पुरोगतैर् अप्य् अनवाप्तरूपैस् तरङ्गिणीतुङ्गतरङ्गकल्पैः । क्रियाफलैर् दैववशाद् उपेतैर् विडम्ब्यते भिन्नरुचिर् हि लोकः
Even the fruits of actions, which are as varied as the waves of a surging river and are sometimes not attained though pursued, come about by fate; thus, the world, with its differing tastes, is mocked.
इमान्य् अमूनीति विभावितानि कार्याण्य् अपर्यन्तमनोरमाणि । जनस्य जायाजनरञ्जनेन जटाजरान्तं जरयन्ति चेतः
These and those deeds, thought to be endlessly delightful, wear out a person’s mind through the pleasures and pains of birth and death, until, at last, old age brings it to exhaustion.
पर्णानि शीर्णानि यथा तरूणां समेत्य जन्माशु लयं प्रयान्ति । तथैव लोकास् स्वविवेकहीनास् समेत्य गच्छन्ति कुतो ऽप्य् अहोभिः
Just as the leaves of trees, having come together, quickly fall away, so too do people lacking discernment gather and then, after a few days, depart from somewhere, to who knows where.
इतस् ततो दूरतरं विहृत्य प्रविश्य गेहं दिवसावसाने । विवेकिलोकाश्रयिसाधुकर्मरिक्ते ऽह्नि याते क उपैति निद्राम्
After wandering here and there, far and wide, and returning home at the end of the day, when the day is spent in actions devoid of the company of the wise and of good deeds, who is able to find restful sleep?
विद्राविते शत्रुजने समस्ते समागतायाम् अभितश् च लक्ष्म्याम् । सेव्यन्त एतानि सुखानि यावत् तावत् समायाति कुतो ऽपि मृत्युः
As long as all enemies have been driven away and prosperity has gathered everywhere, people enjoy these pleasures—until death arrives from somewhere.
कुतो ऽपि संवर्धिततुच्छरूपैर् भावैर् अमीभिः क्षणदृष्टनष्टैः । विलोभ्यमाना जनता जगत्यां न वेत्त्य् उपायातम् अहो न यातम्
People in the world, enticed by fleeting and trivial states of mind that arise from nowhere and vanish in an instant, do not know whether what has come is truly attained or not.
यियासुभिः कालमुखं क्रियन्ते जनैडकैस् ते हतकर्मबन्धाः । ये पीनताम् एव बलाद् उपेत्य शरीरबन्धे ननु ते भवन्ति
Those who, desiring to escape the jaws of time, perform actions with effort but are bound by unfortunate deeds—when they forcibly attain bodily strength, they remain trapped in the body.
अजस्रम् आगच्छति सत्वरेयम् अनारतं गच्छति सत्वरैव । कुतो ऽपि लोला जनता जगत्यां तरङ्गमाला क्षणभङ्गुरेव
This restless multitude in the world comes and goes ceaselessly and swiftly, like a wave-formation that is unstable and breaks in a moment.
प्राणापहारैकपरा नराणाम् मनो मनोहारितया हरन्ति । रक्तच्छदाष् षट्पदचञ्चलाक्ष्यो विषद्रुमा लोललतास् स्त्रियश् च
Those things which are solely intent on taking the life of men—such as the mind, which steals delight, women with restless eyes like bees on red petals, and the poisonous creepers of venomous trees—bring harm.
इतो ऽन्यतश् चोपगता मुधैव समानसङ्केतनिबद्धभावा । यात्रासमासङ्गसमा नराणां कलत्रमित्रव्यवहारमाया
The bonds of relationships—wife, friend, and business—are formed in vain, coming from here and there, tied by similar feelings, and are merely the illusion of social dealings among men.
प्रदीपकान्तिष्व् इव भुक्तभूरिदशास्व् अतिस्नेहनिबन्धनीषु । संसारमायासु चलाचलासु न ज्ञायते तत्त्वम् अतात्त्विकीषु
Just as the true nature of things is not known in the flickering and steady lights of lamps or in the states of food consumed with great attachment, so too, the reality is not recognized in the moving and unmoving illusions of worldly existence.
संसारसंरम्भकुचक्रिकेयम् प्रावृट्पयोबुद्बुदभङ्गुरापि । असावधानस्य जनस्य बुद्धौ चिरस्थिरप्रत्ययम् आतनोति
This tumultuous whirlpool of worldly existence, though fragile like bubbles in the rain, establishes a long-lasting conviction in the mind of the inattentive person.
शोभोज्ज्वला दैन्यवशाद् विनष्टा गुणास् स्थितास् सम्प्रति जर्जरत्वे । आश्वासना दूरतरं प्रयाता जनस्य हेमन्त इवाब्जिनीषु
Splendor and brilliance have perished due to affliction; virtues remain now in a state of decay; comfort has gone far away from people, like lotuses in winter.
पुनः पुनर् दैववशाद् उपेत्य स्वदेहभारेण कृतापकारः । विलूयते यत्र तरुः कुठारैर् आश्वासने तत्र हि कः प्रसङ्गः
Again and again, by the force of fate, harm is done to one's own body; where a tree is repeatedly struck by axes, what place is there for comfort there?
मनोरमस्याप्य् अतिदोषवृत्तेर् अन्तर् विघाताय समुत्थितस्य । विषद्रुमस्येव जनस्य सङ्गाद् आसाद्यते सम्प्रति मूर्छनैव
Even for one who is delightful, when excessive faults arise within, disturbance is produced—just as association with a poisonous tree now brings on faintness in a person.
कास् ता दृशो यासु न सन्ति दोषाः कास् ता दिशो यासु न दुःखदाहः । कास् ताः प्रजा यासु न भङ्गुरत्वं कास् ताः क्रिया यासु न नाम माया
What are those forms in which there are no faults? What are those directions where there is no burning pain? Who are those people who are not fragile? What are those actions that are not, in name, mere illusion?
कल्पाभिधानक्षणजीविनो ऽपि कल्पौघसङ्ख्याकलने विरिञ्चाः । अतः कलाशालिनि कालजाले लघुत्वदीर्घत्वधियो ऽप्य् असत्याः
Even those called 'Brahmas,' whose lives last but a moment of a kalpa, are unable to count the multitude of kalpas; therefore, in this net of time, which is full of divisions, thoughts of shortness or length are unfounded.
सर्वत्र पाषाणमया महीध्रा मृदा मही दारुभिर् एव वृक्षाः । मांसैर् जनाः पौरुषबद्धभावा नापूर्वम् अस्तीह विकारहीनम्
Everywhere, mountains are made of stone, the earth is of clay, trees are only of wood; people are formed of flesh, bound by manhood—here, nothing is new, nothing is free from change.
आलोक्यते चेतनयानुविद्धः पयोनिबद्धो ऽणुचयो नभस्स्थः । पृथग्विभागेन पदार्थलक्ष्म्या एतज् जगन् नेतरद् अस्ति किञ्चित्
What is seen, pervaded by consciousness, is an aggregate bound by water, existing in space; through distinct divisions and the fortune of objects, this is the world—there is nothing else at all.
चमत्कृतिश् चेह मनस्विलोके चेतश्चमत्कारकरी नराणाम् । स्वप्ने ऽपि साधो विषयं कदाचित् केषाञ्चिद् अप्य् एति न चित्ररूपा
Astonishment exists here in the world of the mind; it is the wonder produced in the minds of people. Even in dreams, O noble one, this marvelous form does not come to some, in regard to any object.
अद्यापयाते त्व् अपि कल्पनाया आकाशवल्लीफलवन्महत्त्वे । उदेति नो ऽलोभलवाहतानाम् उदारवृत्तान्तमयी कथैव
Even today, among those who are not swept away by even a trace of greed, a tale composed of noble deeds does not arise—just as a creeper in the sky does not bear fruit of greatness.
आदातुम् इच्छन् पदम् उत्तमानां स्वचेतसैवोपहतो ऽद्य लोकः । पतत्य् अशङ्कं पशुर् अद्रिकूटाद् आनीलवल्लीदलवाञ्छयेव
Desiring to attain the state of the noble, the world today, hindered only by its own mind, falls without hesitation—like a beast leaping from a mountain peak, longing for a blue creeper leaf.
अवान्तरन्यस्तनिरर्थकांसच्छायालतापत्त्रफलप्रसूनाः । शरीर एव क्षतसम्पदश् च श्वभ्रद्रुमा अद्यतना नराश् च
Like trees in a chasm, whose inner branches, useless shadows, leaves, fruits, and flowers are confined within, so too are the riches of the body today, and so too are people.
क्वचिज् जना मार्दवसुन्दरेषु क्वचित् करालेषु च सञ्चरन्ति । दशान्तरालेषु निरन्तरेषु वनान्तषण्डेष्व् इव कृष्णशाराः
People move about sometimes among those gentle and beautiful, sometimes among the fierce—just as black antelopes wander through the endless intervals between different forest groves.
धातुर् नवानि दिवसं प्रति भीषणानि रम्याणि चावलुलिताखिलमानवानि । कार्याणि कष्टफलपाकहतोदयानि विस्मापयन्ति न शठस्य मनांसि केषाम्
Every day, new and terrifying or delightful tasks, which unsettle all people, arise from the ripening of bitter fruits of action; yet these do not astonish the minds of the deceitful.
जनः कामासक्तो विविधकुकलावेदनपरस् समस् स्वप्ने ऽप्य् अस्मिञ् जगति सुलभो नाद्य सुजनः । क्रिया दुःखासङ्गाद् विधुरविधुरा नूनम् अखिला न जाने नेतव्या कथम् इव दशा जीवितमयी
People are attached to desires, intent on various wicked arts, and even in dreams, a good person is rare in this world today. Because of the association with suffering, all actions are truly uncertain and troubled—I do not know how this condition called life is to be led.
यच् चेदं दृश्यते किञ्चिज् जगत् स्थावरजङ्गमम् । तत् सर्वम् अस्थिरं ब्रह्मन् स्वप्नसङ्गमसन्निभम्
Whatever is seen here in this world, whether moving or unmoving, O Brahman, all of it is unstable—like a meeting in a dream.
शुष्कसागरसङ्काशो निखातो यो ऽद्य दृश्यते । स प्रातर् अभ्रसंवीतो नगस् सम्पद्यते मुने
What appears today as a dry ocean, sunken and visible, by morning, O sage, becomes a mountain covered with clouds.
यो वनव्यूहविस्तीर्णो विलीढगगनो ऽचलः । दिनैर् एव स यात्य् उर्वीसमतां कूपतां च वा
That mountain, vast with forests and touching the sky, unshakable—within days, it becomes level with the earth or sinks to the state of a pit.
यद् अङ्गम् अद्य संवीतं कौशेयस्रग्विलेपनैः । दिगम्बरं तद् एव श्वो दूरे विशरितावटे
The body that today is adorned with silk garlands and fragrant ointments—tomorrow, that very body lies far away, exposed to the elements in a deserted place.