क्षणम् उल्लासम् आयाति क्षणम् आयाति शून्यताम् । जडा विदलयत्य् आशु तृष्णाप्रावृट्तरङ्गिणी
For a moment it brings delight, for a moment emptiness; this wave of desire, surging like the monsoon, swiftly shatters the dull-witted.
दृष्टदैन्यो हतस्वान्तो हतौजा याति नीचताम् । मुह्यते रौति पतति तृष्णयाभिहतो जनः
When a person is overcome by poverty, his spirit is broken, his strength destroyed, and he sinks into degradation; struck by craving, he becomes confused, cries out, and falls.
न स्थिता कोटरे यस्य तृष्णाकृष्णभुजङ्गमी । तस्य प्राणानिलास् स्वस्थाः पुंसो हृदयरन्ध्रगाः
For one whose heart is not occupied by the serpent of craving, the vital breaths remain steady, passing through the channels of the heart.
नूनम् अस्तङ्गतो यत्र तृष्णाकृष्णनिशाक्रमः । पुण्यानि तत्र वर्धन्ते शुक्लपक्ष इवेन्दवः
Where the darkness of craving has truly set, there virtue increases, just as the moon waxes in the bright fortnight.
यो न तृष्णाघुणावल्या क्षतः पुरुषपादपः । पुण्यप्रसूनेन सदा सो ऽवभाति विकासिना
The tree of man who is not wounded by the coils of craving always shines forth, blossoming with the flower of virtue.
अनन्ताकुलकल्लोला विवर्तावर्तसङ्कुला । प्रवहत्य् आशयारण्ये तृष्णामोहनदी नृणाम्
The river of delusion, surging with endless waves and swirling currents, flows through the forest of human desires.
तृष्णयेमे जनास् सर्वे सूत्रयन्त्रपतत्रिवत् । उह्यन्ते प्रविशीर्यन्ते संह्रियन्ते च भूरिशः
All these people are moved, shattered, and gathered again and again by craving, like puppets on strings.
मूलान्य् अपि सुसूक्ष्मापि कठिनायसकर्कशा । तृष्णा परशुधारेव लगन्ती विनिकृन्तति
Even the finest and hardest roots are cut through by craving, as if by the blade of an axe.
निपतत्य् अवटे मूढस् तृष्णाम् अनुसरञ् जनः । नीलाम् अनुपतञ् श्वभ्रतृणशाखां यथैणकः
A foolish person, following craving, falls into a chasm, like a deer leaping after a blue grass blade over a pit.
नापन् नापि जरा न क्षुत् तथा जरयति क्षणात् । यथा जरयति क्षामं तृष्णा हृदयरूपिका
Neither wind, nor old age, nor hunger consumes so swiftly as thirst, which takes the form of the heart.
तृष्णयाशयकौशिक्या हृद्य् अमङ्गलभूतया । रूढया भगवान् एष विष्णुर् वामनतां गतः
When the root of thirst, dwelling in the heart and bringing misfortune, becomes firmly established, even the blessed Vishnu assumes the form of a dwarf.
कयाचिद् एव दैविक्या हृदि ग्रथितयानया । तृष्णया भ्राम्यते व्योम्नि रज्ज्वेवार्को ऽन्वहं किल
By some divine force, when thirst is tightly bound in the heart, the sun wanders in the sky each day, as if attached to a rope.
सर्वदुःखमयाकारां कारां जगति जीवतः । तृष्णां परिहर क्रूराम् उरगीम् इव दूरतः
Abandon the cruel thirst, which is the cause of all suffering and bondage in the world for the living, as one would avoid a serpent from afar.
तृष्णया पवना वान्ति शैलास् तिष्ठन्ति तृष्णया । तृष्णयैव धरा धात्री त्रैलोक्यं तृष्णया वृतम्
By thirst, winds blow; by thirst, mountains stand; by thirst alone, the earth is sustained; the three worlds are enveloped by thirst.
सर्वैव लोकयात्रेयं प्रोता तृष्णावरत्रया । रज्जुबद्धा विमुच्यन्ते तृष्णाबद्धा न केचन
This entire worldly journey is threaded on the cord of thirst; those bound by a rope are released, but none are freed who are bound by thirst.
तस्माद् राघव तृष्णां त्वं त्यज सङ्कल्पवर्जनात् । मनस् सङ्कल्पकं नास्ति निर्णीतम् इति युक्तितः
Therefore, Raghava, abandon thirst by relinquishing all mental constructs; it is established by reasoning that the mind has no creator of constructs.
अयं नामाहम् इत्य् एव प्रथमं तावद् आशये । मा दुराशां महाबाहो सङ्कल्पय तमोमयीम्
First, the thought arises: 'I am called so-and-so'; O mighty-armed one, do not imagine vain hopes, which are filled with darkness.
एतां दुःखप्रसविनीम् अनात्मन्य् आत्मभावनाम् । न भावयसि चेद् राम तद् बहुज्ञेषु गण्यसे
Rama, if you do not cultivate the notion of self in what is not the self, which is the source of suffering, then you are counted among the wise.
एनाम् अहम्भावमयीम् अपुण्यां छित्त्वा स्वयम्भावशलाकयैव । स्वभावनां भव्य भवान्तभूमौ भवाभिभूताखिलभीतिभूतिः
Cut off this unwholesome sense of 'I', which is composed of ego, with the very rod of self-awareness; then, established in your own true nature at the end of becoming, you will be free from all fear and suffering.
अतिगम्भीरम् एतत् तु भगवन् वचनं तव । यद् अहङ्कारतृष्णे त्वं मा गृहाणेति वक्षि माम्
Venerable one, your statement is exceedingly profound: that I should not accept ego and craving.
यद्य् अहङ्कारसन्त्यागं करोमि तद् इमं प्रभो । त्यजामि देहनामानं सन्निवेशम् अशेषतः
If I abandon ego, O Lord, then I completely give up this bodily structure known as 'body' and 'name'.
जानुस्तम्भेन महता धार्यते सुतरुर् यथा । अहङ्कारेण देहो ऽयं तथैव किल धार्यते
Just as a great tree is supported by a strong stake, so indeed is this body supported by ego.
अहङ्कारक्षये देहः किलावश्यं विनश्यति । मूले क्रकचसंलूने सुमहान् इव पादपः
When ego is destroyed, the body must certainly perish, just as a mighty tree falls when its root is cut by a saw.
तत् कथं सन्त्यजाम्य् एनं जीवामि च कथं मुने । एकम् अर्थं विनिश्चित्य वद मे वदतां वर
So, sage, how can I abandon this and yet live? Decide on one meaning and tell me, best of speakers.
सर्वत्र वासनात्यागो राम राजीवलोचन । द्विविधः कथ्यते तज्ज्ञैर् ध्येयो नेयश् च नामतः
Everywhere, O lotus-eyed Rama, the abandonment of tendencies is described by the wise as twofold: as to be meditated upon and as to be practiced.
अहम् एषां पदार्थानाम् एते च मम जीवितम् । नाहम् एभिर् विना कश्चिन् न मयैते विना किल
I am the life of these objects, and these are my very life; without them, I am nothing, and surely, they do not exist without me.
इत्य् अन्तर् निश्चयं त्यक्त्वा विचार्य मनसा सह । नाहं पदार्थस्य न मे पदार्थ इति भाविते
Abandoning this inner conviction and reflecting with the mind, one realizes: I do not belong to any object, nor does any object belong to me.
अन्तश्शीतलया बुद्ध्या कुर्वन्त्या लीलया क्रियाः । यो नूनं वासनात्यागो ध्येयो नाम स कीर्तितः
When, with a mind cooled within, one acts playfully, that very abandonment of latent tendencies is indeed called the object of meditation.
सर्वं सर्विकया बुद्ध्या यं कृत्वा वासनाक्षयम् । जहाति निर्मना देहं स नेयो वासनाक्षयः
By establishing the intellect in totality and bringing latent tendencies to an end, one who abandons the body with a mind free from attachment is known to have destroyed those tendencies.
अहङ्कारमयीं त्यक्त्वा वासनां लीलयैव यः । तिष्ठति ध्येयसन्त्यागी स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He who, playfully, abandons the tendency made of ego and remains free from any object of meditation is called liberated while living.