दृश्यनद्याम् अथो चित्तजलकल्लोलहेलया । चक्रावर्तोह्यमानेन मयोद्विग्नेन चिन्तितम्
In the river of appearances, my mind was tossed about by the waves of thought, whirled by the eddies, and I was troubled and anxious.
संसारसागरे दृश्यकलोल्लैर् अहम् आकुलः । कालेनोद्वेगम् आयातश् चातको ऽवग्रहे यथा
In the ocean of worldly existence, I was agitated by the waves of appearances; over time, distress arose in me, like a chataka bird in drought.
संविन्मात्रैकसारेषु रम्यं भोगेषु नाम किम् । अवतिष्ठे गतोद्वेगं संविद्व्योम्न्य् एव केवलम्
What delight is there in pleasures, which are only the essence of pure consciousness? I abide, free from agitation, solely in the sky of awareness.
शब्दरूपरसस्पर्शगन्धमात्राद् ऋते परम् । नेह किञ्चन नामास्ति किम् एतावत्य् अलं रमे
Apart from sound, form, taste, touch, and scent, nothing else exists here; why should I take pleasure in such limited things?
विन्मात्राकाशम् एवैतत् सर्वं विन्मात्रम् एव वा । तत् किम् अत्रासदाकारे रमे नष्टमतिर् यथा
All this is only the space of consciousness, or consciousness alone; why should I delight in these unreal forms, as one whose mind is lost?
विषया विषवैषम्या वामाẖ कामविमोहदाः । रसा विरसवैरस्या लुठन्न् एषु न को हतः
Objects, with their inherent discord, are fickle and give rise to desire and delusion; their tastes are insipid and disagreeable—who is not ruined by indulging in them?
जीर्णजीवितजम्बालजरच्छफरिकां मतिम् । कायद्रुमगतादातुं जरेच्छति बृहद्बकी
The great heron of old age desires to seize the mind, which is like a decayed little fish, soiled by the filth of worn-out life, dwelling in the tree of the body.
कायो ऽयम् अचिरापायो बुद्बुदो ऽम्बुनिधाव् इव । स्फुरन्न् एव पुरो ऽन्तर्धिं याति दीपशिखा यथा
This body quickly passes away, like a bubble in the ocean; even as it flickers, it vanishes before your eyes, just as a flame of a lamp disappears.
विविधाकुलकल्लोला चक्रावर्तविधायिनी । मृतिजन्मबृहत्कूला सुखदुẖखतरङ्गिणी
It is a mighty river, with waves of various agitated crowds, forming whirlpools of repeated cycles, with great banks of birth and death, and waves of pleasure and pain.
यौवनोल्लासकलिला जराधवलफेनिला । काकतालीययोगेन सम्पन्नसुखबुद्बुदा
It is filled with the froth of old age, white and foamy, muddied by the exuberance of youth, and bubbles of fleeting happiness arising by chance, like the meeting of a crow and a palm fruit.
व्यवहारमहावाहलेखा जडरयाकुला । रागद्वेषघनोल्लासा भूतलालोलदेहिका
It is marked by the lines of great currents of worldly dealings, disturbed by the torpor of dullness and old age, surging with dense waves of passion and aversion, and the body floats unsteadily on the earth.
लोभमोहमहावर्ता पातोत्पातविवर्तिनी । हा तप्ता जीविताख्येयं नदी नदनशीतला
It is a river with great whirlpools of greed and delusion, turning with the currents of downfall and calamity; alas, this so-called life is a river, hot and far from coolness.
अपूर्वाण्य् उपगच्छन्ति तथा पूर्वाणि यान्त्य् अलम् । संसारसरिदम्बूनि सङ्गतानि धनानि च
New things come, and old things depart completely; the waters of the river of samsara, and accumulated wealth, all pass away.
प्रवृत्ता ये निवर्तन्ते तैर् अलं हतभावकैः । अपूर्वा ये प्रवर्तन्ते तेष्व् अप्य् आस्थेह कीदृशी
Those who have set out turn back, and they are of no account, their purpose lost; and those who are newly setting forth—what kind of reliance can there be on them here?
सर्वस्यास् सरितो वारि प्रयात्य् आयाति चाकरात् । देहनद्याḫ पयस् त्व् आयुḫ प्रयात्य् आयाति नो पुनः
The water of every river departs from its source and returns; but the vital fluid in the river of the body departs and does not return.
शतशḫ परिवर्तन्ते प्रतिपिण्डं क्षणं प्रति । कुलालचक्रिकाभावा इव भावा भवाम्बुधौ
Hundreds of forms revolve, each moment for each individual, like the turning of a potter’s wheel—so do existences in the ocean of becoming.
चरन्ति चतुराश् चौरा विषमा विषयारयः । हरन्ति भावसर्वस्वं जागर्मि स्वपिमीह किम्
Clever thieves roam—these hostile senses—stealing the entirety of one's being; whether I am awake or asleep, what does it matter here?
आयुषẖ खण्डखण्डाश् च निपतन्तḫ पुनḫ पुनः । न कश्चिद् वेत्ति कालेन कृतानि दिवसान्य् अहो
Fragments of life fall again and again; no one knows, by the passage of time, how many days have been spent—alas!
इदम् अद्य तथेदं श्वस् तथेदम् इदम् अद्य मे । एवंकलनया लोको गतं प्राप्तं न वेत्त्य् अहो
This is today, and so it will be tomorrow; this is today for me—by such reckoning, the world passes and arrives, yet no one knows, alas!
भुक्तं पीतम् अनन्तासु भ्रान्तं च भवभूमिषु । दृष्टानि सुखदुẖखानि किम् अन्यद् इह साध्यते
I have eaten, drunk, wandered endlessly through the realms of existence; I have seen pleasures and pains—what else remains to be accomplished here?
सुखदुẖखानुभवनाद् भूयो भूयो विवर्तनात् । अनित्यत्वाच् च भावानां स्थिता निष्कौतुका वयम्
From experiencing pleasure and pain, from repeated change, and from the impermanence of things, we remain without curiosity.
भुक्तानि भोगवृन्दानि दृष्टा चानित्यता भृशम् । नोपलभ्यत एवातिविश्रान्तिर् इह कुत्रचित्
Enjoyments have been tasted, impermanence has been thoroughly seen; yet nowhere here is perfect rest found.
भ्रान्तम् उत्तुङ्गशृङ्गासु मेरूपवनभूमिषु । लोकपालपुरीषूच्चैस् सम्प्राप्तं किम् अकृत्रिमम्
Having wandered among the lofty peaks, in the forests and lands of Meru, and in the splendid cities of the guardians of the world—what, indeed, is truly genuine there?
सर्वत्र दारुभिर् वृक्षा मांसैर् भूतानि भूर् मृदा । दुẖखान्य् अनित्यता चेति कथम् आश्वास्यते वद
Everywhere, trees are made of wood, beings are made of flesh, the earth is made of clay, and there is suffering and impermanence—so tell me, how can one find reassurance?
न धनानि न मित्राणि न सुखानि न बन्धवः । शक्नुवन्ति परित्रातुं कालेन कलितं जनम्
Neither wealth, nor friends, nor pleasures, nor relatives are able to save a person who has been seized by time.
जनो जरढजीमूतजालवद् गिरिकुक्षिषु । यात्य् अन्तश्शून्य एवास्तं पांसूपचयपेलवः
People, like clouds aged and scattered in the mountain caves, fade away into emptiness, frail as heaps of dust.
नेमे मनोरमाẖ कामा न च रम्या विभूतयः । इदं मत्ताङ्गनापाङ्गभङ्गलोलं च जीवितम्
These delightful desires are not truly charming, nor are these splendid possessions; even this life, swaying with the glances of intoxicated women, is unstable.
क्वेव कस्य कथं नाम कुत आश्वासनं मुने । अद्य श्वो वा पदं पापो मृत्युर् मूर्ध्नि नियच्छति
Where, for whom, and in what way, O sage, is there any reassurance? Today or tomorrow, death, the evil one, may set his foot upon one's head.
शरीरं पर्णवद् भ्रंशि जीवितं जीर्णसंस्थिति । धीरधीरतया ग्रस्ता रसा नीरसतां गताः
The body falls like a leaf; life is sustained in a worn-out state; pleasures, whether for the resolute or the weak, have been consumed and have become tasteless.
नीतं मनोरथैर् एव नीरसैर् आयुर् आततम् । न मनस्वि चमत्कारकारि किञ्चिद् अपीहितम्
Life has been spent only in insipid fantasies; nothing has been accomplished that would astonish a noble mind.