तेन यस् सङ्गमस् स स्यात् स्थाणुनापि हि जङ्गले । तदर्थं यत् कृतं किञ्चित् तद् व्योम लगुडैर् हतम्
Thus, any union with such a one is like joining with a tree in the wilderness; whatever is done for that purpose is like striking the sky with sticks.
तस्मिन् यद् अधमे दत्तं तत् त्यक्तं क्लिन्नकर्दमे । तेन सार्धं कथा यास् तत् कौलेयाह्वानम् अध्वरे
Whatever is given to such a lowly one is abandoned in muddy slush; any conversation with them is like a ritual called 'kauleya' performed in vain.
अज्ञत्वम् आपदां निष्ठा का हि नापद् अजानतः । इयं संसारसरणिर् वहत्य् अज्ञप्रसादतः
Ignorance is the root of all misfortune; what calamity can there be for one who is not ignorant? This path of worldly existence is carried on by the favor of ignorance.
अज्ञस्योग्राणि दुःखानि सुखान्य् अपि दृढानि च । पुनः पुनः प्रवर्तन्ते युगं प्रत्य् अचला इव
For the ignorant, intense sufferings and even strong pleasures arise again and again, like the fixed cycles of ages.
शरीरधनदारादाव् आस्थां समनुबध्नतः । इदं दुर्दुःखम् अज्ञस्य न कदाचन शाम्यति
For the ignorant person who remains attached to body, wealth, wife, and so on, this deep suffering never ceases.
अनात्मनि शवे देहे आत्मभावम् उपेयुषः । असद्बोधमयी माया कथं नाम विनश्यति
How can the illusion, which is made of false understanding, ever be destroyed for one who regards the lifeless body as the self?
दुर्भावखर्वितधियो वस्तुन्य् अन्धस्य दुर्मतेः । अवस्तुनि सनेत्रस्य लुठतश् च पदे पदे
For the blind and misguided person whose mind is corrupted by wrong views, suffering arises at every step, whether in reality or in illusion.
विषम् उत्पद्यते चन्द्राद् आमोदः कुसुमाद् इव । कण्टकश् चैव पयसो दूर्वाङ्कुर इव स्थलात्
Just as fragrance arises from the moon and from flowers, and thorns from water and sprouts from barren ground, so too does adversity arise.
देहशल्मलिभोगिन्यो मनोमातङ्गशृङ्खलाः । अज्ञस्याशाः प्रसूयन्ते सुवृष्टेष्व् इव शालयः
For the ignorant, desires—like the binding creepers of the silk-cotton tree and the chains of the mind-elephant—spring up just as rice flourishes in well-watered fields.
नरकश्रीर् अनात्मज्ञं दुष्कृतव्यालपालिता । परिपालयति प्रीता मयूरी वारिदं यथा
The splendor of hell, guarded by the serpents of evil deeds, fondly protects the one ignorant of the Self, just as a peahen cherishes a rain cloud.
नेत्रलोलालिनीलोला स्फुरिताधरपल्लवा । मूर्खार्थम् एव विकसत्य् अङ्गनाविषवल्लरी
The poisonous creeper of woman, with restless eyes and quivering lips, blooms only for the sake of the fool.
अज्ञवारिधिहृद्भूमाव् एव वेपथुपल्लवः । वर्धते ऽपगतच्छायो रागविद्रुमदुर्द्रुमः
On the heart-soil of the ocean of ignorance, the feverish sapling of passion grows, its shade vanished, like a dreadful coral tree.
तनुच्छदलसद्धूमश् शस्त्रज्वालो भटोल्मुकः । ज्वलति द्वेषदावो ऽज्ञहृन्मरौ कोपतापदः
The faint smoke of the body’s covering, the flame of weapons, the blazing fire of hatred, and the scorching heat of anger burn in the desert of ignorance within the heart.
अज्ञमात्सर्यसरसि परापवदनच्छदा । ईर्ष्याकमलिनी चिन्ताषट्पदी विकसत्य् अलम्
In the lake of ignorance and envy, covered by the slander of others, the lotus of jealousy blooms, and the bee of anxious thought flourishes abundantly.
प्रतिजन्म प्रकृष्टोग्रदुःखकल्लोलसम्भ्रमः । जडम् एव समभ्येति पुनर्मरणवाडवः
With every birth, the tumult of intense and fierce suffering surges; the fire of death again approaches only the dull-minded.
जन्मबाल्यं ध्रुवं याति यौवनं युवता जराम् । जरा मरणम् अभ्येति मूढस्यैव पुनः पुनः
Birth inevitably leads to childhood, then youth, then old age; old age approaches death, and for the deluded, this cycle repeats again and again.
जगज्जीर्णारघट्टे ऽस्मिन् रज्ज्वा संसृतिरूपया । मज्जनोन्मज्जनैर् अज्ञा यन्त्रे शकलतां गताः
In this world, worn by the friction of age, in the rope of transmigration, ignorance causes beings to sink and rise, becoming fragments in the machinery of existence.
यद् एव गोष्पदादूरं ज्ञधियः पेलवं जगत् । तद् एवापारपर्यन्तम् अगाधम् अमहात्मनः
What is but a shallow puddle to those of clear understanding is, for those of small-mindedness, a boundless, unfathomable expanse.
धियो ऽदृश इवाज्ञस्य चिद्व्योमोदरकोटरात् । न प्रयान्त्य् अपरं पारं विहङ्ग्यः पञ्जराद् इव
For the ignorant, their intellects, like invisible birds trapped in the hollow of the sky of consciousness, do not reach the other shore, just as birds cannot escape from a cage.
भावमात्रपरावृत्त्या वासनामात्रनाभयः । स्पष्टीकर्तुं न शक्यन्ते जन्मचक्रस्य नेमयः
By merely turning away from mental constructs, with only the thread of latent tendencies, the spokes of the wheel of birth cannot be clearly discerned.
अज्ञेनेन्द्रियशय्यार्थं रागासृगरुणा तनुः । संसारारण्य आस्तीर्णा पुनर् आमिषपिण्डवत्
The body, driven by ignorance and the poison of attachment to the pleasures of the senses, is spread out in the forest of worldly existence like a lump of bait.
भूतशैलमयी सृष्टिर् मृन्मांसलवमात्रिका । मोहात् संलक्ष्यते चित्तपदार्थानर्थरञ्जना
This creation, made of the mountains of elements and composed only of clay, flesh, and marrow, is perceived through delusion, coloring the mind with the objects of sense and the play of misfortune.
जयत्य् अनल्पसङ्कल्पकल्पनाकल्पपादपः । अज्ञानां प्रसृता यस्माज् जगत्पर्णपरम्पराः
Victorious is the tree of imagination, with countless branches of thought, from which the endless succession of worldly phenomena, the leaves of ignorance, have spread forth.
यस्मिंस् तिष्ठन्ति राजन्ते लसन्ति विलसन्ति च । विचित्ररचनोपेता भूरिभोगविहङ्गमाः
On this tree dwell, shine, and play—adorned with wondrous forms—the many birds of enjoyment.
यत्र जन्मानि पर्वाणि कर्मजालं च कोरकाः । फलानि पुण्यपापानि मञ्जर्यो विभवश्रियः
There, births are the nodes, karmic entanglements are the buds, fruits are merit and demerit, and the blossoms are wealth and prosperity.
अज्ञानेन्दूदयाद् एता योषिदोषधयस् स्फुटम् । संसारवनषण्डे ऽस्मिन् परां शोभाम् उपागताः
With the rising of the moon of ignorance, these women and herbs have attained supreme beauty in this thicket of the forest of worldly existence.
घनजाड्यः कलापूर्णस् तमःकालकृतोदयः । शून्योदितात्मा दोषेशो जयत्य् अज्ञानचन्द्रमाः
The moon of ignorance, lord of faults, whose nature is dense dullness, full of darkness and born of the time of night, rises in the sky of emptiness and is victorious.
अज्ञानेन्दोः प्रसादेन वासनामृतशालिना । तर्पिताशाचकोरेण चित्तरत्नरसैषिणा
By the grace of the moon of ignorance, the chakora bird of desire, longing for the nectar of impressions, is satisfied with the essence of the jewel of the mind.
राजहंसविलासिन्यः प्रालेयशिशिराङ्गिकाः । भान्ति कान्ताकुमुद्वत्यो लोललोचनषट्पदाः
Royal swans, graceful in their play, with bodies cool as snow, shine forth like lovely moonlotuses, their restless eyes resembling bees.
धम्मिल्लतिमिरोल्लासा यत् प्रपाण्डुपयोधराः । रामारजन्यो राजन्ते तन् मौर्ख्येन्दुविजृम्भितम्
With hair bound up and adorned, their pale breasts gleaming, the women of the royal line shine, their beauty blossoming under the moon of folly.