आयुर् अत्यन्ततरलं मृत्युर् एकस् तु निष्ठुरः । तारुण्यं चातितरलं बाल्यं जडतया हृतम्
Life is extremely fleeting, and death alone is relentless; youth is also very transient, and childhood is lost in dullness.
कलाकलङ्कितो लोको बन्धवो भवबन्धनम् । भोगा भवमहारोगास् तृष्णा च मृगतृष्णिका
The world is stained with faults; relatives are bonds in the cycle of becoming; pleasures are the great diseases of existence, and craving is like a mirage.
शत्रवश् चेन्द्रियाण्य् एव सत्यं यातम् असत्यताम् । प्रहरत्य् आत्मनैवात्मा मन एव मनोरिपुः
Indeed, the senses themselves are enemies; truth has turned into untruth; the self strikes itself, and the mind is its own adversary.
अहङ्कारः कलङ्काय बुद्धयः परिपेलवाः । क्रिया दुष्फलदायिन्यो लीलास् स्त्रीनिष्ठतां गताः
Ego is a blemish, intellects are unstable, actions yield poor results, and pastimes have become fixated on women.
वाञ्छाविषयशालिन्यस् सचमत्कृतयः कृताः । नार्यो दोषपताकिन्यो रसा नीरसतां गताः
Desires are attached to their objects, even when they seem delightful; women are banners of faults, and pleasures have become tasteless.
वस्त्व् अवस्तुतया चात्तं दत्तं चित्तम् अहङ्कृतौ । अभावरोधिता भावा भवान्तो नाधिगम्यते
Reality is taken as unreality, and the mind is absorbed in ego; existences are blocked by non-existence, and the end of becoming is not attained.
तप्यते केवलं साधो मतिर् आकुलितान्तरा । रागोरगो विलसति विरागं नोपगच्छति
O noble one, the mind, inwardly agitated, is tormented; the color of passion shines forth, but dispassion is never attained.
रजोगुणाहता दृष्टिस् तमस् सम्परिवर्धते । न चाधिगम्यते सत्त्वं तत्त्वम् अत्यन्तदूरतः
Perception, struck by the quality of rajas, is increasingly enveloped by tamas; and sattva, the true essence, cannot be reached, for it is exceedingly distant.
स्थितिर् अस्थिरतां याता मृतिर् आगमनोन्मुखी । धृतिर् वैधुर्यम् आयाति रतिर् नित्यम् अवस्तुनि
Stability turns into instability, death is ever approaching; firmness becomes confusion, and attachment is always to the unreal.
मतिर् मान्द्येन मलिना पातैकपरमं वपुः । ज्वलतीव जरा देहे प्रविस्फूर्जति दुष्कृतम्
The mind, dulled by sluggishness, is tainted; the body is intent only on decline; old age seems to blaze in the body, and wrongdoing stirs up violently.
यत्नेन याति युवता दूरे सज्जनसङ्गतिः । गतिर् न विद्यते काचित् क्वचिन् नोदेति सत्यता
In youth, even with effort, the company of the virtuous is far away; there is no clear path anywhere, and truth does not arise.
मनो विमुह्यतीवान्तर् मुदिता दूरतो गता । नोज्ज्वला करुणोदेति दूराद् आयाति नीचता
The mind seems bewildered within, happiness has gone far away; compassion does not shine forth, but baseness draws near from afar.
धीरताधीरताम् एति पातोत्पातपरो जनः । सुलभो दुर्जनाश्लेषो दुर्लभस् साधुसङ्गमः
Courage turns into cowardice, people are intent on downfall and disaster; the embrace of the wicked is easy, but the company of the good is hard to find.
आगमापायिनो भावा भावना भवबन्धनी । नीयते केवलं क्वापि नित्यं भूतपरम्परा
States of being come and go, imagination binds one to existence; the endless succession of beings is carried on somewhere, always.
दिशो ऽपि हि न दृश्यन्ते देशो ऽप्य् अव्यपदेशभाक् । शैला अपि हि शीर्यन्ते कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even the directions are no longer seen, and the land has lost all distinction; even mountains crumble away—what hope is there for someone like me?
द्रवन्त्य् अपि समुद्राश् च शीर्यन्ते तारका अपि । सिद्धा अपि न सिध्यन्ति कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even the oceans are drying up, and the stars are fading away; even the perfected beings do not remain perfected—what hope is there for someone like me?
अद्यते ऽसत्तयापि द्यौर् भुवनं चापि भज्यते । धरापि याति वैधुर्यं कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even the sky is consumed by non-being, and the world itself is breaking apart; even the earth becomes unstable—what hope is there for someone like me?
दानवा अपि दीर्यन्ते ध्रुवो ऽप्य् अध्रुवजीवितः । अमरा अपि मार्यन्ते कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even the demons are destroyed, and even the constant one has an impermanent life; even the immortals die—what hope is there for someone like me?
शक्रो ऽप्य् आक्रम्यते शक्रैर् यमो ऽपि हि नियम्यते । वायोर् अप्य् अस्त्य् अवायुत्वं कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even Indra is overpowered by other Indras, and even Yama is restrained; even the wind can lose its motion—what hope is there for someone like me?
सोमो ऽपि व्योमताम् एति मार्ताण्डो ऽप्य् एति खण्डनाम् । रुग्णताम् अग्निर् अप्य् एति कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even the moon becomes like the sky, and the sun is shattered; even fire becomes weak—what hope is there for someone like me?
परमेष्ठ्य् अप्य् अनिष्ठावान् हरते हरिम् अप्य् अजः । भवो ऽप्य् अभवतां याति कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even Brahma is subject to misfortune, and the unborn one takes away even Vishnu; even Shiva becomes non-being—what hope is there for someone like me?
कालश् शकलताम् एति नियतिश् चापि नीयते । खम् अप्य् आलीयते ऽनन्ते कैवास्था मादृशे जने
Even Time is broken into pieces, and Destiny is led away; even space dissolves into the infinite—what hope is there for someone like me?
अश्रव्यावाच्यदुर्दर्शतन्त्रेणाज्ञातमूर्तिना । भुवनानि विडम्ब्यन्ते केनचिद् भ्रमदायिना
All the worlds are mocked by some unknown force, whose nature is unheard, unspeakable, and invisible, and which causes delusion.
अहङ्कारकलाम् एत्य सर्वत्रान्तरवासिना । न सो ऽस्ति त्रिषु लोकेषु यस् तेनेह न बाध्यते
Having assumed the subtle form of ego, it dwells within all, and there is no one in the three worlds who is not troubled by it here.
शिलाशैलकटप्रेषु साश्वसूतो दिवाकरः । वनपाषाणवन् नित्यम् अवशः परिदोल्यते
Just as the sun’s charioteer is helplessly shaken among rocks, mountains, and forest cliffs, so too is one tossed about endlessly.
धरागोलकम् अन्तस्स्थसुरासुरगणास्पदम् । वेष्ट्यते धिष्ण्यचक्रेण पक्वाक्षोटम् इव त्वचा
The earth-globe, which holds hosts of gods and demons within, is encircled by the wheel of the heavens, like a ripe wood-apple by its rind.
दिवि देवा भुवि नराः पाताले ऽसुरभोगिनः । कल्पिताः कल्पमात्रेण नीयन्ते जर्जरां दशाम्
Gods in heaven, humans on earth, and demons and serpents in the underworld—all are imagined by mere imagination, and are led to a state of decay.
कामश् च जगतीशानरणलब्धपराक्रमः । अक्रमेणैव विक्रान्तो लोकम् आक्रम्य वल्गति
Desire, having gained strength from the fire of the world’s rulers, forcefully spreads without order and leaps about, seizing the world.
वसन्तो मत्तमातङ्गो मदैः कुसुमवर्षणैः । आमोदितककुप्चक्रश् चेतो नयति वक्रताम्
Spring, like a drunken elephant, with showers of flowers and fragrant breezes, bends the mind from its straight path.
अनुरक्ताङ्गनालोकलोचनालोकिताकृति । स्पष्टीकर्तुं मनश् शक्तो न विवेको महान् अपि
Even great discernment is unable to clarify the mind, when it is captivated by the gaze of a loving woman’s eyes.