मधुरं स्वादु तिक्तं च दूषणं दोषभूषणम् । सुराकल्लोलसदृशं यौवनं मे न रोचते ॥ ९ ॥
madhuraṁ svādu tiktaṁ ca dūṣaṇaṁ dōṣabhūṣaṇam | surākallōlasadṛśaṁ yauvanaṁ mē na rōcatē || 9 ||
Translation
Sweet and pleasant to taste, and bitter, a defilement, the ornament of faults, like the waves of wine: youth does not please me.
Word by word
- madhuraṁ
- sweet
- svādu
- pleasant to taste
- tiktaṁ
- bitter
- ca
- and
- dūṣaṇaṁ
- a defilement
- dōṣa
- of faults
- bhūṣaṇam
- the ornament
- surā
- of wine
- kallōla
- the waves
- sadṛśaṁ
- like
- yauvanaṁ
- youth
- mē
- me
- na
- not
- rōcatē
- does please
Meaning
Youth is like strong drink: sweet going down, bitter after, as the commentary says, like neem; it defiles and is the "ornament of faults", the best of them, the one that makes them all attractive. And it comes in waves, as intoxication does. The reader may recall how the sweetness of a youthful passion turned bitter in its fruit.