संसाररात्रिदुस्स्वप्ने शून्ये देहमये भ्रमे । आस्थां चेद् अनुबध्नामि तन् माम् अस्तु धिग् अस्थितिम्
If I place reliance in this empty delusion, this body-based confusion, which is like a bad dream in the night of saṃsāra, then let me be condemned for such a state.
अयं सो ऽहम् इति व्यर्थम् उत्थितासत्स्वरूपिणा । अहङ्कारपिशाचेन किम् अज्ञवद् अहं हतः
In vain, I have been overtaken by the demon of ego, which arises as the false notion 'This is me, I am this'; like a fool, I am destroyed by it.
हृतं हृतम् इदं कस्माद् आयुर् आयतयानया । पश्यन्न् अपि न पश्यामि सूक्ष्मया काललेखया
Why has this life been stolen away, again and again, by this subtle line of time? Though I see, I do not see.
पादपीठीकृतेशानाश् शार्ङ्गिक्रीडनकन्दुकाः । कालकापालिना ग्रस्ताः किम् आस्थे मयि वल्गसि
The lords, made into mere footstools, and the playful balls of the wielder of the bow (Viṣṇu), have all been swallowed by Time the skull-bearer; why do you still take pride in me?
अजस्रम् उपयान्त्य् एते यान्ति चाद्यापि वासराः । अविनष्टैकसद्वस्तुर् दृष्टो नाद्यापि वासरः
Days come and go ceaselessly, even now; yet, not even today have I seen that one imperishable, real thing.
सारसास् सरसीवैते सर्वस्मिञ् जनचेतसि । भोगा एव स्फुरन्त्य् अन्तर् नातुच्छपददृष्टयः
Like the essence in a lake, pleasures alone flash within the minds of all people, but not those fleeting visions of trivial things.
कष्टात् कष्टतरं प्राप्तो दुःखाद् दुःखतरं गतः । अद्यापि न विरक्तो ऽस्मि हा धिङ् माम् अधमाशयम्
I have reached what is more painful than pain, and fallen into suffering greater than suffering; yet even now I am not detached—alas, shame on me with my base mind.
येषु येषु दृढाबद्धा भावना दृढवस्तुषु । तानि तानि विनष्टानि दृष्टानि किम् इहोत्तमम्
Whatever things I have firmly clung to in thought, even those solid things have perished; what, then, is excellent here to be seen?
यन् मध्ये यच् च पर्यन्ते यद् आपाते मनोरमम् । सर्वम् एवापवित्रं तद् विनाशामेध्यदूषितम्
Whatever is delightful in the middle, at the end, or at the outset—all of it is impure, tainted by the filth of destruction.
येषु येषु पदार्थेषु धृतिं बध्नाति मानवः । तेषु तेष्व् एव तस्याशु दृष्टो दुःखोदयो भृशम्
Wherever a person fastens his attachment to objects, there, and only there, he quickly experiences intense suffering.
श्वश् श्वः पापीयसीम् एव श्वश् श्वः क्रूरतराम् अपि । श्वश् श्वः खेदकरीम् एति दशाम् इह जडो जनः
Day by day, a dull person enters ever more sinful, ever more cruel, and ever more distressing states in this world.
अज्ञानोपहतो बाल्ये यौवने मदनाहतः । शेषे कलत्रचिन्तार्तः किं करोतु कदा जडः
Struck by ignorance in childhood, wounded by passion in youth, and later tormented by anxiety for his wife—what can the dull-witted person do, and when?
आगमापायविरसं दशावैषम्यदूषितम् । असारसारं संसारं किं न पश्यति मन्मतिः
Why does the mind, clouded by delusion, not see that worldly existence is tasteless due to coming and going, spoiled by the unevenness of circumstances, and lacking true essence?
राजसूयाश्वमेधाद्यैर् इष्ट्वा यज्ञशतैर् अपि । महाकल्पात् कम् अप्य् अंशं स्वर्गं आप्नोति नाधिकम्
Even by performing hundreds of sacrifices like the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha, one attains but a small portion of heaven for a great age, and nothing more.
को ऽसौ स्वर्गे ऽस्ति भूमौ वा पाताले वा प्रदेशकः । न यत्राभिद्रवन्त्य् एता दुर्भ्रमर्य इवापदः
What is that place, whether in heaven, on earth, or in the netherworld, where these calamities do not assail, like wicked women?
निजचेतोबिलव्यालाश् शरीरस्थलपल्लवाः । आधयो व्याधयश् चैते निवार्यन्ते कथं किल
How indeed can these afflictions and diseases—serpents from the cave of one's own mind, sprouting as shoots in the body—ever be prevented?
सत्ये ऽसत्ता स्थिता मूर्ध्नि मूर्ध्नि रम्येष्व् अरम्यता । सुखेषु मूर्ध्नि दुःखानि किम् एकं संश्रयाम्य् अहम्
Unreality stands atop reality, unpleasantness atop pleasant places, and sorrows atop happiness—so which one thing should I rely upon?
जायन्ते च म्रियन्ते च प्राकृताः क्षुद्रजन्तवः । धरा तैर् एव नीरन्ध्रा दुर्लभास् साधुसाधवः
Common, insignificant creatures are born and die; because of them, the earth remains without gaps—truly, noble and virtuous people are rare.
नीलोत्पलालिनयनाः परमप्रेमभूषणाः । हासायैव विलासिन्यः क्षणभङ्गितया स्थिताः
Women, with eyes like blue lotuses and adorned with supreme love, exist only for amusement, remaining for but a fleeting moment.
येषां निमेषणोन्मेषैर् जगतां प्रलयोदयौ । तादृशाः पुरुषा याता मादृशां गणनैव का
Those whose blinking and opening of eyes bring about the dissolution and creation of worlds—such people have come and gone; what significance is there in counting people like me?
सन्ति रम्यतराद् रम्यास् सुस्थिराद् अपि च स्थिराः । चिन्तापर्यवसानेयं पदार्थश्रीः किम् ईदृशी
There are pleasures more delightful than the delightful, and things more stable than the stable; but what is the value of such prosperity, which ends in anxiety?
सम्पदश् च विचित्रा यास् ताश् चेच् चित्तेन सम्मताः । तत् ता अपि महारम्भा मन्ये नूनं महापदः
If the various kinds of wealth are accepted by the mind, then even those great undertakings, I think, are truly great misfortunes.
आपदो ऽपि विचित्रा यास् ताश् चेन् मनसि सम्मताः । तत् ता अपि महारम्भा मन्ये सकलसम्पदः
If the various kinds of misfortunes are accepted in the mind, then even those great undertakings, I think, are all forms of prosperity.
मनोमात्रविवर्ते ऽस्मिञ् जगत्य् अब्बिन्दुभङ्गुरे । ममेदम् इत्य् अपूर्वैव कुतस् त्व् अक्षरमालिका
In this world, which is but a transformation of mind and as fragile as a drop of water, where is the unprecedented notion of 'this is mine,' and from where could there be a string of imperishable things?
काकतालीययोगेन सम्पन्नायां जगत्स्थितौ । धूर्तेन कल्पिता व्यर्थं हेयोपादेयभावनाः
When the existence of the world arises by mere coincidence, the clever mind has vainly imagined the notions of acceptance and rejection.
इयत्ताच्छिन्नरूपासु सुखनाम्नीषु दृष्टिषु । कास्व् एतास्व् अनुषक्तो ऽस्मि पतङ्गो ऽग्निशिखास्व् इव
Among these limited, fragmented perceptions called pleasures, to which of them am I so attached—like a moth to the tongues of flame?
वरम् एकान्तदाहेषु लुठितं रौरवाग्निषु । न त्व् आलूनविशीर्णासु स्थितिस् संसारवृत्तिषु
It would be better to writhe in the fires of hell, consumed entirely, than to remain in the torn and battered cycles of worldly existence.
संसार एव दुःखानां सीमान्तः किल कथ्यते । तन्मध्यपतितेनेह सुखम् आसाद्यते कथम्
It is said that worldly existence is truly the boundary of all sufferings; how could one who has fallen into its midst ever find happiness here?
अकृत्रिममहादुःखे संसारे ये व्यवस्थिताः । त एते ऽन्यानि दुःखानि जानते मधुराण्य् अलम्
Those who remain in this world of uncontrived, great suffering consider all other pains to be almost sweet by comparison.
अहम् अप्य् आधिमान् कष्टं काष्ठलोष्टसमस्थितैः । अज्ञैर् एवागतस् साम्यम् अपरामृष्टवस्तुभिः
I too, afflicted by distress, have become like those ignorant ones who are unmoved, remaining as if equal to wood or clods of earth, untouched by real substance.