comforts of high life).
128. Know that the living soul, is said to be liberated
in the
same proportion as it manifests its tranquilized state;
and know
also that it is bounden bondage in the same degree, as it
appears
to be sorry in the face and choked in its breathing. (The
dejected and depress spirit does not breathe out freely).
129. The alternate feeling of pain and pleasure, is
likewise
the bondage of the soul and no other, but this and it is
the want
of these alternations, that constitutes its liberation;
and these are
the two states of the living soul.
130. As long as the deceptive senses, do not bring the
false
sensations of pain and pleasure unto the soul; so long
does it
rest in its state of sweet composure, and the calm
tranquility of
the positive rest.
131. The invisible soul coming in sight of some transient
pleasure or want of pain, becomes as joyous us the
cheerful sea
passing the reflexion of the bright moon-beams in its
bosom.
-----File:
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132. The soul equally exults at the sight of pleasure, as
it
grieves at the knowledge of its unsteadiness; as a
foolish cat
rejoices to see of fish, which it has not the power to
catch or
hold fast in its clutches.
133. When the soul, has the pure knowledge of the
intelligibles
and the cognition of itself; it comes to know, that there
is no such thing as positive pain or pleasure; and has
thereby
its calm and quiet composure for ever, and under every
circumstance.
134. When it comes to know that it has no concern with
any pain or pleasure, and that its living is to no
purpose at all;
it is then said to be awakened in itself, and to rest in
its quietude
of nirv疣a-extinction; (unconsciousness of one's self or
its
consciousness of itself as a cypher, is termed the state
of its
nirv疣a-annihilation).
135. When the living soul comes to know by its internal
intuition, that pain and pleasure are unreal in their nature;
it is
no longer concerned about them, but rests quiet by within
itself.
136. When the soul comes to the belief, that the visible
world is no other than the vacuity of Intellect or Brahma
himself;
it gets its rest in its quietness, and becomes as cool as
an
oilless and extinguished lamps[**lamp].
(Here is the vacuism of Vasishtha again).
137. The belief that all nature is vacuity, and all
existence
is the one unity together with the thought of an infinite
inanity;
is what leads the soul to its unconsciousness of pain and
pleasure. (All is but void and vacancy, and mere
air-drawn
phantasy).
138. The thoughts of pleasure and pain therefore are as
false, as the false appearance of the world; and this
error is
inherited by the living soul from Brahm・the first of
living
beings in the world. (The error of taking the unreal for
real began with Brahm・himself).
139. Whatever was thought and ordained by the first
creative power in the beginning, the same has taken root
in the
living soul; and is going on even to the present time as
its
nature.
-----File:
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140. Sikhidhwaja asked.--It is only when one feels some
pleasure in his mind, that it runs in the blood through
his
veins and arteries; but the holy N疵ada could not be
affected
by the sight, nor drop his semen from him.
141. Chud疝・replied.--The animal soul being exited (by
the existant[**existent] sight of women), excites the
living breath of pr疣a
to motion; and the whole body obeys the dictate of the
mind, as the body of soldier obeys the command of their
commander.
142. The vital airs being put to motion, they move the
internal sap and serum from their seats; as the blowing
winds
bear away the fragrance of flowers and the dust of
leaves, and
drop down the fruits and flowers and leaves of trees.
143. The semen being put to motion falls downwards, as
the
clouds being driven together burst into the rain water.
144. The semen then passes out of the body by the canals
of the veins and arteries, as the running waters pass
through
the channels and canals of a river.
145. Sikhidhwaja said.--O thou divine boy! that knowest
both the past and present states of things, as it appears
from
thy instructive discourse; please to instruct me at
present, what
you mean by the nature of things by the Brahmic power of
Brahma.
146. Chud疝・replied--Nature is that intrinsic character,
which is implanted in the constitution of things at the
beginning
of their creation; and the same which continues to
this day the essential part of the ghata, pata, and all
other
things.
147. It comes on by a k疚疸疝ya or accidental course of
its own, as it compared by the learned with the rise and
fall of
waves and bubbles in the water; and the marks of the
lacuna
in wood and iron. (The fortuitous combination of the
atomic
principles, is the cause of the formation of concrete
bodies;
according to the Atomic philosophy of Leucippus,
Democritus
and the Epecureans[**Epicureans] of old).
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148. It is under the power of this nature, that all
things
move about in the world in the various forms; and with
all
their properties of change and persistence. It is only
the indifferent
and inappetent soul that is liberated from the subjection
of nature, while the apparent is fast bound to its chains
and wander with their prurient nature in repeated
transmigrations.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the collection)
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