परिपक्वं समालोक्य जराक्षारविधूसरम् । शिरःकूष्माण्डकं भुङ्क्ते पुंसां कालः किलेश्वरः ॥ २३ ॥
paripakvaṁ samālōkya jarākṣāravidhūsaram | śiraḥkūṣmāṇḍakaṁ bhuṅktē puṁsāṁ kālaḥ kilēśvaraḥ || 23 ||
Translation
Seeing it ripe and grey with the lye of age, Time, the lord of men, eats the pumpkin of their head.
Word by word
- paripakvaṁ
- ripe
- samālōkya
- seeing it
- jarā
- of age
- kṣāra
- with the lye
- vidhūsaram
- grey
- śiraḥ
- of their head
- kūṣmāṇḍakaṁ
- the pumpkin
- bhuṅktē
- eats
- puṁsāṁ
- of men
- kālaḥ
- Time
- kila
- indeed
- īśvaraḥ
- the lord
Meaning
A householder sees a pumpkin ripen and turn grey with the ash dusted on it, and eats it. Time, the commentary says, is the lord who sees the head whitened by age and eats it. The image of the head as a pumpkin is homely, almost comic, and wholly unsentimental. The reader may smile, and remember that the harvest is certain.