परमेष्ठ्य् अप्य् अनिष्ठावान् हरते हरिम् अप्य् अजः । भवो ऽप्य् अभवतां याति कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even Brahma is subject to misfortune, and the unborn one takes away even Vishnu; even Shiva becomes non-being—what hope is there for someone like me?
कालश् शकलताम् एति नियतिश् चापि नीयते । खम् अप्य् आलीयते ऽनन्ते कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even Time is broken into pieces, and Destiny is led away; even space dissolves into the infinite—what hope is there for someone like me?
अश्रव्यावाच्यदुर्दर्शतन्त्रेणाज्ञातमूर्तिना । भुवनानि विडम्ब्यन्ते केनचिद् भ्रमदायिना
All the worlds are mocked by some unknown force, whose nature is unheard, unspeakable, and invisible, and which causes delusion.
अहङ्कारकलाम् एत्य सर्वत्रान्तरवासिना । न सो ऽस्ति त्रिषु लोकेषु यस् तेनेह न बाध्यते
Having assumed the subtle form of ego, it dwells within all, and there is no one in the three worlds who is not troubled by it here.
शिलाशैलकटप्रेषु साश्वसूतो दिवाकरः । वनपाषाणवन् नित्यम् अवशः परिदोल्यते
Just as the sun’s charioteer is helplessly shaken among rocks, mountains, and forest cliffs, so too is one tossed about endlessly.
धरागोलकम् अन्तस्स्थसुरासुरगणास्पदम् । वेष्ट्यते धिष्ण्यचक्रेण पक्वाक्षोटम् इव त्वचा
The earth-globe, which holds hosts of gods and demons within, is encircled by the wheel of the heavens, like a ripe wood-apple by its rind.
दिवि देवा भुवि नराः पाताले ऽसुरभोगिनः । कल्पिताः कल्पमात्रेण नीयन्ते जर्जरां दशाम्
Gods in heaven, humans on earth, and demons and serpents in the underworld—all are imagined by mere imagination, and are led to a state of decay.
कामश् च जगतीशानरणलब्धपराक्रमः । अक्रमेणैव विक्रान्तो लोकम् आक्रम्य वल्गति
Desire, having gained strength from the fire of the world’s rulers, forcefully spreads without order and leaps about, seizing the world.
वसन्तो मत्तमातङ्गो मदैः कुसुमवर्षणैः । आमोदितककुप्चक्रश् चेतो नयति वक्रताम्
Spring, like a drunken elephant, with showers of flowers and fragrant breezes, bends the mind from its straight path.
अनुरक्ताङ्गनालोकलोचनालोकिताकृति । स्पष्टीकर्तुं मनश् शक्तो न विवेको महान् अपि
Even great discernment is unable to clarify the mind, when it is captivated by the gaze of a loving woman’s eyes.
परोपकारकारिण्या परार्त्या परितप्तया । बुद्ध एव सुखी मन्ये स्वार्थशीतलया धिया
Only the wise, whose minds are cooled by selflessness, who act for the good of others and are moved by the suffering of others, are truly happy, I think.
उत्पन्नध्वंसिनः कालवडवानलपातिनः । सङ्ख्यातुं केन शक्यन्ते कल्लोला जीविताम्बुधेः
Who can count the waves in the ocean of life, which arise and vanish, struck down by the fire of time?
सर्व एव नरा मोहाद् दुराशापाशपातिनः । दोषगुल्मकसारङ्गा निगीर्णा जन्मजङ्गले
All people, out of delusion, are bound by the cords of vain hopes, swallowed up in the jungle of birth, as deer by the thicket of faults.
सङ्क्षीयते जगति जन्मपरम्परासु लोकस्य तैर् इह कुकर्मभिर् आयुर् एतत् । आकाशपादपलताकृतपाशकल्पं येषां फलं न हि विचारविदो ऽपि विद्मः
In this world, the lifespan of people is diminished by these evil deeds accumulated through successive births; and even those skilled in discernment do not know what fruit will come, as it is like a snare made from the branches of the sky.
अद्योत्सवो ऽयम् ऋतुर् एष तथेह यात्रा ते बन्धवस् सुखम् इदं स विशेषभोगः । इत्थं मुधैव कलयन् स्वविकल्पजालम् आलोलपेलवमतिर् गलतीह लोकः
Today is a festival, this is the season, here is the journey, these are your relatives, this is happiness, this is special enjoyment—thus, people, weaving their own web of fancies in vain, their minds fickle and unsteady, pass away from this world.
अन्यच् च तातातितराम् अरम्ये मनोरमे वेह जगत्स्वरूपे । न किञ्चिद् अप्य् एति तद् अर्थजातं येनातिविश्रान्तिम् उपैति चेतः
Moreover, O father, in this world, even in the most delightful and charming forms, nothing at all brings about that state by which the mind attains perfect rest.
बाल्ये गते कल्पितकेलिलोले वयोमृगे दारदरीषु कीर्णे । शरीरके जर्जरतां प्रयाते विदूयते केवलम् एव लोकः
When childhood has passed, with its imagined playfulness, and youth, the deer of age, is scattered among the caves of women, and the body has become worn out, then people are only tormented.
जरातुषाराभिहतां शरीरसरोजिनीं दूरतरे विहाय । क्षणाद् गते जीवितचञ्चरीके जनस्य संसारसरो विशुष्कम्
When the lotus of the body is struck by the frost of old age and abandoned far away, and the dragonfly of life departs in an instant, the lake of worldly existence for people dries up.
यदा यदा पाकम् उपैति नूनं तदा तदेयं नतिम् आतनोति । जराभरानल्पनवप्रसूनविजर्जरा कायलता नराणाम्
Whenever ripening surely arrives, then this body-vine of men, weakened by old age, burden, and the offspring of little strength, bows down.
तृष्णानदी सारतरप्रवाहग्रस्ताखिलानन्तपदार्थजाता । तटस्थसन्तोषसुवृक्षमूलनिकाषदक्षा वहतीह लोके
The river of craving, with its swift current, sweeps away all countless objects; in this world, it flows skillfully, eroding the roots of the tree of contentment standing on its bank.
शरीरनौश् चर्मनिबद्धबन्धा भवाम्बुधाव् आलुलिता भ्रमन्ती । प्रव्रोड्यते पञ्चभिर् इन्द्रियाख्यैर् अधो वहन्ती मकरैर् अधीना
The boat of the body, bound by leather straps, tossed about in the ocean of existence, wanders, and is driven downward by the five crocodiles called senses, under their control.
तृष्णालताकाननचारिणो ऽमी शाखाशतं काममहीरुहेषु । परिभ्रमन्तः क्षपयन्ति कामम् मनोमृगा नो फलम् आप्नुवन्ति
These deer of the mind, wandering in the forest of the vine of craving, roam among the hundred branches of the trees of desire, exhaust themselves in pursuit of pleasure, yet never attain the fruit.
कृच्छ्रेषु दूरास्तविषादमोहास् स्वाम्येष्व् अनुत्सिक्तमनोऽभिरामाः । सुदुर्लभास् सम्प्रति सुन्दरीभिर् अनाहतान्तःकरणा महान्तः
In hardships, far from sorrow and delusion, delighting in mastery with minds not scattered, exceedingly rare now among beautiful women, are those great ones whose inner being is unstruck.
तरन्ति मातङ्गघटातरङ्गं रणाम्बुधिं ये मयि ते न शूराः । शूरास् त एवेह मनस्तरङ्गं ये हीन्द्रियाम्भोधिम् इमं तरन्ति
Those who cross the waves of elephant-herds and the ocean of battle are not heroes to me; only those who cross the waves of the mind and this ocean of the senses are heroes here.
अक्लिष्टपर्यन्तफलाभिरामा न दृश्यते कस्यचिद् एव काचित् । क्रिया दुराशाहतचित्तवृत्तेर् याम् एत्य विश्रान्तिम् उपैति लोकः
No action, delightful with its effortless and perfect fruit, is seen anywhere; for those whose minds are struck by vain hopes, the world attains rest only upon reaching such a state.
कीर्त्या जगद् दिक्कुहरं प्रतापैश् श्रिया गृहं सत्त्वबलेन लक्ष्मीम् । ये पूरयन्त्य् अक्षतधर्मबन्धा न ते जगत्यां सुलभा मनुष्याः
Those who fill the world with fame, the sky with glory, their homes with wealth, and Lakshmi with strength of virtue, whose bonds of righteousness are unbroken, are not easily found among men.
अप्य् अन्तरस्थं गिरिशैलभित्तेर् वज्रालयाभ्यन्तरसंस्थितं वा । सर्वं समायान्ति समिद्धवेगास् सर्वाश् श्रियस् सन्ततम् आपदश् च
Even that which is hidden within the heart of a mountain or inside a fortress of diamond, all of it is inevitably reached by the swift force of both fortune and misfortune, which come constantly.
पुत्राश् च दाराश् च धनं च बुद्ध्या प्रकल्प्यते तात रसायनं व । सर्वं तु तन् नोपकरोत्य् अथान्ते यत्रातिरम्या विषमूर्छनैव
Sons, wives, and wealth are conceived by the mind, O dear one, just like an elixir; yet none of these truly help at the end, when only the most delightful poison remains.
विषादयुक्तो विषमाम् अवस्थाम् उपागतः कायवयोऽवसाने । भावान् स्मरन् स्वान् अभिधर्मरिक्ताञ् जनो जरावान् अभिदह्यते ऽन्तः
When a person, afflicted by sorrow and having reached a poisonous state at the end of the body’s span, remembers his own experiences—empty of true value—he is inwardly consumed by the fire of old age.
कामार्थधर्माप्तिकृशान्तराभिः क्रियाभिर् आदौ दिवसानि नीत्वा । चेतश् चलद् बर्हिणपिञ्छलोलं विश्रान्तिम् आगच्छतु केन पुंसः
After spending his days at first in actions aimed at pleasure, wealth, and virtue, whose results are thin and uncertain, with a mind as restless as a peacock’s feather, by what means can a man ever find rest?