कान्तावियोगजातेन हृदि दुःस्पर्शवह्निना । यौवने दह्यते जन्तुस्तरुर्दावाग्निना यथा ॥ १७ ॥
kāntāviyōgajātēna hṛdi duḥsparśavahninā | yauvanē dahyatē jantustarurdāvāgninā yathā || 17 ||
Translation
By the fire, painful to touch, born in the heart from separation from the beloved, a creature in youth is burnt as a tree by a forest fire.
Word by word
- kāntā
- from the beloved
- viyōga
- separation
- jātēna
- born
- hṛdi
- in the heart
- duḥsparśa
- painful to touch
- vahninā
- by the fire
- yauvanē
- in youth
- dahyatē
- is burnt
- jantus
- (jantuḥ) a creature
- tarur
- (taruḥ) a tree
- dāva
- by a forest
- agninā
- fire
- yathā
- as
Meaning
The great grief of youth is viraha, separation from the one loved. It is a fire in the heart, unbearable to touch, and it burns as a forest fire burns a tree, completely. The commentary and the Dwivedi text agree. Anyone who has loved young knows this fire. The verse does not mock it; it names it as one of youth's sufferings, and asks the reader to see that love bound to a person who must be lost cannot escape it.