संसारसंसृतेर् अस्या गन्धकुट्याश् शिरोगता । देहयष्ट्या जरानाम्नी चामरश्रीर् विराजते
In this fragrant chamber of worldly existence, upon the head of the body’s stalk, the splendor of the fan named old age shines forth.
जराचन्द्रोदयसिते शरीरनगरे स्थिते । क्षणाद् विकासम् आयाति मुने मरणकैरवम्
When the moonrise of old age appears in the city of the body, O sage, the lotus of death blooms in an instant.
जरासुधालेपसिते शरीरान्तःपुरान्तरे । अशक्तिर् आर्तिर् आपच् च तिष्ठन्ति सुखम् अङ्गनाः
Within the palace of the body, smeared with the ointment of old age, helplessness, pain, and calamity stand as its companions of pleasure.
अभावाग्रेसरा यत्र जरा जयति जन्तुषु । कस् तत्रेह समाश्वासो मम मन्दमतेर् मुने
Where old age, leading the way, prevails among creatures, O sage, what comfort can there be for me, whose mind is dull?
किं तेन दुर्जीवितदुर्ग्रहेण जरां गतेनापि हि जीव्यते यत् । जरा जगत्याम् अजिता नराणां सर्वैषणास् तात तिरस्करोति
What is gained by clinging to this difficult, unpleasant life, even after succumbing to old age? For old age, unconquered among men in the world, casts aside all desires, O father.
विकल्पकल्पनानल्पकल्पितैर् अल्पबुद्धिभिः । भेदैर् उद्धुरतां नीतस् संसारकुहकभ्रमः
The delusion of worldly existence, driven to agitation by the divisions imagined by those of little understanding, arises from the endless fabrications of thought.
सतां कथम् इवास्थेह जायते जालपञ्जरे । बाला एवात्तुम् इच्छन्ति फलं मकुरबिम्बितम्
How does attachment arise here for the wise, as if in a cage of netting? Only children desire to eat fruit reflected in a mirror.
इहापि विद्यते यैषा पेलवा सुखभावना । आखुस् तन्तुम् इवाशेषं कालस् ताम् अपि कृन्तति
Even here, that frail notion of happiness exists; but time, like a mouse, cuts through every thread of it.
न तद् अस्तीह यद् अयं कालस् सकलघस्मरः । ग्रसते न जगज्जातं महाब्धिम् इव वाडवः
There is nothing here that time, the devourer of all, does not consume; it swallows all that is born in the world, like the submarine fire drinks the ocean.
समस्तसामान्यतया भीमः कालो महेश्वरः । दृश्यसत्ताम् इमां सर्वां कवलीकर्तुम् उद्यतः
Time, dreadful and supreme, by its universal power, is poised to swallow all this visible existence.
महताम् अपि नो देवः प्रतिपालयति क्षणात् । कालः कवलितानन्तविश्वो विश्वात्मतां गतः
O Lord, even the great ones are not spared for a moment; time, having devoured the endless universe, has become its very soul.
युगवत्सरकल्पाख्यैः किञ्चित् प्रकटतां गतः । रूपैर् अलक्ष्यरूपात्मा सर्वम् आक्रम्य तिष्ठति
With forms known as ages, years, and aeons, it attains some manifestation; yet, its essence is unmanifest, pervading all and abiding everywhere.
ये रम्या ये शुभारम्भास् सुमेरुगुरवो ऽपि ये । कालेन विनिगीर्णास् ते करभेणेव पन्नगाः
Those who are delightful, those who begin auspicious deeds, even those as weighty as Mount Sumeru—all are swallowed by time, like serpents by a young elephant.
निर्दयः कठिनः क्रूरः कर्कशः कृपणो ऽधमः । न तद् अस्ति यद् अद्यापि न कालो निगिरत्य् अयम्
Pitiless, harsh, cruel, relentless, wretched, and base—there is nothing that, even today, this time does not consume.
कालः कवलनैकान्तमतिर् अत्ति गिरीन् अपि । अनन्तैर् अपि भोगौघैर् नायं तृप्तो महाशनः
Time, whose sole intent is to devour, eats even mountains; though it enjoys endless streams of pleasures, this voracious one is never satisfied.
हरत्य् अयं नाशयति करोत्य् अत्ति निहन्ति च । कालस् संसारनृत्ये हि नानारूपैर् यथा नटः
It takes away, destroys, creates, eats, and kills; time, in the dance of worldly existence, acts in various forms like an actor.
भिनत्ति प्रविभागस्थो भूतबीजान्य् अनारतम् । जगत्य् असत्तया चञ्च्वा दाडिमानि यथा शुकः
It breaks apart, standing in division, the seeds of beings ceaselessly; in the world, with its unreal beak, like a parrot splitting pomegranates.
शुभाशुभविषाणाग्रविलूनजनपल्लवः । स्फूर्जति स्फीतजनताजीवराजीविनीगजः
Having plucked the tender shoots of people with the horns of auspicious and inauspicious fate, it shines forth, the mighty elephant among the herds of living beings.
विरिञ्चमज्जब्रह्माण्डबृहद्बिल्वफलद्रुमम् । ब्रह्मकाननम् आभोगि परम् आवृत्य तिष्ठति
Within the vast forest of Brahma, the great tree bearing the fruit of the universe stands, enveloped by the supreme serpent, and remains there.
यामिनीभ्रमरीपूर्णा रचयन् दिनमञ्जरीः । वर्षकल्पकलावल्लीर् न कदाचन खिद्यते
Filled with the bees of night, weaving garlands of daylight, and the vines of the seasons and ages, it never grows weary.
भिद्यते नावभग्नो ऽपि दग्धो ऽपि हि न दह्यते । दृश्यते नातिदृश्यो ऽपि धूर्तचूडामणिर् मुने
It is not broken though struck, nor burned though scorched; it is seen yet not fully visible, O sage, the crown jewel of tricksters.
एकेनैव निमेषेण किञ्चिद् उत्थापयत्य् अलम् । किञ्चिद् विनाशयत्य् उच्चैर् मनोराज्यवद् आततः
In a single blink, it easily raises something up and destroys something else, spreading out like a kingdom of imagination.
दुर्विलासविलासिन्या चेष्टया कष्टपुष्टया । दर्व्येव सूपकृत् सूपं जनम् आवर्तयन् स्थितः
With its difficult and robust play, indulging in harsh pleasures, it stirs people like a cook stirring soup with a ladle.
तृणं पांसुं महेन्द्रं च सुमेरुं पर्णम् अर्णवम् । आत्मस्फारतया सर्वम् आत्मसात्कर्तुम् उद्यतः
Whether grass, dust, the great Indra, Mount Sumeru, a leaf, or the ocean, it is ready to absorb everything into itself by its own expansion.
क्रौर्यम् अत्रैव पर्याप्तं लुब्धतात्रैव संस्थिता । सर्वं दौर्भाग्यम् अत्रैव सर्वम् अत्रैव चापलम्
Here alone is cruelty sufficient, greed established, all misfortune present, and all restlessness found.
प्रेरयंल् लीलयार्केन्दू क्रीडतीह नभस्तले । निक्षिप्तवीटायुगलो निजे बाल इवाङ्गने
Playfully moving the sun and moon in the sky, it sports here as if a child in its own courtyard, tossing its toys.
सर्वभूतास्थिमालाभिर् आपादवलिताकृतिः । विलसत्य् एष कल्पान्ते कालः कल्पितकल्पनः
At the end of the aeon, Time, imagined as the creator of all imaginings, shines forth, its form wrapped in garlands made from the bones of all beings.
अस्योड्डामरनृत्तस्य कल्पान्ते ऽङ्गविनिर्गतैः । प्रस्फुरत्य् अम्बरे मेरुर् भूर्जत्वग् इव वायुभिः
At the end of the aeon, as it dances wildly, Meru mountain quivers in the sky, shaken by the limbs cast off in its fierce dance, like birch bark stirred by the wind.
रुद्रो भूत्वा भवत्य् एष महेन्द्रो ऽथ पितामहः । शुक्रो वैश्रवणश् चापि पुनर् एव न किञ्चन
It becomes Rudra, then Mahendra, then the Grandfather; it is Shukra, it is Vaishravana, and again, it is nothing at all.
धत्ते ऽजस्रोत्थितध्वस्तान् सर्गान् अमितभासुरान् । अन्यान् अन्यान् अप्य् अनन्यान् वीचीन् अब्धिर् इवात्मनि
It bears within itself countless creations, brilliant and destroyed, rising ceaselessly, each distinct yet inseparable, like waves in the ocean.