जरामरणदुःखानामेका रत्नसमुद्गिका । आधिव्याधिविलासानां नित्यं मत्ता विलासिनी ॥ ३९ ॥
jarāmaraṇaduḥkhānāmēkā ratnasamudgikā | ādhivyādhivilāsānāṁ nityaṁ mattā vilāsinī || 39 ||
Translation
She is the one jewel-casket of the sorrows of old age and death, the ever-intoxicated courtesan of the sports of mental and bodily pain.
Word by word
- jarā
- of old age
- maraṇa
- and death
- duḥkhānām
- of the sorrows
- ēkā
- the one
- ratna
- jewel
- samudgikā
- casket
- ādhi
- of mental
- vyādhi
- and bodily pain
- vilāsānāṁ
- of the sports
- nityaṁ
- ever
- mattā
- intoxicated
- vilāsinī
- the courtesan
Meaning
A jewel-box keeps precious things safe and together. Craving keeps the sorrows of old age and death as if they were treasures: it holds them and guards them. And for ādhi and vyādhi, pains of the mind and of the body, it is the courtesan who is "ever intoxicated", always ready for their games. The irony is bitter: craving treats suffering as its jewels and its pleasures. The reader may see how the wanting mind clings even to its pains.