खलाः काले काले निशि निशितमोहैकमिहिका- गतालोके लोके विषयशतचोराः सुचतुराः । प्रवृत्ताः प्रोद्युक्ता दिशि दिशि विवेकैकहरणे रणे शक्तास्तेषां क इव विदुषः प्रोज्झ्य सुभटाः ॥ २८ ॥
khalāḥ kālē kālē niśi niśitamōhaikamihikā- gatālōkē lōkē viṣayaśatacōrāḥ sucaturāḥ | pravṛttāḥ prōdyuktā diśi diśi vivēkaikaharaṇē raṇē śaktāstēṣāṁ ka iva viduṣaḥ prōjjhya subhaṭāḥ || 28 ||
Translation
In the world, whose light is gone in the night of sharp delusion and its thick mist, the wicked thieves, the hundred objects of sense, cunning, are at work from time to time in every direction, bent on stealing discrimination, the one jewel. Who but the wise are able to face them in battle as good warriors?
Word by word
- khalāḥ
- the wicked
- kālē
- from time to time
- niśi
- in the night
- niśita
- sharp
- mōha
- of delusion
- ēka
- one
- mihikā
- thick mist
- gata
- gone
- ālōkē
- whose light
- lōkē
- in the world
- viṣaya
- objects of sense
- śata
- the hundred
- cōrāḥ
- thieves
- sucaturāḥ
- cunning
- pravṛttāḥ
- are at work
- prōdyuktā
- (prodyuktāḥ) bent on
- diśi
- in every direction
- vivēka
- discrimination
- haraṇē
- on stealing
- raṇē
- in battle
- śaktās
- (śaktāḥ) able
- tēṣāṁ
- to face them
- ka
- (kaḥ) who
- iva
- indeed
- viduṣaḥ
- the wise
- prōjjhya
- but
- subhaṭāḥ
- good warriors
Meaning
The sarga closes in a long four-line metre with an image that gathers the whole lament. It is night; a thick mist of delusion has hidden every light. In the dark, thieves move everywhere: the objects of the senses, each cunning, each after the one treasure a person has, which is viveka, the power to tell the real from the passing. Only the wise can fight them. The question at the end is Rāma's plea to the sages: be those warriors for me. It is also a question to the reader, who lives in the same night among the same thieves.