मूर्द्धसञ्जनितादीर्घशिरोरुहतृणावलिः । अहङ्कारगृध्रकृतकुलायः सुषिरोदरः ॥ १६ ॥
mūrddhasañjanitādīrghaśirōruhatṛṇāvaliḥ | ahaṅkāragṛdhrakṛtakulāyaḥ suṣirōdaraḥ || 16 ||
Translation
its row of grass the long hairs grown on its crown, where the vulture ego has made its nest, hollow in its belly,
Word by word
- mūrddha
- on its crown
- sañjanita
- grown
- ādīrgha
- long
- śirōruha
- the hairs
- tṛṇa
- of grass
- āvaliḥ
- its row
- ahaṅkāra
- the ego
- gṛdhra
- the vulture
- kṛta
- has made
- kulāyaḥ
- its nest
- suṣira
- hollow
- udaraḥ
- in its belly
Meaning
The long hair on the head is the grass that grows at the top of the tree; ahaṅkāra, the ego, is a vulture that has built its nest there; and the trunk is hollow (suṣira), with the belly as its cavity. The vulture is well chosen: it is the bird that feeds on the dead. The ego nests at the very top of the body, in the head, and lives on what perishes. The reader may consider what feeds the vulture in themselves.