पुत्राश्च दाराश्च धनं च बुद्ध्या प्रकल्प्यते तात रसायनाभम् । सर्वं तु तन्नोपकरोत्यथाऽन्ते यत्राऽतिरम्या विषमूर्छनैव ॥ १३ ॥
putrāśca dārāśca dhanaṁ ca buddhyā prakalpyatē tāta rasāyanābham | sarvaṁ tu tannōpakarōtyathā’ntē yatrā’tiramyā viṣamūrchanaiva || 13 ||
Translation
Sons, wives and wealth, dear one, are imagined by the mind to be like an elixir; but in the end none of it helps, and there even the most delightful thing is only a swoon of poison.
Word by word
- putrāś
- (putrāḥ) sons
- ca
- and
- dārāś
- (dārāḥ) wives
- dhanaṁ
- wealth
- buddhyā
- by the mind
- prakalpyatē
- are imagined
- tāta
- dear one
- rasāyana
- an elixir
- ābham
- to be like
- sarvaṁ
- all of it
- tu
- but
- tat
- it
- na
- none
- upakarōti
- helps
- atha
- then
- antē
- in the end
- yatra
- there
- ati
- most
- ramyā
- delightful
- viṣa
- of poison
- mūrchanā
- a swoon
- ēva
- only
Meaning
The mind thinks of family and wealth as rasāyana, a life-giving elixir. In the end, at death, the commentary says, none of them helps; the most charming pleasure is then like the faint of poison. The verse does not call family evil; it says it cannot do what the mind imagines it will do.