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.
यस्मिन् घननवस्नेहं मुखे पत्त्राङ्कुरश्रियः । कान्तेन रचिता ब्रह्मञ् शीर्यते तत् तु जङ्गले
That face, adorned by a lover with thick, fresh ointments and the beauty of budding lips—O Brahman, it decays in the wilderness.
केशाश् श्मशानवृक्षेषु यान्ति चामरलेशताम् । अस्थीन्य् उडुवद् आभान्ति दिनैर् अवनिमण्डले
The hair becomes like yak-tails on the trees of the cremation ground; the bones, shining like stars, are scattered on the earth in a matter of days.
पिबन्ति पांसवो रक्तं क्रव्यादाश् चाप्य् अनेकशः । चर्मानलशिखा भुङ्क्ते खं यान्ति प्राणवायवः
Dust drinks blood, flesh-eaters consume it in many ways; the flame devours the skin, and the vital airs depart into the sky.
इत्य् एषा ललनाङ्गानाम् अचिरेणैव भाविनी । स्थितिर् मया वः कथिता किं भ्रान्तिम् अनुधावथ
Thus, I have described to you the imminent fate of bodies; why do you chase after delusion?
भूतपञ्चकसङ्घट्टसंस्थानं ललनाभिधम् । रसाद् अभिवहत्व् एतत् कथं नाम धियान्वितः
This so-called body, formed from the collision of the five elements, carries taste—how can it be considered as endowed with intelligence?
शाखावितानगहना कट्वम्लफलशालिनी । प्रतानोत्तालताम् एति चिन्ता कान्तानुसारिणी
Thought, following desire, grows tall and dense like a tree with spreading branches, bearing bitter and sour fruits.
क्वचिद् भूततया चेतो धनगर्धान्धम् आकुलम् । परं मोहम् उपादत्ते यूथभ्रष्टो मृगो यथा
Sometimes, the mind becomes agitated by attachment to wealth, blinded by greed, and falls into deep delusion, like a deer separated from its herd.
शोच्यतां परमाम् एति तरुणस् तरुणीरतः । निबद्धः करिणीलोभाद् विन्ध्यखाते यथा द्विपः
A young man indulging in pleasure with a woman reaches utmost pitiability, bound by the elephant's lust for the female, as an elephant trapped in a pit in the Vindhya mountains.
यस्य स्त्री तस्य भोगेच्छा निस्स्त्रीकस्य न भोगभूः । स्त्रियं त्यक्त्वा जगत् त्यक्तं जगत् त्यक्त्वा सुखी भवेत्
Whoever has a woman desires enjoyment; one without a woman has no ground for enjoyment. By abandoning woman, the world is abandoned; by abandoning the world, one becomes happy.
आपातमात्ररमणेषु दुरन्तरेषु भोगेषु नाहम् अलिपक्षतिपेलवेषु । ब्रह्मन् रमे मरणरोगजरादिभीत्या शाम्याम्य् अहं परम् उपैमि वनं प्रयत्नात्
I do not delight in fleeting pleasures, in the difficult enjoyments, nor in the delicate wings of bees; O Brahman, I rejoice out of fear of death, disease, and old age, and with effort I attain the supreme peace in the forest.