मम चित्तमहारण्ये व्यामोहतिमिराकुले । शून्ये ताण्डविनी जाता भृशमाशापिशाचिका ॥ ३ ॥
mama cittamahāraṇyē vyāmōhatimirākulē | śūnyē tāṇḍavinī jātā bhṛśamāśāpiśācikā || 3 ||
Translation
In the great forest of my mind, empty and filled with the darkness of delusion, the little demoness Hope has begun to dance wildly.
Word by word
- mama
- my
- citta
- of mind
- mahā
- great
- araṇyē
- in the forest
- vyāmōha
- of delusion
- timira
- with the darkness
- ākulē
- filled
- śūnyē
- empty
- tāṇḍavinī
- to dance wildly
- jātā
- has begun
- bhṛśam
- wildly
- āśā
- Hope
- piśācikā
- the little demoness
Meaning
A dark, empty forest is where demons dance. The mind, darkened by delusion and "empty" (śūnya) of real content, is such a forest, and āśā, hope, appears in it as a piśācikā, a little she-ghoul, dancing the tāṇḍava, the wild dance. Another commentary pictures her as a dancing-girl. Hope here is not the virtue that sustains; it is the endless expectation that tomorrow's object will fill today's emptiness. The more empty the forest, the wilder the dance. The reader may recognise how hope is liveliest exactly where life feels most hollow.