तन्द्रातन्त्रीगणं कोशे दधाना परिवेष्टितम् । नानन्दे राजते ब्रह्मंस् तृष्णाजर्जरवल्लकी
Craving, like a worn-out lute, encloses the treasury of the mind with a web of sloth and dullness, and never shines in happiness, O Brahman.
नित्यम् एवातिमलिना कटुकोन्मादशालिनी । दीर्घा तन्वी घनस्नेहा तृष्णागह्वरवल्लरी
Ever exceedingly impure, filled with the madness of bitterness, long, slender, and dense with attachment, craving is a creeper in a dark ravine.
अनानन्दकरी शून्या निष्फलात्यर्थम् उन्नता । अमङ्गलकरी क्रूरा तृष्णा क्षीणेव मञ्जरी
Desire is empty, brings no joy, utterly fruitless though it rises high; it is inauspicious, cruel, and withered like a faded blossom.
अनावर्जितचित्तापि सर्वम् एवानुधावति । न चाप्नोति फलं किञ्चित् तृष्णा जीर्णेव कामिनी
Even when the mind is not drawn to it, desire pursues everything; yet it attains no result, like an aged courtesan.
संसारनृत्ते महति नानारससमाकुले । भुवनाभोगरङ्गेषु तृष्णा जरढनर्तकी
In the grand dance of worldly existence, filled with various flavors, among the stages of worldly enjoyment, desire is like an old dancer.
जराकुसुमितारूढा पातोत्पातफलावलिः । संसारजङ्गले दीर्घे तृष्णाविषलता तता
Having climbed the tree of old age, bearing a chain of fruits of downfall and calamity, in the long jungle of worldly life, desire spreads like a poisonous creeper.
यन् न शक्नोति तत्रापि धत्ते ताण्डवितां गतिम् । नृत्यत्य् आनन्दरहितं तृष्णा जीर्णेव नर्तकी
Where it cannot succeed, even there it takes up a frantic pace; desire dances without joy, like an aged dancer.
भृशं स्फुरति नीहारे शाम्यत्य् आलोक आगते । दुःखौघेषु पदं धत्ते तृष्णाचपलबर्हिणी
It flutters intensely in the mist, but subsides when light arrives; in floods of sorrow, desire settles like a restless peahen.
जडकल्लोलबहला चिरं शून्यतरान्तरा । क्षणम् उल्लासम् आयाति तृष्णाप्रावृट्तरङ्गिणी
Dull, turbulent, and heavy, for long it remains empty within; for a moment it finds delight, like a wave in the rainy season of desire.
नष्टम् उत्सृज्य तिष्ठन्तं वृक्षाद् वृक्षम् इवापरम् । पुरुषात् पुरुषं याति तृष्णा लोलेव पक्षिणी
Leaving behind what is lost and staying, it moves from one tree to another; from one person to another, desire goes like a bird in flight.
पदं करोत्य् अलङ्घ्ये ऽपि तृप्तापि फलम् ईहते । चिरं तिष्ठति नैकत्र तृष्णाचपलमर्कटी
Even when satisfied, it steps forward where passage is impossible; it still desires fruit. For a long time, it does not remain in one place—the restless monkey of craving.
इदं कृत्वेदम् आयाति सर्वम् एवासमञ्जसम् । अनारतं च यतते तृष्णा चेष्टेव दैविकी
Having done this, it moves on to that; everything is disorderly. Craving strives ceaselessly, as if driven by some divine force.
क्षणम् आयाति पातालं क्षणं याति नभस्तलम् । क्षणं भ्रमति दिक्कुञ्जे तृष्णाहृत्पद्मषट्पदी
In a moment, it descends to the depths; in a moment, it rises to the sky; in a moment, it wanders through the thickets of directions—the bee of craving drawn to the lotus of the heart.
सर्वसंसारदोषाणां तृष्णैका दीर्घदुःखदा । अन्तःपुरस्थम् अपि या योजयत्य् अतिसङ्कटे
Of all the faults in worldly existence, craving alone brings prolonged suffering; even those dwelling within the palace are bound by it in the tightest confinement.
प्रयच्छति परं जाड्यं परमालोकरोधिनी । मोहनीहारगहना तृष्णाजलदमालिका
It bestows utter dullness, the supreme obstruction to true vision; craving is a garland of clouds, dense with the haze of delusion.
सर्वेषां जन्तुजालानां संसारव्यवहारिणाम् । परिप्रोतमनोमालास् तृष्णा बन्धनरज्जवः
For all creatures engaged in worldly affairs, craving is the thread woven through the stains of the mind—the rope of bondage.
विचित्रवर्णा विगुणा दीर्घा मलिनसंस्थितिः । शून्या शून्यास्पदा तृष्णा शक्रकार्मुकधर्मिणी
Craving is of many colors, lacking virtue, long, and settled in impurity; empty, rooted in emptiness, it is like Indra’s bow in its nature.
अशनिर् गुणसस्यानां फलिता शरद् आपदे । हिमं सम्पत्सरोजिन्यास् तमसां दीर्घयामिनी
It is the thunderbolt for the harvest of virtues, ripened in autumn’s calamity; the frost for the lotus of prosperity, the long night for the darknesses.
संसारनाटकनटी कायालयविहङ्गमी । मानसारण्यहरिणी स्मरसङ्गीतवल्लकी
She is the actress in the drama of worldly existence, the bird in the cage of the body, the deer in the forest of the mind, and the lute of love's music.
व्यवहाराब्धिलहरी मोहमातङ्गशृङ्खला । मार्गन्यग्रोधसुभगा दुःखकैरवचन्द्रिका
She is the wave on the ocean of activity, the chain of delusion's elephant, the delightful banyan tree along the path, and the moonlight for the water-lily of sorrow.
जरामरणदुःखानाम् एका रत्नसमुद्गिका । आधिव्याधिविलासानां नित्यमत्ता विलासिनी
She alone is the jewel casket of the sufferings of old age, death, and pain; ever intoxicated, she is the playful one among afflictions and diseases.
क्षणम् आलोकविमला सान्धकारलवा क्षणम् । व्योमवीथीसमा तृष्णा नीहारगहना क्षणम्
For a moment she shines pure and clear, for a moment she is a patch of darkness; thirst is like a path in the sky, for a moment dense as fog.
गच्छतूपशमं तृष्णा कार्यव्यायामशान्तये । तमी घनतमःकृष्णा यथा रक्षोनिवृत्तये
Let thirst depart for the sake of peace and the cessation of restless activity; it is as black as dense darkness, as if to dispel demons.
तावन् मुह्यत्य् अयं लोको मूको विलुलिताशयः । यावद् एवानुसन्धत्ते तृष्णाविषविषूचिकाम्
This world remains bewildered, mute, with scattered intentions, so long as it pursues the poisonous cholera of thirst.
लोको ऽयम् अखिलं दुःखं चिन्तयोज्झित उज्झति । चिन्ताविषूचिकामन्त्रश् चिन्तात्यागो हि कथ्यते
This whole world abandons sorrow when freed from anxious thought; the mantra for the cholera of anxiety is said to be the abandonment of anxiety.
तृणपाषाणकाष्ठादि सर्वम् आमिषशङ्कया । आदधाना स्फुरत्य् अन्तस् तृष्णा मत्स्यी ह्रदे यथा
Taking everything—grass, stones, wood, and so on—with suspicion of gain, thirst stirs within like a fish in a pond.
रोगार्तिरङ्गगा तृष्णा गम्भीरम् अपि मानवम् । उत्तानतां नयत्य् आशु सूर्यांशव इवाम्बुजम्
The affliction of thirst, arising in the body like a disease, swiftly brings even a profound person to a state of exposure, just as the rays of the sun cause a lotus to open.
अन्तश्शून्या ग्रन्थिमत्यो दीर्घस्वाङ्कुरकण्टकाः । मुक्तामणिश्रियो नित्यं तृष्णा वेणुलता इव
Thirst is like a bamboo vine: empty within, full of knots, long, with sprouts and thorns, always adorned with pearls—so it appears outwardly.
अहो बत महच् चित्रं तृष्णाम् अपि महाधियः । दुश्छेद्याम् अपि कृन्तन्ति विवेकेनामलासिना
How astonishing and remarkable it is that even those of great intellect can, with the pure sword of discernment, cut through thirst, though it is so difficult to sever.
नासिधारा न वज्राग्निर् न तप्तायःकणार्चिषः । तथा तीक्ष्णा यथा ब्रह्मंस् तृष्णेयं हृदि संस्थिता
O Brahman, neither the edge of a sword, nor thunderbolts, nor blazing sparks of heated iron are as sharp as this thirst that abides in the heart.