सिंहीव विग्रहव्यग्रकरीन्द्रकुलपोथिनी । खड्गधारेव शिशिरा तीक्ष्णतीक्ष्णाशयाश्रया ॥ १९ ॥
siṁhīva vigrahavyagrakarīndrakulapōthinī | khaḍgadhārēva śiśirā tīkṣṇatīkṣṇāśayāśrayā || 19 ||
Translation
Like a lioness she crushes the herds of lordly elephants intent on war; like the edge of a sword she is cold, and she keeps company with the sharp and the sharp-hearted.
Word by word
- siṁhī
- a lioness
- iva
- like
- vigraha
- on war
- vyagra
- intent
- kari
- elephants
- indra
- of lordly
- kula
- the herds
- pōthinī
- she crushes
- khaḍga
- of a sword
- dhārā
- the edge
- śiśirā
- cold
- tīkṣṇa
- the sharp (repeated: and the sharp)
- āśaya
- hearted
- āśrayā
- she keeps company with
Meaning
The lioness kills the great elephant; fortune destroys those, human elephants, who are eager for battle, the kings and warriors whose wars are fought for her. A sword's edge is cool to the touch and cuts deep: fortune seems calm and pleasant, and wounds. And she lives, the commentary says, with the cruel, those whose hearts are sharp as the blade. The verse turns the reader's attention to the company wealth keeps and the company it creates: those who struggle for it grow hard, and those who are hard win it most easily.