उज्ज्वलाऽसिततीक्ष्णाग्रा स्नेहदीर्घदशापरा । प्रकाशा दाहदुःस्पर्शा तृष्णा दीपशिखा इव ॥ ४९ ॥
ujjvalā’sitatīkṣṇāgrā snēhadīrghadaśāparā | prakāśā dāhaduḥsparśā tṛṣṇā dīpaśikhā iva || 49 ||
Translation
Bright, with a black and sharp tip, holding on with its oil and long wick, shining, painful to touch for its burning: craving is like the flame of a lamp.
Word by word
- ujjvalā
- bright
- asita
- with a black
- tīkṣṇa
- and sharp
- agrā
- tip
- snēha
- with its oil
- dīrgha
- long
- daśā
- wick
- parā
- holding on
- prakāśā
- shining
- dāha
- for its burning
- duḥsparśā
- painful to touch
- tṛṣṇā
- craving
- dīpa
- of a lamp
- śikhā
- the flame
- iva
- like
Meaning
A lamp flame is bright in the middle, black and pointed at its tip, fed by oil (sneha) and a long wick (daśā), shining, and burning to the touch. Each word is double. Craving is bright at first with enjoyments; dark and sharp at the end, the commentary says, as it leads to dullness and death; fed by sneha, affection for mother, wife and son; drawn out through the long daśā, the stages of life; and unbearable to touch, with the grief of losing what one loves. The reader may watch a single desire through its life and see the whole flame.