ते धर्म्यास् ते महात्मानस् त एव पुरुषा भुवि । ये सुखेन समुत्तीर्णास् साधो यौवनसङ्कटात्
Those are the righteous ones, those are the great souls, those alone are the true men on earth, who have easily crossed over the peril of youth, O noble one.
सुखेन तीर्यते ऽम्भोधिर् उत्कृष्टमकराकरः । न कल्लोलवनोल्लासि सदोषं हतयौवनम्
The ocean, with its splendid shoals of mighty fish, is easily crossed; but the ocean of ruined youth, agitated with waves of faults, is not.
विनयभूषितम् आर्यजनास्पदं करुणयोज्ज्वलम् आवलितं गुणैः । इह हि दुर्लभम् अङ्ग सुयौवनं जगति काननम् अम्बरगं यथा
Adorned with humility, a refuge for noble people, radiant with compassion, endowed with virtues—such excellent youth is rare in this world, like a forest in the sky.
मांसपुत्तलिकायाश् च यन्त्रलोलाङ्गपञ्जरे । स्नाय्वस्थिग्रन्थिशालिन्यास् स्त्रियाः किम् इव शोभनम्
What beauty is there in a woman, whose body is a puppet of flesh, whose limbs move by mechanism, and whose frame is full of knots of sinew and bone?
त्वङ्मांसरक्तबाष्पास्रु पृथक् कृत्वा विलोचनम् । समालोकय रम्यं चेत् किं मुधा परिमुह्यसि
If you separate skin, flesh, blood, vapor, and tears from the eye, and then observe it, what charm remains? Why are you deluded in vain?
इतः केशा इतो रक्तम् इतीयं प्रमदातनुः । किम् एतया निन्दितया करोतु विपुलाशयः
Here is hair, there is blood—such is the body of a woman. What can a person of broad mind do with this contemptible thing?
वासोविलेपनैर् यानि लालितानि पुनः पुनः । तान्य् अङ्गान्य् अवलुम्पन्ति क्रव्यादास् सर्वदेहिनाम्
The limbs that are repeatedly adorned with clothes and perfumes are ultimately devoured by flesh-eating creatures in all bodies.
मेरोश् शृङ्गतटोल्लासिगङ्गाजलरयोपमाः । दृष्टा यस्मिन् स्तने मुक्ता हारस्योल्लासशालिनः
On whose breast pearls are seen, shining with the splendor of a necklace, resembling the waves of the Ganges that gleam on the peaks and slopes of Mount Meru.
श्मशानेषु दिगन्तेषु स एव ललनास्तनः । श्वभिर् आस्वाद्यते काले लघुपिण्ड इवान्धसः
In cremation grounds and at the edges of the quarters, that same cherished breast is devoured by dogs in time, like a small lump by the blind.
रक्तमांसादिदिग्धानि करभस्य यथा वने । तथैवाङ्गानि कामिन्यास् तत् प्रत्य् अपि हि को ग्रहः
Just as the limbs of a calf in the forest are smeared with blood and flesh, so too are the limbs of a woman; what is there to be gained from them?
आपातरमणीयत्वं कल्प्यते केवलं स्त्रियाः । मन्ये तद् अपि नास्त्य् अत्र मुने मोहैककारणे
The apparent charm of a woman is merely imagined; I consider that even this does not exist here, O sage, for delusion is the sole cause.
विपुलोल्लासदायिन्या मदोन्मथनपूर्वकम् । को विशेषो विकारिण्या मदिराया इह स्त्रियाः
What difference is there between a woman, who gives abundant delight preceded by intoxication, and liquor, which is also unstable?
ललनालानसंलीना मुने मानवदन्तिनः । प्रबोधं नाधिगच्छन्ति दीर्घैर् अपि शमाङ्कुशैः
Those whose minds are absorbed in the charms of women, O sage, do not attain awakening, even with long efforts at restraint.
केशकज्जलधारिण्यस् तीक्ष्णाः प्रकृतितस् सदा । दुष्कृताग्निशिखा नार्यो दहन्ति तृणवन् नरम्
Women, adorned with hair and kohl, are always sharp by nature; like flames of the fire of misdeeds, they burn men as grass.
ते वन्द्यास् ते महात्मानस् त एव पुरुषा भुवि । ये सुखेन समुत्तीर्णास् साधो यौवतसङ्कटात्
Those are to be revered, those are the great souls, those alone are men on earth, who have easily crossed the peril of youth, O noble one.
ज्वलताम् अपि दूरे ऽपि सरसा अपि नीरसम् । स्त्रियो हि नरकाग्नीनां दारु चारु च दारुणम्
Even from afar, even if they seem delightful, women are both wood for the fires of hell—beautiful, yet harsh and dreadful.
कीर्णान्धकारकवरी तरत्तारकलोचना । पूर्णेन्दुबिम्बवदना कुमुदोत्करहासिनी
Her eyes are like stars shining through the scattered darkness of her hair; her face is a full moon, and she smiles like a cluster of blooming lotuses.
लीलाविलोलपरुषा कार्यसंहारकारिणी । परं विमोहनं बुद्धेः कामिनी दीर्घयामिनी
Playful yet harsh, she brings about the destruction of endeavors; she is a woman of long nights, supremely enchanting to the mind.
पुष्पाभिराममधुरा करपल्लवलासिनी । भ्रमरभ्रूविलासाढ्या स्तबकस्तनधारिणी
Sweet as flowers, delightful, her tender hands are like new leaves; her eyebrows curve like bees, and she bears breasts like clusters of blossoms.
पुष्पकेसरगौराङ्गी नरमारणतत्परा । ददात्य् उत्तमवैवश्यं कान्ता विषमहालता
Her limbs are pale as flower filaments, intent on the destruction of men; this beloved, a deadly vine, brings supreme helplessness.
सीत्कारोच्छ्वासमात्रेण भुजङ्गदलनोत्कया । कान्तयोद्ध्रियते जन्तुः करभ्येवोरगो बिलात्
With a mere sigh or breath, eager to subdue like a serpent charmer, the beloved draws a creature out, as a snake is pulled from its hole by the hands of an elephant.
कामनाम्ना किरातेन वितीर्णा मुग्धचेतसाम् । नार्यो नरविहङ्गानाम् अङ्गबन्धनवागुराः
By the hunter named Desire, nets are spread for the simple-minded; women are the snares binding the limbs of men, who are like birds.
ललनाविपुलालाने मनोमत्तमतङ्गजः । रतिशृङ्खलया ब्रह्मन् बद्धस् तिष्ठति मूकवत्
The elephant of the mind, intoxicated with longing for the broad-hipped woman, O Brahman, stands bound by the chain of passion, as if mute.
जन्मपल्वलमत्स्यानां कर्मकोटरचारिणाम् । पुंसां दुर्वासनारज्जुर् नारी बडिशपिण्डिका
For men who are like fish in the pond of birth, moving in the hollow of actions, woman is the baited hook, and bad habits are the line.
मन्दुरेव तुरङ्गानाम् आलानम् इव दन्तिनाम् । पुंसाम् अब्जम् इवालीनां बन्धनं वामलोचनाः
Women are a fetter for men, just as a tether is for horses, a chain for elephants, or mud for lotuses.
नानारसमयी चित्रा भोगभूमिर् इयं मुने । स्त्रियम् आश्रित्य संयाता पराम् इह हि संस्थितिम्
O sage, this realm of enjoyment is diverse and wondrous; it attains its highest state here by depending on women.
सर्वेषां दोषरत्नानां सुसमुद्गिकयानया । दुःखशृङ्खलया नित्यम् अलम् अस्तु मम स्त्रिया
Let me be forever free from women, who are the well-wrought casket of all the gems of faults, and the constant chain of suffering.
किं स्तनेन किम् अक्ष्णा वा किं नितम्बेन किं भ्रुवा । मांसमात्रैकसारेण करोम्य् अहम् अवस्तुना
What use is there in a breast, or an eye, or a hip, or an eyebrow—when it is nothing but flesh, with no real substance?
इतो मांसम् इतो रक्तम् इतो ऽस्थीनि च वासरैः । ब्रह्मन् कतिपयैर् एव याति स्त्री विशरारुताम्
Here is flesh, here is blood, here are bones; O Brahman, in just a few days, a woman comes to dissolution.
यास् ता निष्परुषैस् तूलैर् लालिताः पतिभिस् स्त्रियः । ता मुने प्रविभक्ताङ्ग्यस् स्वपन्ति पितृभूमिषु
Those women who were once cherished by their husbands with the softest cotton—O sage, their bodies now lie dismembered in the land of the ancestors.