किं श्रिया किं च कायेन किं कामेन किम् ईहया । दिनैः कतिपयैर् एव कालस् सर्वं निकृन्तति
What is the use of wealth, of the body, of desire, or of striving? In just a few days, time cuts down everything.
रक्तमांसमयस्यास्य सबाह्याभ्यन्तरं मुने । नाशैकधर्मिणो ब्रूहि केव कायस्य रम्यता
O sage, this body, made of flesh and blood, inside and out, is destined only for destruction; tell me, what delight can there be in the body?
मरणावसरे काया जीवं नानुसरन्ति ये । तेषु तात कृतघ्नेषु केवास्था वत धीमतः
At the moment of death, the body does not follow the soul; so, father, what faith can the wise place in such an ungrateful thing?
मत्तेभकर्णाग्रचलः कायो लम्बाम्बुभङ्गुरः । न सन्त्यजति मां यावत् तावद् एनं त्यजाम्य् अहम्
The body, wavering like the tip of a drunken elephant's ear, fragile as a droplet of water, does not abandon me; so, I abandon it.
पवनस्पन्दतरलः पेलवः कायपल्लवः । जर्जरस् तनुवृत्तश् च नेष्टो ऽयं कटुनीरसः
This body, like a tender leaf, is shaken by the wind, frail, worn out, and thin; it is not desirable, for it is harsh and tasteless.
भुक्त्वा पीत्वा चिरं कालं बालपल्लवपेलवम् । तनुताम् एत्य यत्नेन विनाशम् अनुधावति
Having eaten and drunk for a long time, this tender, leaf-like body, with effort, becomes thin and hastens toward destruction.
तान्य् एव सुखदुःखानि भावाभावमयान्य् असौ । भूयो ऽप्य् अनुभवन् कायः प्राकृतो हि न लज्जते
This body, made of existence and non-existence, repeatedly experiences the same pleasures and pains, yet, being of nature, it does not feel shame.
सुचिरं प्रभुतां कृत्वा संसेव्य विभवश्रियम् । नोच्छ्रायम् एति न स्थैर्यं कायः किम् इति पाल्यते
Even after long enjoying power and serving the splendor of wealth, the body does not attain greatness or stability—so why should it be protected?
जराकाले जराम् एति मृत्युकाले तथा मृतिम् । समम् एवाविशेषज्ञः कायो भोगिदरिद्रयोः
At the time of old age, it becomes old; at the time of death, it dies—this body, not knowing any distinction, is the same for both the enjoyer and the destitute.
संसाराम्भोधिजठरे तृष्णाकुहरकान्तरे । सुप्तस् तिष्ठति मुक्तेहो मूको ऽयं कायकच्छपः
In the belly of the ocean of worldly existence, in the cave of craving, this mute tortoise of a body lies asleep, even though liberation is near.
दहनैकार्थयोग्यानि कायकाष्ठानि भूरिशः । संसाराब्धाव् इहोह्यन्ते कञ्चित् तेषु नरं विदुः
The logs of the body, fit only for burning, are cast again and again into the ocean of worldly existence; among them, some recognize a person.
दीर्घदौरात्म्यचलया निपातफलयानया । न देहलतया कार्यं किञ्चिद् अस्ति विवेकिनः
Because of the long-standing, unwavering misfortune whose result is downfall, for the discerning, there is nothing to be done with this mere mass of flesh.
मज्जन् कर्दमकोशेषु झगित्य् एव जरां गतः । न ज्ञायते यात्य् अचिरात् क्व कथं देहदर्दुरः
Just as one who plunges into a pit of mud quickly grows old, so too, the frog of the body departs swiftly—no one knows where or how.
निस्सारसकलारम्भाः कायाश् चपलवायवः । रजोमार्गेण गच्छन्तो दृश्यन्ते नेह केनचित्
All bodily undertakings are devoid of substance; the restless winds of the body travel along the path of dust, yet are not seen here by anyone.
वायोर् दीपस्य मनसो गच्छतो ज्ञायते गतिः । आगच्छतश् च भगवन् न शरीरशरस्य नः
O venerable one, the movement of wind, of a lamp, or of the mind can be perceived as they go or come, but not that of the arrow of the body.
बद्धाशा ये शरीरेषु बद्धाशा ये जगत्स्थितौ । तान् मोहमदिरोन्मत्तान् धिग् धिग् अस्तु पुनः पुनः
Those whose hopes are bound to bodies, those whose hopes are bound to the world—may those intoxicated by the wine of delusion be condemned again and again.
नाहं देहस्य नो देहो मम नायम् अहं तथा । इति विश्रान्तचित्ता ये ते मुने पुरुषोत्तमाः
Those whose minds are at rest, who think, 'I am not the body, nor is the body mine, nor am I this,' O sage, they are the highest among men.
मानावमानबहुला बहुलाभमनोरमाः । शरीरमात्रबद्धास्थं घ्नन्ति दोषदृशो नरम्
The faults that are abundant in honor and dishonor, and in the pleasures of manifold desires, afflict the man who is bound only to the body.
शरीरसङ्गशायिन्या पिशाच्या पेशलाङ्गया । अहङ्कारचमत्कृत्या छलेन च्छलिता वयम्
We have been deceived by the trick of self-conceit, by the alluring demoness whose beautiful limbs recline in attachment to the body.
प्रज्ञा वराकी सर्वैव कायबद्धास्थयानया । मिथ्याज्ञानकुराक्षस्या छलिता कष्टम् एकिका
All discernment, poor as it is, has been led astray by this one, who is fixed in bodily attachment, whose false knowledge is like a monkey’s eye—alas, how solitary and miserable!
न किञ्चिद् अपि यस्यास्ति सत्यं तेन हतात्मना । चित्रं दग्धशरीरेण जनता विप्रलभ्यते
He whose self is destroyed and who possesses nothing true—how strange it is that people are deceived by one whose body is already burnt out.
दिनैः कतिपयैर् एव निर्झराम्बुकणो यथा । पतत्य् अयम् अयत्नेन जर्जरः कायपल्लवः
Just as a drop of water from a waterfall falls away in only a few days, so too does this frail body-leaf drop off effortlessly.
कायो ऽयम् अचिरापायो बुद्बुदो ऽम्बुनिधाव् इव । व्यर्थं कार्यपरावर्ते परिस्फुरति निष्फलः
This body, which does not last long, is like a bubble on the ocean; it moves about in vain, engaged in fruitless activities.
मिथ्याज्ञानविकारे ऽस्मिन् स्वप्नसम्भ्रमपत्तने । काये स्फुटतरापाये क्षणम् आस्था न मे द्विज
In this body, which is subject to the distortion of false knowledge and the confusion of dream-like delusion, and which is clearly perishable, I do not place my trust even for a moment, O twice-born one.
तडित्सु शरदभ्रेषु गन्धर्वनगरेषु च । स्थैर्यं येन विनिर्णीतं स विश्वसिति विग्रहे
He who has determined stability in a flash of lightning, in autumn clouds, or in the cities of the Gandharvas—he alone trusts in the body.
सततभङ्गुरकार्यपरम्पराविजयि जातजयं शठवृत्तिषु । सकलदोषम् इदं कुकलेवरं तृणम् इवाहम् उपोज्झ्य सुखं स्थितः
Having abandoned this wretched body, which is like straw, full of every fault, ever-defeated by the succession of fragile actions, and always behaving deceitfully, I remain happily established.
लब्ध्वापि तरलाकारे कार्यभारतरङ्गिणि । संसारसागरे जन्म बाल्यं दुःखाय केवलम्
Even after obtaining birth in the ocean of worldly existence, with its waves of burdensome duties and its fleeting forms, childhood brings only suffering.
अशक्तिर् आपदस् तृष्णा मूकता मूढबुद्धिता । गृध्नुता लोलता दैन्यं सर्वं बाल्ये प्रवर्तते
In childhood arise powerlessness, calamity, craving, muteness, dullness of intellect, greed, fickleness, and misery—all these manifest in childhood.
रोषरोदनरौद्रीषु दैन्यजर्जरितासु च । दशासु बन्धनं बाल्यम् आलानं करिणीष्व् इव
Childhood is bondage in states of anger, weeping, cruelty, and when worn down by misery—like chains fastened on elephants.
न मृतौ न जरारोगे न चापदि न यौवने । ताश् चिन्ता विनिकृन्तन्ति हृदयं शैशवेषु याः
Those worries that tear the heart in childhood do not cut so deeply in death, old age, sickness, misfortune, or even youth.