उल्लासबहुलान् अन्तः कल्लोलान् अक्रमाकुलान् । जडान् प्रस्रवति स्फारान् प्रावृषीव तरङ्गिणी
Just as a river in the rainy season pours forth abundant, powerful, and tumultuous waves, so too does the dull mind overflow with countless inner surges of excitement.
चिन्तादुहितरो बह्व्यो भूरिदुर्ललितेरिताः । चञ्चलाः प्रभवन्त्य् अस्यास् तरङ्गास् सरितो यथा
Many restless waves arise in it, stirred by countless whims and fancies, just as a river's waves are set in motion by its own currents.
एषा हि पदम् एकत्र न निबध्नाति दुर्भगा । मुग्धेवानियताचारम् इतश् चेतश् च धावति
This unfortunate mind does not remain fixed in one place; like a bewildered person with erratic behavior, it runs here and there.
जनयन्ती परं दाहं परामृष्टाङ्गिका सती । विनाशम् एव धत्ते ऽन्तर् दीपलेखेव कज्जलम्
When touched, it produces intense burning within, and ultimately brings about its own destruction, like a streak of lamp soot turning into ash.
गुणागुणविचारेण विनैव किल पार्श्वगम् । राजप्रकृतिवन् मूढा दुरारूढावलम्बते
Without any discernment of virtue or vice, it blindly clings to whatever is nearby, like a foolish courtier attached to the king.
कर्मणा तेन तेनैषा विस्तारम् उपगच्छति । दोषाशीविषवेगस्य यत् क्षीरविसरायते
Through various actions, it expands further and further, just as the venom of a serpent spreads and mixes into milk.
तावच् छीतमृदुस्पर्शः परे स्वे च जने जनः । वात्ययेव हिमं यावच् छ्रिया न परुषीकृतः
A person remains gentle and pleasant to both friends and strangers, like the cool touch of frost, until prosperity hardens him, just as a storm turns frost harsh.
प्राज्ञाश् शूराः कृतज्ञाश् च पेशला मृदवश् च ये । पांसुमुष्ट्येव मणयश् श्रिया ते मलिनीकृताः
The wise, the brave, the grateful, the refined, and the gentle—like gems soiled by a handful of dust—are tainted by prosperity.
न श्रीस् सुखाय भगवन् दुःखायैव हि कल्पते । गुप्तं विनाशनं धत्ते मृतिं विषलता यथा
O Lord, prosperity does not bring happiness; it only leads to suffering. It secretly carries destruction, just as poison brings death.
श्रीमान् अजननिन्द्यश् च शूरश् चाप्य् अविकत्थनः । समदृष्टिः प्रभुश् चैव दुर्लभाः पुरुषास् त्रयः
Three kinds of men are rare: one who is wealthy yet not despised for his birth, one who is brave yet not boastful, and one who is impartial and powerful.
एषा हि विषमा दुःखभोगिनां गहना गुहा । घनमोहगजेन्द्राणां विन्ध्यशैलमहाटवी
This is indeed a perilous, dense cave for those who suffer; a vast forest in the Vindhya mountains for the mighty elephants of deep delusion.
सत्कार्यपद्मरजनी दुःखकैरवचन्द्रिका । सद्दृष्टिदीपिकावात्या कल्लोलौघतरङ्गिणी
It is the night of the lotus of noble deeds, the moonlight for the water-lily of sorrow, the hurricane for the lamp of true vision, the surging river of waves.
सम्भ्रमाभ्राद्रिपदवी विषादविषवर्धिनी । केदारिका विकल्पानां खदा कुभयभोगिनाम्
It is the mountain path of clouds of confusion, the poison that increases despair, the field of doubts, the pit for those who indulge in evil pleasures.
हिमं वैराग्यवल्लीनां विकारोलूकयामिनी । राहुदंष्ट्रा विवेकेन्दोस् सौजन्याम्भोजचन्द्रिका
It is the frost for the creepers of dispassion, the night for the owls of distortion, the jaws of Rahu for the moon of discernment, the moonlight for the lotus of kindness.
इन्द्रायुधवद् आलोलनानारागमनोहरा । लोला तडिद् इवोत्पन्नध्वंसिनी जडसंश्रया
Like a rainbow, it is alluring with many colors; restless like lightning, it arises and destroys, and is the refuge of dullness.
चपला वर्जिता रत्या नकुली नकुलीनजा । विप्रलम्भनतात्पर्यहेतूग्रमृगतृष्णिका
It is fickle, devoid of delight, like a mongoose among mongooses; a fierce mirage that causes separation and longing.
लहरीवैकरूपेण क्षणं पदम् अकुर्वती । चला दीपशिखेवातिदुर्ज्ञेयागतिगोचरा
Like a wave, taking a single form for a moment, not remaining still; like a flickering lamp flame, her movements are exceedingly hard to discern.
सिंहीव विग्रहव्यग्रकरीन्द्रकुलपातिनी । खड्गधारेव शिशिरा तीक्ष्णा तीक्ष्णाशयाश्रया
Like a lioness, fierce and intent on battle, bringing down the king of elephants; like a sharp sword, cold and keen, she abides in piercing intentions.
नानयोपहतार्थिन्या दुराधिपरिपीनया । पश्याम्य् अभव्यया लक्ष्म्या किञ्चिद् दुःखाद् ऋते सुखम्
With her purpose unshaken by others, swollen with the pride of a cruel ruler, I see in this inauspicious fortune scarcely any happiness apart from sorrow.
द्वारेणोत्सारिता लक्ष्मीः पुनर् एति तमोऽरिणा । अहो वत हृतस्थाना निर्लज्जा दुर्जनास्पदा
Driven out the door by the enemy of darkness, fortune returns again; alas, having lost her place, she is shameless and the refuge of the wicked.
मनोरमा कर्षति चित्तवृत्तिं कदर्यसाध्या क्षणभङ्गुरा च । व्यालावलीगर्भनिवृत्तदेहा श्वभ्रोत्थिता पुष्पलतेव लक्ष्मीः
Charming, she draws the mind's activity, yet is attained only by the miserly and breaks in an instant; fortune, whose body is born from a brood of serpents, arises from a pit like a creeper of flowers.
आयुः पल्लवकोणाग्रलम्बाम्बुकणभङ्गुरम् । उन्मत्तम् इव सन्त्यज्य यात्य् अकाण्डे शरीरकम्
Life, as fragile as a drop of water hanging from the tip of a leaf, departs the body suddenly, abandoning it like a madman.
विषयाशीर्विषासङ्गपरिजर्जरचेतसाम् । अप्रौढात्मविवेकानाम् आयुर् आयासकारणम्
For those whose minds are worn out by attachment to sense-objects and the poison of desire, who lack mature self-discernment, life is merely a cause of toil.
ये तु विज्ञातविज्ञेया विश्रान्ता वितते पदे । भावाभावसमाश्वस्ता आयुस् तेषां सुखायते
But for those who have known what is to be known, who rest in the boundless state, who are at peace with both being and non-being, life brings happiness.
वयं परिमिताकारपरिनिष्ठितनिश्चयाः । संसाराभ्रतडित्पुञ्जे मुने नायुषि निर्वृताः
We, whose forms are limited and whose resolve is firmly settled, O sage, are not content in this life amid the flashes of the storm-cloud of worldly existence.
युज्यते वेष्टनं वायाव् आकाशस्यावखण्डनम् । ग्रथनं च तरङ्गाणाम् आस्था नायुषि युज्यते
It is possible to bind the wind, to divide the sky, or to weave together waves; but to place trust in life is not possible.
पेलवं शरदीवाभ्रम् अस्नेहम् इव दीपकम् । तरङ्गकम् इवालोलं गतम् एवोपलक्ष्यते
Life is observed to be fleeting like an autumn cloud, without attachment like a lamp's flame, and restless like a wave.
तरङ्गप्रतिबिम्बेन्दुं तडित्पुञ्जं नभोऽम्बुदे । ग्रहीतुम् आस्थां बध्नामि न त्व् आयुषि गतस्थितौ
I may strive to grasp the reflection of the moon in a wave, a cluster of lightning in a cloud, but not to hold onto life that is already departing.
अविश्रान्तमनाश् शून्यम् आयुर् आततम् ईहते । दुःखायैव विमूढो ऽन्तर् गर्भम् अश्वतरी यथा
With a restless mind, one pursues the empty span of life, but the deluded person seeks only suffering within, like a foal in the womb of a she-mule.
संसारसंसृताव् अम्भः फेनो ऽस्मिन् सर्गसागरे । कायवल्ल्यां रसो राजञ् जीवितं मे न रोचते
In the ocean of creation, the froth of worldly existence rises and falls; O king, the taste of life in the vine of the body does not appeal to me.