जराजह्नुसुतोद्युक्ता मूलान्यस्य निकृन्तति । शरीरतीरवृक्षस्य चलत्यायुषि सत्वरम् ॥ २४ ॥
jarājahnusutōdyuktā mūlānyasya nikṛntati | śarīratīravṛkṣasya calatyāyuṣi satvaram || 24 ||
Translation
Old age, the Gaṅgā, intent on it, cuts the roots of the tree of the body on its bank, as life flows swiftly on.
Word by word
- jarā
- old age
- jahnusutā
- the Gaṅgā
- udyuktā
- intent on it
- mūlāni
- the roots
- asya
- of
- nikṛntati
- cuts
- śarīra
- of the body
- tīra
- on its bank
- vṛkṣasya
- of the tree
- calati
- as flows
- āyuṣi
- life
- satvaram
- swiftly
Meaning
The Gaṅgā (Jahnu's daughter) eats away the bank where a tree stands, until the tree falls. Old age is the river; the current is the flow of life; and the roots it cuts, the commentary says, are the body's supports, its strength and the rest. The image is of erosion that cannot be seen until the fall.