ब्राह्मण उवाच
धिग् इदं जीवितं लोके ऽनलसारम् अनर्थकम् ॥
दुःखमूलं पराधीनं भृशम् अप्रियभागि च ॥
जीविते परमं दुःखं जीविते परमो ज्वरः ॥
जीविते वर्तमानस्य द्वन्द्वानाम् आगमो ध्रुवः ॥
एकात्मापि हि धर्मार्थौ कामं च न निषेवते ॥
एतैश् च विप्रयोगो ऽपि दुःखं परमकं मतम् ॥
brāhmaṇa uvāca
dhig idaṃ jīvitaṃ loke 'nalasāram anarthakam ||
duḥkhamūlaṃ parādhīnaṃ bhṛśam apriyabhāgi ca ||
jīvite paramaṃ duḥkhaṃ jīvite paramo jvaraḥ ||
jīvite vartamānasya dvandvānām āgamo dhruvaḥ ||
ekātmāpi hi dharmārthau kāmaṃ ca na niṣevate ||
etaiś ca viprayogo 'pi duḥkhaṃ paramakaṃ matam ||
The brahmana said: "Shame on this life in the world — powerless, useless, the root of sorrows, dependent on others, richly beset with what is unpleasant. In life is the highest torment, in life is the highest fever; for one who lives, the pairs of opposites surely come. For even a solitary person does not fully enjoy dharma, artha, and kama, and separation from them is held to be the highest suffering."
d058d8a5fbb2 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
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Here grief wrings from the brahmana a bitter truth about worldly life. It is significant that even in his despair he sees rightly the nature of existence: a life resting on the world alone is "dependent on others" and doomed to the "pairs of opposites" — joy and sorrow, gain and loss. The world indeed is of itself full of suffering (duhkhalayam); but something else is missing here: the brahmana sees the disease without knowing the cure. For the root of misfortune lies not in life itself but in a life without refuge in the Lord; a life turned toward Him is not in vain. So scripture shows the truth of the world's transience — but as a cry without hope, awaiting an answer the mourner does not yet know.