सर्वस्याऽग्रे सर्वपुंसः क्षणमात्रमनोहरम् । गन्धर्वनगरप्रख्यं यौवनं मे न रोचते ॥ ११ ॥
sarvasyā’grē sarvapuṁsaḥ kṣaṇamātramanōharam | gandharvanagaraprakhyaṁ yauvanaṁ mē na rōcatē || 11 ||
Translation
Lovely for a moment to every man, above everything else, like a city of the gandharvas: youth does not please me.
Word by word
- sarvasya
- everything
- agrē
- above
- sarva
- to every
- puṁsaḥ
- man
- kṣaṇa
- for a moment
- mātra
- only
- manōharam
- lovely
- gandharva
- of the gandharvas
- nagara
- a city
- prakhyaṁ
- like
- yauvanaṁ
- youth
- mē
- me
- na
- not
- rōcatē
- does please
Meaning
A gandharva-nagara is a city seen in the clouds at dusk, the most beautiful of sights, and gone in a moment. The commentary adds an old belief: one who sees such a city dies soon after. So youth is the loveliest of all things to every man "for a moment", and its sight is a sign of the end. The reader may let the image sit: the most beautiful time is also the most fleeting.