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.
कज्जलासिततीक्ष्णाग्रास् स्नेहदीर्घदशापराः । प्रकाशा दाहदस्पर्शास् तृष्णा दीपशिखा इव
Thirst is like the flame of a lamp: its tip is blackened with soot, its body is long with oil, it is bright, and its touch burns.
अपि मेरूपमं प्राज्ञम् अपि शूरम् अपि स्थिरम् । तृणीकरोति तृष्णैका निमेषेण नरोत्तमम्
Even a wise man as steadfast as Mount Meru, even a hero, even the most resolute among men—thirst alone can reduce him to straw in a single moment.
विस्तीर्णगहना भीमा घनजालरजोमयी । सान्धकारोग्रनीहारा तृष्णा विन्ध्यमहाटवी
Thirst is like the great Vindhya forest: vast, dense, terrifying, made of masses of clouds and dust, filled with thick, fierce darkness and heavy fog.
एकैव सर्वभुवनान्तरलब्धलक्ष्या दुर्लक्षताम् उपगतेव पुरस्स्थितैव । तृष्णा स्थिता जगति चञ्चलवीचिमाले क्षीरार्णवाम्बुपटले मधुरेव शक्तिः
Thirst alone, though present before all and perceived within every world, is difficult to discern; it stands in the world like a restless wave-garland on the surface of the milky ocean, sweet yet powerful.
आर्द्रान्त्रतन्त्रीगहनो विकारी परितापवान् । देहस् स्फुरति संसारे सो ऽपि दुःखाय केवलम्
This body, moist within, intricate in its structure, subject to change and full of suffering, moves restlessly in the world, and is only a source of pain.
अज्ञो ऽपि तज्ज्ञसदृशो वलितात्मचमत्कृतिः । युक्त्या भव्यो ऽप्य् अभव्यो मे न जडो नापि चेतनः
Though ignorant, it appears like one who knows, displaying a false sense of self; by reasoning, it may seem noble or ignoble to me, neither inert nor conscious.
जडाजडदृशोर् मध्ये दोलायितदुराशयः । न विवेकी न मूढात्मा मोहम् एव प्रयच्छति
Suspended between the states of inertness and awareness, with unsteady and uncertain hopes, it is neither discerning nor foolish, but only produces delusion.
स्तोकेनानन्दम् आयाति स्तोकेनायाति खेदिताम् । नास्ति देहसमश् शोच्यो नीचो गुणबहिष्कृतः
It experiences a little joy and a little distress; there is nothing as pitiable as the body—lowly and devoid of virtue.
आगमापायिना नित्यं दन्तकेसरशालिना । विकासिस्मितपुष्पेण प्रतिक्षणम् अलङ्कृतः
Constantly subject to coming and going, adorned with teeth and hair, decorated every moment with the blossoming smile of its opening flowers.
भुजशाखौघनमितो द्विजानुस्तम्भसुस्थितः । लोचनालिवपाक्रान्तश् शिरःपीठबृहत्फलः
Its arms are like branches, well supported by the pillars of bones, its head is the large fruit resting on the seat of the neck, and its eyes are like swarms of bees.
स्रवदस्रुरसस्रोता हस्तपादसुपल्लवः । गुल्फवान् कार्यसङ्घातविहङ्गमततास्पदम्
Its hands and feet are tender shoots, its veins are streams of blood and sap, it has ankles, and is the resting place for the birds of actions.
सच्छायो देहवृक्षो ऽयं जीवपान्थगणास्पदम् । कस्यात्मीयः कस्य पर आस्थानास्थे किलात्र के
This tree of the body, with its shadow, is the refuge for the multitude of living travelers; whose own is it, whose is it another's—who here truly belongs, and who is a stranger?
भारसन्तारणार्थेन गृहीतायां पुनः पुनः । नावि देहलतायां च कस्य स्याद् आत्मभावना
When the body is repeatedly taken up merely for carrying burdens, who would ever regard it as the self, just as no one identifies themselves with a boat or a creeper?
देहनाम्नि वने शून्ये बहुगर्तसमाकुले । तनूरुहासङ्ख्यतरौ विश्वासं को ऽधिगच्छति
In the empty forest called the body, filled with many pits and hollows, and with countless trees of hair, who could ever find trust or confidence?
चर्मस्नाय्वस्थिवलिते शरीरपटहे दृढे । मार्जारवद् अहं नान्तस् तिष्ठाम्य् अविरतध्वनौ
Within the strong fabric of the body, woven of skin, sinews, and bones, I do not remain inside like a cat, amid ceaseless noise.
संसारारण्यसंरूढो विलसच्चित्तमर्कटः । चिन्तामञ्जरिकाकारो दीर्घदुःखघुणक्षतः
The monkey of the mind, grown wild in the jungle of worldly existence, takes the form of a cluster of worries, wounded by the long-term worm of sorrow.
तृष्णाभुजङ्गमीगेहः कोपकाककृतालयः । स्मितपुष्पो द्रुमश् श्रीमाञ् शुभाशुभमहाफलः
The body is a home for the serpent of craving, a dwelling made by the crow of anger; its smile is the flower, the tree is splendid, bearing the great fruits of good and evil.
सुस्कन्धो दोर्लताजालो हस्तस्तबकसुन्दरः । पवनस्पन्दिताशेषस्वाङ्गावयवपल्लवः
Its trunk is firm, its network of arms is beautiful, its hands are like lovely clusters, and all its limbs are tender shoots stirred by the wind.
सर्वेन्द्रियखगाधारस् सुजानुस् सुत्वग् उन्नतः । सरसच्छायया युक्तः कामपान्थनिषेवितः
It is supported by all the birds of the senses, has fine knees and smooth, elevated skin, is adorned with the shade of its own lake, and frequented by travelers of desire.
मूर्ध्नि सञ्जनितादीर्घशिरोरुहतृणावलिः । अहङ्कारजरद्गृद्धकुलायसुषिरोदरः
On its head grows a long cluster of grass-like hair, and its hollow interior is the nest of the aged vulture of ego.