कायजीर्णतरोर् अस्माद् बान्धवाक्रन्दषट्पदात् । जरापुष्पसितोदेति पुनर् मरणमञ्जरी
From this tree of the aging body, where the cries of relatives are like buzzing bees, the blossoms of old age appear again, followed by the cluster of death.
भुक्तशुक्तर्तुविरसा पुराणदिवसोम्भिता । नीयते नीरसप्राया पुनस् संवत्सरावली
The succession of years, once filled with the flavors of enjoyed seasons and the freshness of new days, now passes on, mostly drained of vitality.
महादरीषु देहाद्रेस् तृष्णाकण्टकितास्व् अति । हेलाव्यालासु च पुनः क्रियासु परिलुप्यते
Within the great caverns of the mountain-body, bristling with the thorns of craving, and in the lairs of heedless actions, one is gradually consumed.
दुःखैस् सुखलवाकारैर् दीर्घदीर्घैश् शुभाशुभैः । अपर्यस्तागमप्रायाः प्रयान्त्य् आयान्ति रात्रयः
Nights come and go, seemingly endless, filled with long stretches of pain and fleeting moments of pleasure, with auspicious and inauspicious events, yet rarely bringing anything new.
अयथार्थक्रियारम्भैः कदाशावेशपल्लवैः । क्षीयते कर्मभिस् तुच्छैर् आयुर् आहतकर्तृभिः
Life is worn away by pointless actions, by the shoots of hope that arise from misguided undertakings, and by the deeds of those who are themselves struck down.
उन्मूलिताशयालानो मनोमत्तमतङ्गजः । तृष्णाकरेणुकोत्तब्धो दूरं विपरिधावति
The wild elephant of the mind, its roots of intention uprooted, intoxicated with delusion and bound by the dust of craving, runs far astray.
जिह्वादललतालग्नः कायद्रुमगुहालये । यत्रचिन्तामणौ वृद्धो गर्धगृध्रो विवर्धते
In the cave of the body-tree, clinging to the palate and tongue, the old vulture of worry grows ever stronger, feeding on whatever it finds.
नीरसा निस्सुखा लघ्वी पतत्पेलवगात्रिका । जीर्णपर्णसवर्णेयं क्षीयते दिवसावली
This succession of days, devoid of essence, joyless, insubstantial, and frail as withered leaves, steadily wastes away.
अपमानरजोध्वस्तम् अस्तङ्गतवपुश्श्रि च । मुखं धूसरताम् एति हिमैः पद्मम् इवाहतम्
The face, its beauty faded and form diminished by the dust of disrespect, grows ashen—like a lotus struck by frost.
शुष्यतः कायसरसः प्रगलद्यौवनाम्भसः । राजहंसः क्षणाद् आयुर् अनावर्ति पलायते
As the lake of the body dries up and the waters of youth recede, the swan of life swiftly departs, never to return.
कालानिलबलोद्धूताज् जर्जराज् जीवितद्रुमात् । भोगपुष्पाणि दिवसपर्णानि निपतन्त्य् अधः
Shaken by the force of time's wind, the blossoms of pleasure—leaves of the days—fall from the decaying tree of life.
भोगभोगिश्रितेष्व् अन्तर् दुःखदर्दुरवारिषु । मनो मोहान्धकूपेषु दूरेषु विनिमज्जति
The mind sinks far away, immersed among the crocodiles of sorrowful waters, in the dark wells of delusion, within the haunts of pleasure-seekers.
नानानुरञ्जना स्पष्टा तृष्णा तरलपेलवा । चैत्यमग्नपताकेव दूरं समधिरोहति
Desires, fickle and unsubstantial, no longer clearly delight; like a temple flag carried off by the wind, they ascend far away.
अस्य संसारतन्त्रस्य बृहत्कालबिलास्पदः । जीविताशामयांस् तन्तून् अन्तकाखुर् निकृन्तति
In this machinery of worldly existence, the great pit of time is its foundation; the claw of death severs the threads of hope for life.
यौवनोत्फालकल्लोला बहलोल्लासफेनिला । परावर्तमहावर्ता याति जीवितदुर्नदी
The turbulent river of life, with its waves swelling with youth and frothing with exuberance, turns back upon itself in a great whirlpool.
कलाकुलकलत्कार्यकल्लोलकुलसङ्कुला । क्रियासरिद् अपर्यन्ता वहत्य् आकुलकोटरा
The river of action, crowded with the waves of countless activities and surging with the tumult of time, flows endlessly, its hollows filled with confusion.
अनन्ता बन्धुजनतानद्यो गम्भीरकोटरे । अजस्रं निपतन्त्य् एता वितते कालसागरे
The infinite streams of kin and companions, in their deep channels, ceaselessly pour forth into the vast ocean of time.
देहरत्नशलाकेयं नाशपङ्कार्णवोदरे । न ज्ञायते क्व मग्नेति तात जन्मनि जन्मनि
This body, a jewel-like casket, within the ocean of the mire of destruction, does not reveal where it is drawn, O dear one, in each and every birth.
चिन्ताचक्रे चिरं चञ्चच्चक्रिकाचारचञ्चुरे । चेतो भ्रमति सामुद्रे गर्तावर्ते तृणं यथा
The mind, long whirling in the wheel of thought, restless in its spinning, wanders in the ocean’s eddies like a blade of grass caught in a whirlpool.
उह्यमानम् अनन्तेषु चेतः कार्यमहोर्मिषु । क्षणम् एति न विश्रामं चिन्ताताण्डविताशयम्
Tossed among endless waves of powerful actions, the mind finds not a moment’s rest, its hope battered by the dance of thought.
इदं कृतं करोमीदं करिष्यामीदम् इत्य् अलम् । कलनाजालवलिता मूर्छिता मतिपक्षिणी
‘This is done, I will do this, I must do that’—thus, wrapped in a web of calculations, the bird of the mind is stupefied.
अयं सुहृद् अयं शत्रुर् इति द्वन्द्वमहामयः । विनिकृन्तति मर्माणि नवानीवोत्पलानि मे
‘This is a friend, this is an enemy’—such is the great disease of duality, which cuts into my vital parts like fresh lotus stalks.
चिन्तातुण्ड्या मदावर्तवीच्यैकनिचयं चरन् । क्षणाद् उच्छूनताम् एति मानमीनः क्षणात् क्षतिम्
The fish of pride, moving among the single heap of waves in the whirlpool of intoxication, is in a moment either swollen or destroyed by the beak of thought.
अनात्मीयानि दुःखानि बहून्य् एवंविधान्य् अलम् । आत्मबुद्ध्या विचिन्वानो जनो गच्छति दीनताम्
A person who, considering many such sufferings that are not truly their own as belonging to themselves, examines them with self-identification, falls into dejection.
बहुविधसुखदुःखमध्यपाती विततजरामरणप्रपातभग्नः । जगदुदरगिरौ लुठञ् जनो ऽयं गतरसपर्णवद् एति जर्जरत्वम्
This person, tossed amidst various pleasures and pains, shattered by the wide chasm of old age and death, rolling on the mountain that is the world’s belly, becomes worn out like a leaf bereft of sap.
एवं तौ कुशलप्रश्नं कृतवन्तौ परस्परम् । कालेनासाद्य विमलं ज्ञानं मोक्षं ततो गतौ
Thus, having asked each other skillful questions, the two, in due course, attained pure knowledge and thereby liberation.
अतो वच्मि महाबाहो यथा ज्ञानेतरा गतिः । नास्ति संसारतरणे पाशबद्धस्य चेतसः
Therefore, O mighty-armed one, I say: apart from knowledge, there is no other way for the mind bound by the fetters of saṃsāra to cross over.
इदं भव्यमतेर् दुःखम् अनन्तम् अपि पेलवम् । कुखगस्यातरो ऽम्भोधिस् सर्पारेर् गोष्पदायते
For one whose mind is noble, even endless suffering is light; for the one who has crossed the hollow of the heart, the ocean of serpents appears like a cow’s hoofprint.
देहातीता महात्मानश् चिन्मात्रे स्वात्मनि स्थिताः । दूरद् देहं हसन्ति स्वं प्रेक्ष्यार्को जनताम् इव
The great ones, who have gone beyond the body and are established in pure consciousness, look upon their own bodies from afar and laugh, just as the sun looks upon the people.
देहे दुःखिनि सङ्क्षुब्धे का नः क्षतिर् उपस्थिता । रथे विधुरिते भग्ने सारथेः केव खण्डना
When the body is suffering and disturbed, what harm truly comes to us? When a chariot is broken and ruined, what damage is there to the charioteer?