उत्पन्नध्वंसिनः कालवडवानलपातिनः । संख्यातुं केन शक्यन्ते कल्लोला जीविताम्बुधौ ॥ ४० ॥
utpannadhvaṁsinaḥ kālavaḍavānalapātinaḥ | saṁkhyātuṁ kēna śakyantē kallōlā jīvitāmbudhau || 40 ||
Translation
Who can count the waves in the ocean of life, which arise and perish, falling into the submarine fire of Time?
Word by word
- utpanna
- which arise
- dhvaṁsinaḥ
- and perish
- kāla
- of Time
- vaḍavānala
- into the submarine fire
- pātinaḥ
- falling
- saṁkhyātuṁ
- count
- kēna
- who
- śakyantē
- can
- kallōlā
- (kallolāḥ) the waves
- jīvita
- of life
- ambudhau
- in the ocean
Meaning
Each life is a wave on the sea of existence, rising and falling into the fire under the sea (1.23.4). They cannot be counted. The commentary: who could count the creatures born and swallowed by Time? The verse shrinks every single life to a wave, and the reader's with them, so that the one thing that is not a wave may be sought.