ये शठेषु दुरन्तेषु दुष्कृतारम्भशालिषु । द्विषत्सु मित्ररूपेषु भक्ता वै भोगभोगिषु ॥ २७ ॥
yē śaṭhēṣu durantēṣu duṣkṛtārambhaśāliṣu | dviṣatsu mitrarūpēṣu bhaktā vai bhōgabhōgiṣu || 27 ||
Translation
Those who are devoted to pleasures, those serpents, deceitful, ending ill, full of evil doings, enemies in the guise of friends,
Word by word
- yē
- those who
- śaṭhēṣu
- deceitful
- durantēṣu
- ending ill
- duṣkṛta
- of evil doings
- ārambha
- full
- śāliṣu
- possessed
- dviṣatsu
- enemies
- mitra
- of friends
- rūpēṣu
- in the guise
- bhaktā
- (bhaktāḥ) devoted
- vai
- indeed
- bhōga
- to pleasures
- bhōgiṣu
- those serpents
Meaning
Bhoga means both pleasure and a serpent's hood, and the pun runs through this literature. The list of charges treats the pleasures as bad companions: they cheat, they turn out badly, they lead on to wrongdoing, and they look like friends. The commentary hears the same words as describing the people one falls in with, and another commentary as the serpents of enjoyment themselves. The next verse ends the sentence.