मोहो ऽद्य मान्द्यम् आयातो देहो नेहोपपद्यते । अनास्थैवोत्तमावस्था स्थानास्थैवाधमस्थितिः
Delusion has now brought on dullness; the body is no longer suitable for action. Indifference alone is the highest state; remaining attached to positions is the lowest condition.
आपद् आपतितैवेयं महामोहविधायिनी । नित्यम् इत्य् एव मन्तव्यं सक्तव्यं नेह संसृतौ
This misfortune, which brings about great delusion, should always be regarded as such; one should not become attached to this cycle of worldly existence.
विधिभिḫ प्रतिषेधैश् च शास्त्रितैर् अप्य् अशास्त्रितैः । यथेष्टं नीयते लोको जलं निम्नोन्नतैर् इव
Whether governed by injunctions and prohibitions, or by what is not prescribed by scripture, people are carried along as they wish, just as water flows over uneven ground.
विवेकामोदसर्वस्वं चेतẖकुसुमकोशतः । हृत्वा मूर्छां प्रयच्छन्ति विषया विषवायवः
The poisonous winds of sense-objects steal away the entire fragrance of discernment from the bud of the mind, and bring about stupefaction.
असद् एव तथा नाम दृश्यं सत्ताम् उपागतम् । यथा सद् एवासद्रूपं सम्पन्नम् असद् एव सत्
That which is unreal appears as if it has attained reality, just as the real may seem to have taken on an unreal form; thus, the unreal seems real, and the real, unreal.
दोलयन्त्यो ऽवनौ देहं सागरान् सागराङ्गनाः । यथा धावन्ति धावन्ति जनता विषयांस् तथा
Just as waves in the ocean toss a body about on the earth, so too do people rush after sense-objects, running and running.
धावन्ति विषयं लक्ष्यम् उन्मुक्ताश् चित्तसायकाः । स्पृशन्ति न गुणं भूयẖ कृतघ्नास् सौहृदं यथा
The arrows of the mind, once released, rush toward the target of sense-objects; they do not touch virtue again, just as the ungrateful do not return to friendship.
उत्पातवायुर् एवायुर् मित्राण्य् एवातिशत्रवः । बन्धवो बन्धनान्य् एव धनान्य् एवातिनैधनम्
Life is like a stormy wind; friends are like the greatest enemies; relatives are but bonds, and wealth is truly great poverty.
सुखान्य् एवातिदुẖखानि सम्पदḫ परमापदः । भोगा भवमहारोगा रतिर् एव परारतिः
Pleasures are indeed intense sorrows; prosperity is the highest adversity; enjoyments are the great disease of existence; delight itself is supreme suffering.
आपदस् सम्पदस् सर्वास् सुखं दुẖखाय केवलम् । जीवितं मरणायैव बत माया विजृम्भते
All misfortunes are fortunes, and happiness is nothing but sorrow; life itself is truly for death—alas, how illusion unfolds.
बहून् कालपरावर्तान् इष्टानिष्टान् सुखं मनाक् । पश्यन् प्रियवियोगांश् च याति जर्जरतां जनः
Witnessing many cycles of time, both pleasant and unpleasant, and separations from loved ones, a person gradually becomes worn out.
भोगा विषयसम्भोगा भोगा इव फणावताम् । दशन्त्य् अपि मनाक् स्पृष्टा दृष्टनष्टाḫ प्रतिक्षणम्
Sensual enjoyments are like the pleasures of serpents; even a slight touch brings pain, and what is seen vanishes instantly.
आयुर् याति निरायासपदसम्प्राप्तिवर्जितैः । उदर्कभङ्गुराकारैẖ करालैẖ कष्टचेष्टितैः
Life passes away without attaining ease, marked by harsh, unstable, and dreadful actions that bring only ruin in the end.
भोगाशाबद्धतृष्णानाम् अवमानḫ पदे पदे । आलानपरिलीनानां वन्यानाम् इव दन्तिनाम्
For those bound by the thirst for enjoyment, humiliation comes at every step, just as it does for wild elephants chained and confined.
सम्पदḫ प्रमदाश् चैव तरङ्गोत्सङ्गभङ्गुराः । कस् तास्व् अहिफणाच्छत्त्रच्छायासु रमते बुधः
Wealth and women are as fragile as waves cresting and breaking; what wise person delights in such shade as that beneath a serpent's hood?
सत्यं मनोरमाẖ कामास् सत्यं रम्या विभूतयः । किं तु मत्ताङ्गनापाङ्गभङ्गलोलं हि जीवितम्
It is true that desires are charming and powers delightful; yet life itself is as fickle as the wavering glance of an intoxicated woman.
आपातरमणीयेषु रमन्ते विषयेषु ये । अत्यन्तविरसान्तेषु पतन्ति नरकेषु ते
Those who delight in pleasures that are appealing only at first encounter fall into hell when they become utterly tasteless.
द्वन्द्वदोषोपरुद्धानि दुस्साधान्य् अस्थिराणि च । धनान्य् अभव्यसेव्यानि मम जातु न तुष्टये
Wealth, obstructed by the faults of duality, difficult to attain and unstable, is fit only for the unworthy; it has never brought me satisfaction.
आपातमात्रमधुरा दुẖखपर्यवसायिनी । मोहनायैव लोकस्य लक्ष्मीẖ क्षणविनाशिनी
Fortune is sweet only for a moment, ending in sorrow; it exists solely to delude the world and perishes in an instant.
आपातरमणीयानि विमर्दविरसान्य् अति । सुखान्य् आपत्प्रधानानि सङ्गतानि खलैर् इव
Pleasures that are charming at first quickly lose their taste through conflict; happiness that is chiefly momentary arises from association with the wicked.
शरदम्बुधरच्छायागत्वर्यो यौवनश्रियः । आपातरम्या विषयाḫ पर्यन्तपरितापिनः
The splendor of youth is as fleeting as the shadow of autumn clouds; pleasures are delightful at first but bring pain in the end.
अन्तकḫ पर्यवस्थाता जीविते महताम् अपि । चलान्य् आयूंषि शाखाग्रलम्बाम्बूनीव देहिनाम्
Even for the great, death is the one who brings life to its end; the lifespans of embodied beings are unstable, like water hanging from the tip of a branch.
जीर्यन्ते जीर्यतẖ केशा दन्ता जीर्यन्ति जीर्यतः । क्षीयते जीर्यतस् सर्वं तृष्णैवैका न जीर्यते
As one ages, hair and teeth decay, and everything diminishes; only craving does not grow old.
भोगाभोगातिगहने सर्वस्मिन् कायकानने । परम् उल्लासम् आयाति तृष्णैका विषमञ्जरी
In the dense forest of the body, filled with enjoyment and suffering, it is only the crooked blossom of craving that attains supreme exuberance.
बाल्यं यौवनवद् याति यौवनं याति बाल्यवत् । उपमानोपमेयत्वं भङ्गुरत्वे मिथो ऽनयोः
Childhood passes away like youth, and youth passes away like childhood; their mutual impermanence is like that of the compared and the comparison.
जीवितं गलति क्षिप्रं जलम् अञ्जलितो यथा । प्रवाह इव वाहिन्या गतं न विनिवर्तते
Life slips away swiftly, just as water from the hollow of the hand; like the current of a flowing river, once gone, it does not return.
झगित्य् एवागतो देहẖ कुतो ऽप्य् अर्जुनवातवत् । याति पश्यत एवास्तं तरङ्गाम्बुददीपवत्
The body arrives suddenly, from who knows where, like a whirlwind; and before one's eyes, it departs, like a wave, a cloud, or a lamp.
रम्येष्व् अरम्यता दृष्टा स्थिरेष्व् अस्थिरतापि च । सत्येष्व् असत्यतार्थेषु तेनेह विरसा वयम्
Ugliness is seen in what is beautiful, and instability even in what is stable; falsehood is found in what is thought true—thus, we have become disenchanted with this world.
सुखं यद् आत्मविश्रान्तौ गते मनसि सत्त्वताम् । पाताले भूतले स्वर्गे तन् न भोगेषु केषुचित्
The happiness found when the mind attains rest in the Self, in purity, is not found in any enjoyments, whether in the netherworld, on earth, or in heaven.
अपि सम्पूर्णहृद्यार्थाḫ पञ्चापीन्द्रियवृत्तयः । नावर्जयन्ति माम् एता भृङ्गं चित्रलता इव
Even the activities of the five senses, though filled with objects that delight the heart, do not attract me, just as a bee is not drawn to a painted vine.