King Bharata and the Fawn

Verse 1 (bhagavata.5.8.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच एकदा तु महानद्यां कृताभिषेकनैयमिकावश्यको ब्रह्माक्षरमभिगृणानो मुहूर्तत्रयमुदकान्त उपविवेश ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ekadā tu mahā-nadyāṁ kṛtābhiṣeka-naiyamikāvaśyako brahmākṣaram abhigṛṇāno muhūrta-trayam udakānta upaviveśa.

Shri Shukadeva said: One day, having bathed in the great river and completed his necessary daily rites, he sat by the water's edge for three muhurtas, softly repeating the syllable Om, the imperishable Brahman.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.5.8.2)

तत्र तदा राजन् हरिणी पिपासया जलाशयाभ्याशमेकैवोपजगाम ॥ २ ॥

tatra tadā rājan hariṇī pipāsayā jalāśayābhyāśam ekaivopajagāma.

O King, just then, a doe, alone and tormented by thirst, came near that pool of water.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.5.8.3)

तया पेपीयमान उदके तावदेवाविदूरेण नदतो मृगपतेरुन्नादो लोकभयङ्कर उदपतत् ॥ ३ ॥

tayā pepīyamāna udake tāvad evāvidūreṇa nadato mṛga-pater unnādo loka-bhayaṅkara udapatat.

Just as she was drinking, from somewhere nearby there arose the terrifying roar of a lion, a sound to strike fear into every creature.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.5.8.4)

तमुपश्रुत्य सा मृगवधूः प्रकृतिविक्लवा चकितनिरीक्षणा सुतरामपिहरिभयाभिनिवेशव्यग्रहृदया पारिप्लवदृष्टिरगततृषा भयात् सहसैवोच्चक्राम ॥ ४ ॥

tam upaśrutya sā mṛga-vadhūḥ prakṛti-viklavā cakita-nirīkṣaṇā sutarām api hari-bhayābhiniveśa-vyagra-hṛdayā pāriplava-dṛṣṭir agata-tṛṣā bhayāt sahasaivoccakrāma.

Hearing it, that doe, timid by nature and watchful of eye, her heart thrown into turmoil by fear of the lion, her gaze darting about, leapt away suddenly in fright, her thirst still unquenched.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.5.8.5)

तस्या उत्पतन्त्या अन्तर्वत्न्या उरुभयावगलितो योनिनिर्गतो गर्भः स्रोतसि निपपात ॥ ५ ॥

tasyā utpatantyā antarvatnyā uru-bhayāvagalito yoni-nirgato garbhaḥ srotasi nipapāta.

She was pregnant, and in the sheer terror of that leap, the fawn slipped from her womb and fell into the river's current.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.5.8.6)

तत्प्रसवोत्सर्पणभयखेदातुरा स्वगणेन वियुज्यमाना कस्याञ्चिद्दर्यां कृष्णसारसती निपपाताथ च ममार ॥ ६ ॥

tat-prasavotsarpaṇa-bhaya-khedāturā sva-gaṇena viyujyamānā kasyāñcid daryāṁ kṛṣṇa-sārasatī nipapātātha ca mamāra.

Worn out by that untimely birth, the leap, the fear and the exhaustion, and now cut off from her herd, the black doe fell into a nearby ravine, and there she died.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.5.8.7)

तं त्वेणकुणकं कृपणं स्रोतसानूह्यमानमभिवीक्ष्यापविद्धं बन्धुरिवानुकम्पया राजर्षिर्भरत आदाय मृतमातरमित्याश्रमपदमनयत् ॥ ७ ॥

taṁ tv eṇa-kuṇakaṁ kṛpaṇaṁ srotasānūhyamānam abhivīkṣyāpaviddhaṁ bandhur ivānukampayā rājarṣir bharata ādāya mṛta-mātaram ity āśrama-padam anayat.

Seeing that helpless fawn being swept along by the current, the royal sage Bharata, moved by compassion like a true kinsman, lifted it out, and, knowing that its mother had died, carried it back to his hermitage.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.5.8.8)

तस्य ह वा एणकुणक उच्चैरेतस्मिन् कृतनिजाभिमानस्याहरहस्तत्पोषणपालनलालनप्रीणनानुध्यानेनात्मनियमाः सहयमाः पुरुषपरिचर्यादय एकैकशः कतिपयेनाहर्गणेन वियुज्यमानाः किल सर्व एवोदवसन् ॥ ८ ॥

tasya ha vā eṇa-kuṇaka uccair etasmin kṛta-nijābhimānasyāhar-ahas tat-poṣaṇa-pālana-lālana-prīṇanānudhyānenātma-niyamāḥ saha-yamāḥ puruṣa-paricaryādaya ekaikaśaḥ katipayenāhar-gaṇena viyujyamānāḥ kila sarva evodavasan.

He came to feel such deep attachment for that young fawn that, absorbed day after day in thinking only of feeding it, tending it, fondling it and pleasing it, his personal disciplines — his vows, his restraints, his service to the Lord — fell away one by one within just a few days, until at last every one of them had lapsed entirely.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.5.8.9)

अहो बतायं हरिणकुणकः कृपण ईश्वररथचरणपरिभ्रमणरयेण स्वगणसुहृद् बन्धुभ्यः परिवर्जितः शरणं च मोपसादितो मामेव मातापितरौ भ्रातृज्ञातीन् यौथिकांश्चैवोपेयाय नान्यं कञ्चन वेद मय्यतिविस्रब्धश्चात एव मया मत्परायणस्य पोषणपालनप्रीणनलालनमनसूयुनानुष्ठेयं शरण्योपेक्षादोषविदुषा ॥ ९ ॥

aho batāyaṁ hariṇa-kuṇakaḥ kṛpaṇa īśvara-ratha-caraṇa-paribhramaṇa-rayeṇa sva-gaṇa-suhṛd-bandhubhyaḥ parivarjitaḥ śaraṇaṁ ca mopasādito mām eva mātā-pitarau bhrātṛ-jñātīn yauthikāṁś caivopeyāya nānyaṁ kañcana veda mayy ati-visrabdhaś cāta eva mayā mat-parāyaṇasya poṣaṇa-pālana-prīṇana-lālanam anasūyunānuṣṭheyaṁ śaraṇyopekṣā-doṣa-viduṣā.

He would think to himself: Alas, this helpless fawn, driven from its family, friends and kin by the turning wheel of time's own chariot, has come to me for shelter. It knows no one but me — I have become its mother, father, brother, and kinsman all at once — and it trusts me completely. Therefore, without any resentment, and understanding the fault of neglecting one who has taken refuge, I must surely feed it, protect it, delight it and cherish it.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.5.8.10)

नूनं ह्यार्याः साधव उपशमशीलाः कृपणसुहृद एवंविधार्थे स्वार्थानपि गुरुतरानुपेक्षन्ते ॥ १० ॥

nūnaṁ hy āryāḥ sādhava upaśama-śīlāḥ kṛpaṇa-suhṛda evaṁ-vidhārthe svārthān api gurutarān upekṣante.

Surely the noble, tranquil-natured, and truly saintly, who are genuine friends of the helpless, will set aside even their own weightiest interests for the sake of such a need.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.5.8.11)

इति कृतानुषङ्ग आसनशयनाटनस्नानाशनादिषु सह मृगजहुना स्नेहानुबद्धहृदय आसीत् ॥ ११ ॥

iti kṛtānuṣaṅga āsana-śayanāṭana-snānāśanādiṣu saha mṛga-jahunā snehānubaddha-hṛdaya āsīt.

Growing this close to it, sitting, sleeping, walking, bathing and eating always in its company, his heart became bound fast in affection to the young deer.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.5.8.12)

कुशकुसुमसमित्पलाशफलमूलोदकान्याहरिष्यमाणो वृकसालावृकादिभ्यो भयमाशंसमानो यदा सह हरिणकुणकेन वनं समाविशति ॥ १२ ॥

kuśa-kusuma-samit-palāśa-phala-mūlodakāny āhariṣyamāṇo vṛkasālā-vṛkādibhyo bhayam āśaṁsamāno yadā saha hariṇa-kuṇakena vanaṁ samāviśati.

Whenever he went into the forest to gather kusha grass, flowers, sacred fuel, leaves, fruits, roots and water, fearing that wolves, wild dogs and the like might harm the young deer, he would take it along with him.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.5.8.13)

पथिषु च मुग्धभावेन तत्र तत्र विषक्तमतिप्रणयभरहृदयः कार्पण्यात्स्कन्धेनोद्वहति एवमुत्सङ्ग उरसि चाधायोपलालयन्मुदं परमामवाप ॥ १३ ॥

pathiṣu ca mugdha-bhāvena tatra tatra viṣakta-mati-praṇaya-bhara-hṛdayaḥ kārpaṇyāt skandhenodvahati evam utsaṅga urasi cādhāyopalālayan mudaṁ paramām avāpa.

Along the way, whenever it grew entangled somewhere in its own artless play, he, his heart heavy with love, would out of tenderness carry it upon his shoulder; sometimes on his lap, sometimes pressed against his chest, fondling it, he would know the deepest joy.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.5.8.14)

क्रियायां निर्वर्त्यमानायामन्तरालेऽप्युत्थायोत्थाय यदैनमभिचक्षीत तर्हि वाव स वर्षपतिः प्रकृतिस्थेन मनसा तस्मा आशिष आशास्ते स्वस्ति स्ताद्वत्स ते सर्वत इति ॥ १४ ॥

kriyāyāṁ nirvartyamānāyām antarāle ’py utthāyotthāya yadainam abhicakṣīta tarhi vāva sa varṣa-patiḥ prakṛti-sthena manasā tasmā āśiṣa āśāste svasti stād vatsa te sarvata iti.

Even while performing his sacred rites, he would repeatedly rise in the middle to look for it, and, on seeing it safe, that lord of the land, his mind at ease, would bless it, saying, "My child, may you be well in every way."

Verse 15 (bhagavata.5.8.15)

अन्यदा भृशमुद्विग्नमना नष्टद्रविण इव कृपणः सकरुणमतितर्षेण हरिणकुणक विरहविह्वलहृदयसन्तापस्तमेवानुशोचन् किल कश्मलं महदभिरम्भित इति होवाच ॥ १५ ॥

anyadā bhṛśam udvigna-manā naṣṭa-draviṇa iva kṛpaṇaḥ sakaruṇam ati-tarṣeṇa hariṇa-kuṇaka-viraha-vihvala-hṛdaya-santāpas tam evānuśocan kila kaśmalaṁ mahad abhirambhita iti hovāca.

One day, when the young deer was nowhere to be seen, he grew deeply agitated, like a miser who has lost all his wealth, and, his heart heavy with painful longing, sunk in grief over it alone, overwhelmed by delusion, he spoke as follows.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.5.8.16)

अपि बत स वै कृपण एणबालको मृतहरिणीसुतोऽहो ममानार्यस्य शठकिरातमतेरकृतसुकृतस्य कृतविस्रम्भ आत्मप्रत्ययेन तदविगणयन् सुजन इवागमिष्यति ॥ १६ ॥

api bata sa vai kṛpaṇa eṇa-bālako mṛta-hariṇī-suto ’ho mamānāryasya śaṭha-kirāta-mater akṛta-sukṛtasya kṛta-visrambha ātma-pratyayena tad avigaṇayan sujana ivāgamiṣyati.

Alas, will that poor orphan, son of the dead doe, having placed his trust in a wretch like me — my mind as scheming as a hunter's, having no merit to my name — still return, forgetting it all, as a truly good soul might?

Verse 17 (bhagavata.5.8.17)

अपि क्षेमेणास्मिन्नाश्रमोपवने शष्पाणि चरन्तं देवगुप्तं द्रक्ष्यामि ॥ १७ ॥

api kṣemeṇāsminn āśramopavane śaṣpāṇi carantaṁ deva-guptaṁ drakṣyāmi.

Shall I see him again, safe and sound, protected by the Lord, grazing on tender grass here in this hermitage garden?

Verse 18 (bhagavata.5.8.18)

अपि च न वृकः सालावृकोऽन्यतमो वा नैकचर एकचरो वा भक्षयति ॥ १८ ॥

api ca na vṛkaḥ sālā-vṛko ’nyatamo vā naika-cara eka-caro vā bhak-ṣayati.

Or has he perhaps been devoured by some wolf, some wild dog, or some other predator, whether roaming in a pack or alone?

Verse 19 (bhagavata.5.8.19)

निम्लोचति ह भगवान् सकलजगत्क्षेमोदयस्त्रय्यात्माद्यापि मम न मृगवधून्यास आगच्छति ॥ १९ ॥

nimlocati ha bhagavān sakala-jagat-kṣemodayas trayy-ātmādyāpi mama na mṛga-vadhū-nyāsa āgacchati.

Bhagavan, the sun, source of good fortune for the whole world, the very embodiment of the Veda, is now setting, and still the little one entrusted to me by that doe has not come back.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.5.8.20)

अपिस्विदकृतसुकृतमागत्य मां सुखयिष्यति हरिणराजकुमारो विविधरुचिरदर्शनीयनिजमृगदारकविनोदैरसन्तोषं स्वानामपनुदन् ॥ २० ॥

api svid akṛta-sukṛtam āgatya māṁ sukhayiṣyati hariṇa-rāja-kumāro vividha-rucira-darśanīya-nija-mṛga-dāraka-vinodair asantoṣaṁ svānām apanudan.

Will that little one, dear to me as a prince, come back and bring me joy too, with his many lovely, delightful, childlike games that used to dispel the discontent of all who loved him — or am I simply too devoid of merit for that?

Verse 21 (bhagavata.5.8.21)

क्ष्वेलिकायां मां मृषासमाधिनाऽऽमीलितदृशं प्रेमसंरम्भेण चकितचकित आगत्य पृषदपरुषविषाणाग्रेण लुठति ॥ २१ ॥

kṣvelikāyāṁ māṁ mṛṣā-samādhināmīlita-dṛśaṁ prema-saṁrambheṇa cakita-cakita āgatya pṛṣad-aparuṣa-viṣāṇāgreṇa luṭhati.

When we would play, and I would close my eyes and feign a trance, he would come, timid and hesitant, driven by an eager love, and rub against me with the soft tips of his little horns.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.5.8.22)

आसादितहविषि बर्हिषि दूषिते मयोपालब्धो भीतभीतः सपद्युपरतरास ऋषिकुमारवदवहितकरणकलाप आस्ते ॥ २२ ॥

āsādita-haviṣi barhiṣi dūṣite mayopālabdho bhīta-bhītaḥ sapady uparata-rāsa ṛṣi-kumāravad avahita-karaṇa-kalāpa āste.

When, in his play, he would soil the kusha grass laid out with the sacrificial offerings, and I would rebuke him, he would at once, quite frightened, break off his play, and, like the well-disciplined child of some sage, sit perfectly still, every sense alert.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.5.8.23)

किं वा अरे आचरितं तपस्तपस्विन्यानया यदियमवनिः सविनयकृष्णसारतनयतनुतरसुभगशिवतमाखरखुरपदपङ्क्तिभिर्द्रविणविधुरातुरस्य कृपणस्य मम द्रविणपदवीं सूचयन्त्यात्मानं च सर्वतः कृतकौतुकं द्विजानां स्वर्गापवर्गकामानां देवयजनं करोति ॥ २३ ॥

kiṁ vā are ācaritaṁ tapas tapasvinyānayā yad iyam avaniḥ savinaya-kṛṣṇa-sāra-tanaya-tanutara-subhaga-śivatamākhara-khura-pada-paṅktibhir draviṇa-vidhurāturasya kṛpaṇasya mama draviṇa-padavīṁ sūcayanty ātmānaṁ ca sarvataḥ kṛta-kautukaṁ dvijānāṁ svargāpavarga-kāmānāṁ deva-yajanaṁ karoti.

Ah, what austerities must this ascetic earth have performed, that it should bear this line of small, lovely, most auspicious and delicate hoofprints of that gentle black fawn's child — footprints that point the way for a poor wretch like me, bereft of his treasure, and that, adorning the whole ground with beauty, make it a fit place for brahmanas who long for heaven or liberation to perform their offerings to the gods.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.5.8.24)

अपिस्विदसौ भगवानुडुपतिरेनं मृगपतिभयान्मृतमातरं मृगबालकं स्वाश्रमपरिभ्रष्टमनुकम्पया कृपणजनवत्सलः परिपाति ॥ २४ ॥

api svid asau bhagavān uḍu-patir enaṁ mṛga-pati-bhayān mṛta-mātaraṁ mṛga-bālakaṁ svāśrama-paribhraṣṭam anukampayā kṛpaṇa-jana-vatsalaḥ paripāti.

Can it be that Bhagavan, the moon, so tender toward the helpless, is out of compassion protecting this motherless fawn, strayed from its own home and terrified of the lion?

Verse 25 (bhagavata.5.8.25)

किं वाऽऽत्मजविश्लेषज्वरदवदहनशिखाभिरुपतप्यमानहृदयस्थलनलिनीकं मामुपसृतमृगीतनयं शिशिरशान्तानुरागगुणितनिजवदनसलिलामृतमयगभस्तिभिः स्वधयतीति च ॥ २५ ॥

kiṁ vātmaja-viśleṣa-jvara-dava-dahana-śikhābhir upatapyamāna-hṛdaya-sthala-nalinīkaṁ mām upasṛta-mṛgī-tanayaṁ śiśira-śāntānurāga-guṇita-nija-vadana-salilāmṛtamaya-gabhastibhiḥ svadhayatīti ca.

Or is it that the moon, seeing my heart, that lily-pool now scorched by the fever-fire of separation from that fawn who was to me like a son, is bathing it with the cool, tender, nectar-laden rays of his own gentle face?

Verse 26 (bhagavata.5.8.26)

एवमघटमानमनोरथाकुलहृदयो मृगदारकाभासेन स्वारब्धकर्मणा योगारम्भणतो विभ्रंशितः स योगतापसो भगवदाराधनलक्षणाच्च कथमितरथा जात्यन्तर एणकुणक आसङ्गः साक्षान्निःश्रेयसप्रतिपक्षतया प्राक्परित्यक्तदुस्त्यजहृदयाभिजातस्य तस्यैवमन्तरायविहत योगारम्भणस्य राजर्षेर्भरतस्य तावन्मृगार्भकपोषणपालनप्रीणनलालनानुषङ्गेणाविगणयत आत्मानमहिरिवाखुबिलं दुरतिक्रमः कालः करालरभस आपद्यत ॥ २६ ॥

evam aghaṭamāna-manorathākula-hṛdayo mṛga-dārakābhāsena svārabdha-karmaṇā yogārambhaṇato vibhraṁśitaḥ sa yoga-tāpaso bhagavad-ārādhana-lakṣaṇāc ca katham itarathā jāty-antara eṇa-kuṇaka āsaṅgaḥ sākṣān niḥśreyasa-pratipakṣatayā prāk-parityakta-dustyaja-hṛdayābhijātasya tasyaivam antarāya-vihata-yogārambhaṇasya rājarṣer bharatasya tāvan mṛgārbhaka-poṣaṇa-pālana-prīṇana-lālanānuṣaṅgeṇāvigaṇayata ātmānam ahir ivākhu-bilaṁ duratikramaḥ kālaḥ karāla-rabhasa āpadyata.

Thus, his heart in turmoil with a wish that could not be fulfilled, that yogi-ascetic, thrown off the path of yoga by this attachment to what only appeared to be a fawn and by the deeds of his own making, fell away even from his worship of the Lord — for how else, having earlier renounced even his own dear sons as obstacles on the road to liberation, could he have formed such attachment to a fawn of another species altogether? So absorbed did the royal sage Bharata become, through this very hindrance to his yoga, in feeding, tending, delighting and fondling the young deer, that he lost all awareness of himself — and it was then that inescapable, dreadful, swift-moving death came upon him, as a snake slips into the hole made by a mouse.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.5.8.27)

तदानीमपि पार्श्ववर्तिनमात्मजमिवानुशोचन्तमभिवीक्षमाणो मृग एवाभिनिवेशितमना विसृज्य लोकमिमं सह मृगेण कलेवरं मृतमनु न मृतजन्मानुस्मृतिरितरवन्मृगशरीरमवाप ॥ २७ ॥

tadānīm api pārśva-vartinam ātmajam ivānuśocantam abhivīkṣamāṇo mṛga evābhiniveśita-manā visṛjya lokam imaṁ saha mṛgeṇa kalevaraṁ mṛtam anu na mṛta-janmānusmṛtir itaravan mṛga-śarīram avāpa.

Even then, gazing only upon the deer, who sat beside him grieving as though for a son, his mind fixed on it alone, he left this world and gave up his body along with it — but, unlike ordinary souls, he did not lose the memory of his past life; he simply took birth again, this time in the body of a deer.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.5.8.28)

तत्रापि ह वा आत्मनो मृगत्वकारणं भगवदाराधनसमीहानुभावेनानुस्मृत्य भृशमनुतप्यमान आह ॥ २८ ॥

tatrāpi ha vā ātmano mṛgatva-kāraṇaṁ bhagavad-ārādhana-samīhānubhāvenānusmṛtya bhṛśam anutapyamāna āha.

Even in that deer's form, by the power of his past devotion to the Lord, he could recall the very cause of his birth as a deer, and, deeply repentant, he spoke as follows.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.5.8.29)

अहो कष्टं भ्रष्टोऽहमात्मवतामनुपथाद्यद्विमुक्तसमस्तसङ्गस्य विविक्तपुण्यारण्यशरणस्यात्मवत आत्मनि सर्वेषामात्मनां भगवति वासुदेवे तदनुश्रवणमननसङ्कीर्तनाराधनानुस्मरणाभियोगेनाशून्यसकलयामेन कालेन समावेशितं समाहितं कार्त्स्न्येन मनस्तत्तु पुनर्ममाबुधस्यारान्मृगसुतमनु परिसुस्राव ॥ २९ ॥

aho kaṣṭaṁ bhraṣṭo ’ham ātmavatām anupathād yad-vimukta-samasta-saṅgasya vivikta-puṇyāraṇya-śaraṇasyātmavata ātmani sarveṣām ātmanāṁ bhagavati vāsudeve tad-anuśravaṇa-manana-saṅkīrtanārādhanānusmaraṇābhiyogenāśūnya-sakala-yāmena kālena samāveśitaṁ samāhitaṁ kārtsnyena manas tat tu punar mamābudhasyārān mṛga-sutam anu parisusrāva.

Alas, what misfortune — I have fallen from the path of the self-realized. Free of every attachment, sheltered in a pure and solitary forest, self-controlled, I had fixed my mind entirely, through every watch of the day, on Bhagavan Vasudeva, the Self of all beings, by hearing, reflecting, chanting, worshiping and remembering Him — and yet, in the end, this very mind of mine, fool that I am, went streaming off after a fawn!

Verse 30 (bhagavata.5.8.30)

इत्येवं निगूढनिर्वेदो विसृज्य मृगीं मातरं पुनर्भगवत्क्षेत्रमुपशमशीलमुनिगणदयितं शालग्रामं पुलस्त्यपुलहाश्रमं कालञ्जरात्प्रत्याजगाम ॥ ३० ॥

ity evaṁ nigūḍha-nirvedo visṛjya mṛgīṁ mātaraṁ punar bhagavat-kṣetram upaśama-śīla-muni-gaṇa-dayitaṁ śālagrāmaṁ pulastya-pulahāśramaṁ kālañjarāt pratyājagāma.

Overcome with a deep and hidden renunciation, he left behind his deer-mother, and from Mount Kalanjara made his way back to Shalagrama, that sacred field of the Lord so dear to the tranquil sages, the hermitage of Pulastya and Pulaha.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.5.8.31)

तस्मिन्न् अपि कालं प्रतीक्षमाणः सङ्गाच् च भृशम् उद्विग्न आत्मसहचरः शुष्कपर्णतृणवीरुधा वर्तमानो मृगत्वनिमित्तावसानम् एव गणयन् मृगशरीरं तीर्थोदकक्लिन्नम् उत्ससर्ज ॥ ३१ ॥

tasminn api kālaṁ pratīkṣamāṇaḥ saṅgāc ca bhṛśam udvigna ātma-sahacaraḥ śuṣka-parṇa-tṛṇa-vīrudhā vartamāno mṛgatva-nimittāvasānam eva gaṇayan mṛga-śarīraṁ tīrthodaka-klinnam ut-sasarja.

There too, waiting for death, deeply wary now of all company, keeping only his own self for a companion, subsisting on dry leaves, straw and creepers, reckoning only the end of the karma that had caused his birth as a deer, he finally gave up that deer's body, wet with the waters of that sacred place.