दूरेणोत्सारितोऽलक्ष्म्या पुनरेव तमादरात् । अहो बताऽऽश्लिष्यतीव निर्लज्जा दुर्जना सदा ॥ २१ ॥
dūrēṇōtsāritō’lakṣmyā punarēva tamādarāt | ahō batā’’śliṣyatīva nirlajjā durjanā sadā || 21 ||
Translation
The man whom Misfortune has driven far away, him she again embraces with warmth. Alas, the shameless one is always wicked!
Word by word
- dūrēṇa
- far away
- utsāritō
- (utsāritaḥ) the man driven
- alakṣmyā
- by Misfortune
- punar
- (punaḥ) again
- ēva
- even
- tam
- him
- ādarāt
- with warmth
- ahō
- alas
- bata
- indeed
- āśliṣyati
- she embraces
- iva
- as it were
- nirlajjā
- the shameless one
- durjanā
- wicked
- sadā
- always
Meaning
Lakṣmī, fortune, and Alakṣmī, misfortune or poverty, are rivals, co-wives as the Dwivedi text puts it. Here, as Dwivedi reads, Alakṣmī drives a man far off; and then, without pride or shame, Lakṣmī comes back and embraces him again, as if nothing had happened. She has no constancy and no dignity: she leaves when trouble comes and returns when it goes. "Alas" is Rāma's own sorrow at the sight. The verse holds a lesson for the reader in both seasons: when fortune leaves, it was never faithful; when it returns, it will leave again.