दैन्यदोषमयी दीर्घा हृदि दाहप्रदायिनी । सर्वापदामेकसखी वार्द्धके वर्द्धते स्पृहा ॥ ८ ॥
dainyadōṣamayī dīrghā hṛdi dāhapradāyinī | sarvāpadāmēkasakhī vārddhakē varddhatē spṛhā || 8 ||
Translation
In old age longing grows: full of misery and fault, long, giving burning in the heart, the one friend of every calamity.
Word by word
- dainya
- of misery
- dōṣa
- and fault
- mayī
- full
- dīrghā
- long
- hṛdi
- in the heart
- dāha
- burning
- pradāyinī
- giving
- sarva
- of every
- āpadām
- calamity
- ēka
- the one
- sakhī
- friend
- vārddhakē
- in old age
- varddhatē
- grows
- spṛhā
- longing
Meaning
Spṛhā, longing, grows in age: it is mean (dainya), long-lasting, burning, and the "one companion of all misfortunes", the commentary says, their chief friend. The young long for what they may get; the old long for what they can no longer have, and the longing burns more because it is hopeless. The reader is shown why dispassion is urgent: unexamined longing gets worse with age, not better.