इषुप्रपातमात्रं हि सुखदं दुःखभासुरम् । दाहदोषप्रदं नित्यं यौवनं मे न रोचते ॥ १२ ॥
iṣuprapātamātraṁ hi sukhadaṁ duḥkhabhāsuram | dāhadōṣapradaṁ nityaṁ yauvanaṁ mē na rōcatē || 12 ||
Translation
Giving joy only for the time an arrow takes to fall, shining with sorrow, ever giving the fault of burning: youth does not please me.
Word by word
- iṣu
- an arrow
- prapāta
- takes to fall
- mātraṁ
- only for the time
- hi
- indeed
- sukhadaṁ
- giving joy
- duḥkha
- with sorrow
- bhāsuram
- shining
- dāha
- of burning
- dōṣa
- the fault
- pradaṁ
- giving
- nityaṁ
- ever
- yauvanaṁ
- youth
- mē
- me
- na
- not
- rōcatē
- does please
Meaning
An arrow loosed from the bow reaches its mark in a moment. Youth gives joy only for that long, the commentary says, and sorrow for all the rest of the time, and constant burning, the heat of passion and regret. The verse measures youth's pleasure exactly: an arrow's flight. The reader is asked to weigh that moment against what follows.